What happened: A Washington, D.C., police officer on Wednesday narrowly thwarted an attempted carjacking at Union Station, where dozens of left-wing activists were protesting in favor of dramatically reduced penalties for carjacking and other crimes.
"I come out of Union Station and walk into an attempt[ed] car robbery," freelance journalist Andrew Leyden wrote in a Twitter post that included a video of the incident. "Delivery driver left car running and guy jumped in. Another person saw it and called over cop. Robber fled off, running past the D.C. Criminal Reform protest outside (seriously)."
Context: The U.S. Senate was expected to vote Wednesday on a measure to overturn controversial "crime reform" measures adopted by the D.C. city council. The criminal code revisions, approved in 2022, would reduce sentencing guidelines for crimes such as carjacking, burglary, and illegal gun possession. The Republican-led House voted in February to overturn the law, and President Joe Biden last week spoke out against D.C.'s bill as well.
"I don't support some of the changes D.C. Council put forward over the mayor's objections—such as lowering penalties for carjackings," Biden wrote on Twitter. "If the Senate votes to overturn what D.C. Council did—I'll sign it."
Following Biden's comments, the council chairman announced that the city was withdrawing the measure.