Washington, DC crime reporter turned victim speaks out, says Trump recognizes ‘major issue’ impacting lives

While much of the legacy media has downplayed or dismissed crime in Washington, D.C., on the heels of the Trump administration’s crackdown, one journalist decided to speak out about a horrific attack that changed the course of her life. 

President Donald Trump announced the federalization of Washington, D.C.’s police force on Monday, an unprecedented move taken by no prior U.S. president. D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb condemned the move, insisting there is “no crime emergency” in the nation’s capital, and many liberal pundits and mainstream news outlets have suggested Trump is overreaching. 

New York Times reporter Peter Baker called it a “nonexistent crime crisis,” while CNN and MSNBC filled their shows with guests to slam Trump’s move. A variety of outlets harped on data that violent crime in D.C. is down by 26% this year, and many others insisted the move is simply a “distraction.”

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In 2020, during the early stages of the COVID pandemic, Anna Giaritelli took a Saturday morning stroll in what she believed was a “really safe part of town” near Union Station, only a few blocks from the U.S. Capitol. At the time, Giaritelli covered crime and civil unrest for the Washington Examiner, but she had no idea she was about to become a victim herself. 

“I was randomly attacked by a homeless man and fought with him for my life and survived. And that event has had a significant impact on my life, changed the course of my life,” Giaritelli told Fox News Digital. 

Giaritelli was injured and sexually abused during the horrific attack. Police used DNA found on her clothing to determine that the suspect was a repeat offender and already in their system. She said he was finally arrested “months later” and a “judge chose to release him onto the streets” before his trial.

Giaritelli planned to live in Washington, D.C., for “decades,” but the harrowing ordeal changed her plans. She first moved to another part of town, hoping the distance would allow her to remain in the city, but frustration continued to grow. 

“Through the year and a half that we waited for our case to go to trial, this man was arrested five more times, including for wielding a machete on Capitol Hill. And the judge chose in all five times to release him from jail back onto the street,” Giaritelli said. 

“I didn’t feel protected by the judicial system. I didn’t feel safe in Washington, D.C. because of these decisions by the courts,” she continued. “And so ultimately, I had to take my own safety into concern, and I left D.C. with nowhere to go really, trying to figure out how to start a life and what that would look like somewhere else.”

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Giaritelli believes the police worked extremely hard to put her attacker behind bars ahead of his trial but the decision by the court “enabled him to victimize more and more people.” 

“I found out at sentencing that he [assaulted] an off-duty police officer, a woman, several weeks, months prior to what he did to me. So, this was an individual that had a clear trajectory and as much as police wanted to keep him off the streets, the courts would not let them do that,” Giaritelli said. 

“He was sentenced to federal prison in 2022,” Giaritelli continued. “He has since been released from federal prison and to my knowledge is back in Washington, D.C.”

Giaritelli, who moved to Texas and began covering homeland security, immigration and border issues for the Washington Examiner, said the attack completely changed the trajectory of her career. 

“Trying to work in politics and media, you’re limited to what you can do if you’re not actually in Washington,” Giaritelli said. “I don’t know where I would be now if I was still living in D.C.” 

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Giaritelli was extremely grateful the Examiner allowed her to switch beats and work remotely, but she was in a “bad place for months,” and initially found it very difficult to adapt to life in a new city.  

“I’ve recovered. I’ve done a lot of work in therapy… to get to a good place,” she said. 

The journalist was eager to hear other victims speak out, not just about the crime issue and needing more police, but also about “the courts and making sure people who are a danger to the public are not released.”

But many victims remain silent, so Giaritelli decided to share her own story with an emotional social media post that began, “For people who say they don’t know a DC crime victim… Hi, I’m Anna.”

“I wanted to be part of the solution,” she said. “I think the Trump administration recognizes… this isn’t a one-off. This is a mass problem that we’ve seen for years.”

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Giaritelli plans to release a book that answers many questions she had five years ago. 

“What is it like as a victim? Are the thoughts I’m having, is the anxiety and the depression, is this all normal? Is this what people go through? And so, I wrote a book really aimed at women in particular who’ve been through sexual assault, been through different crimes, and come out and say, ‘Now what? How do I get back the rest of my life?’ And that was what I wanted to put forward,” Giaritelli said. 

Giaritelli, who was hesitant to offer her take on the Trump administration’s crackdown because of her role as a working journalist, wants Americans to understand that crime remains a serious issue in the nation’s capital. 

“I think President Trump is taking action because the people around him who live in Washington, D.C., have brought this to his attention and know that this is a major issue,” she said.