In Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser signed an emergency order on Friday to reinstate a mandatory teen curfew for the next 15 days until the D.C. Council‘s long-term measure to crack down on unruly youth takes effect in mid-July, pending congressional review.
The order implements a citywide curfew for teenagers under 18 at 11 p.m., starting Friday night. It also empowers the Metropolitan Police Department chief to designate teen curfew zones, beginning at 8 p.m., when at least nine youths gather.
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The curfew, which comes right before Memorial Day weekend, will last until June 6. The last time Bowser authorized a 15-day emergency order for teen curfews was in mid-April after the council let it expire.
The latest measure comes days after a group of young boys attacked each other in the middle of a Chipotle restaurant in Navy Yard, a neighborhood notoriously known for its “teen takeovers” and rampant petty crime in general. Footage of the brawl quickly spread online, prompting the Trump administration to weigh in.
Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, doubled down on her call to prosecute parents who do not supervise their troublemaking children. If their children engage in delinquent acts, the parents will be subjected to six months in prison and a minimum $500 fine per curfew violation under D.C. law.
Bowser’s office cited the violent Navy Yard incident in writing the new order.
“Police were aware that a teen takeover in Navy Yard was advertised and responded quickly to the violence at Chipotle,” the five-page order states. “But if the Chief of Police had had the power to designate an extended curfew zone, police could have ordered groups of juveniles to disperse before they went to Chipotle.”
“Footage of unruly groups of youth, such as the individuals dressed in black wearing masks while fighting and hurling chairs at Chipotle, harm the District’s reputation as a safe and fun place for visitors and residents alike and deter some visitors and residents from coming out and enjoying all the District has to offer,” the document adds.
Since the viral incident, Bowser has called on the city’s lawmakers to pass an emergency bill to reinstate teen curfews until the permanent version goes into effect on July 16.
The D.C. Council passed the measure earlier this month, sending it to Congress for a 30-day review. If granted congressional approval, the legislation would effectively operate the same as Bowser’s newest emergency order.
The council could take up the mayor’s request for an emergency teen curfew bill again on June 2, but it may not go anywhere, as past attempts have failed in the local legislative body.
