Developing: D.C. Flag Sales Surge After Federal Takeover, Statehood Calls Grow

District flags are selling out across Washington as residents rally behind the red-stars-and-bars emblem in open defiance of the federal crackdown on local policing. Neighborhood hardware stores report empty shelves and online sellers note backorders, according to The Washington Post.

The rush follows President Donald Trump’s directive declaring a “crime emergency” and placing D.C. policing under federal direction, per the White House. The order delegates operational control to the Attorney General and directs ongoing monitoring and updates to the President.

Demonstrations continue in Washington, D.C. in response to President Donald Trump’s federal takeover of the city. On Saturday, the Long Live GoGo Foundation and the D.C. Against Trump Coalition (DCAT) held a march and protest. Dozens of people marched to the Sylvan Theater in the National Mall to the beat of GoGo music. They started on U Street and went along 14th Street. The flag’s renewed visibility—on porches, rowhouse windows, and protest lines—has become a shorthand for local autonomy and revived calls for full D.C. statehood.

What’s next: Retailers work to restock D.C. flags as political debate intensifies over home rule and statehood; further local demonstrations are possible in the days ahead.