Aug. 18 (UPI) — U.S. Marshals arrested a 30-year-old man in Maryland over the weekend as part of President Donald Trump‘s federal takeover of Washington, D.C.’s law enforcement, saying he is accused of assaulting a Metropolitan Police Department officer in March.
Gerard Stokes was arrested by members of the U.S. Marshals Service Special Operations Group and the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force at 6:15 a.m. Saturday in Greenbelt, Md., the U.S. Marshals Service said in a Sunday statement.
Authorities accused Stokes of hitting an MPD officer with an ATV on March 14.
Police said the officers attempted to contact a group operating ATVs and dirt bikes near a gas station in the nation’s capital.
As the uniformed officers approached, “Stokes accelerated his ATV, raised the front tires in the air and aimed it toward the officers,” the U.S. Marshals Service said.
“One officer was able to move out of the way of the oncoming ATV, the other officer was struck head on by the ATV and drug approximately 15 feet across the gas station lot by Stokes who then fled the scene without stopping.”
The injured officer, who was transported to WHC Medstar, is still recovering from his injuries, the service said, adding that he has not returned to full duty.
A July 15 search of Stokes’ listed home in Greenbelt produced multiple rifles, shotguns, pistols and 720 rounds of 5.56 ammunition, authorities said. Stokes has a criminal history of robbery, aggravated assault and carrying a pistol without a license with a large capacity magazine.
“This apprehension during this public safety surge proves that we are making a difference by getting ruthless and dangerous criminals off the street,” U.S. Marshals Service Director Gadyaces Serralta said in a statement.
According to the Marshals Service, the arrest is part of Trump’s federal crackdown in the nation’s capital.
Trump earlier this month signed an executive order declaring a crime emergency in D.C. The American president has mobilized the district’s National Guard for policing and Attorney General Pam Bondi has installed the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration as the temporary police chief of the MPD.
The federal takeover of D.C. is being challenged in courts and in the streets, where thousands protested nationwide over the weekend.