Scenes from the UFC Freedom 250 press conference at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., Friday, June 12, 2026. (Official White House photo by Molly Riley)

Around the country, there have been many reports of large groups of teenagers suddenly gathering in public spaces, causing sometimes violent chaos, then quickly dispersing before the authorities come. The trend, coined “teen takeovers,” is spurred on by communication on social media apps which are used to plan the events as well as make them go viral. Teen takeovers are anticipated to increase as schools let out for the summer.

Chicago, New York, Milwaukee, Tampa, Orlando, and Atlanta have all reported takeovers. Rather than being a regional issue, experts who spoke to NBC theorized that the rise in takeovers is likely related to social isolation, as the teenagers of this generation were middle schoolers during COVID and grew up in a digital world.

The response from local officials has varied. While D.C. has reportedly involved the FBI, a New Jersey beach has said SWAT teams are at their disposal. Florida officers have emphasized preventing teen takeovers by tracking social media, after one takeover, planned for St. Augustine’s Beach, was halted by reports of its plans. “This really started with our community reporting social media chatter. We took that, and we embedded our analyists into this chatter, and basically started monitoring to see what they were doing, where they were moving at,” St. Johns County Sheriff Robert Hardwick said.

The nation’s capital has become the face of the issue, as a series of reports and videos show teen takeovers and tense relations between teenagers and law enforcement taking place in the Navy Yard neighborhood. The D.C. government now intends to utilize school records, criminal charges against parents, and curfew laws to get the situation under control. The situation is bleeding into the biggest mayoral race D.C. has had in years, as Mayor Muriel Bowser is stepping down after her third term in office.

Mayoral candidates are divided on whether they support curfew laws. It’s the first time D.C. is using ranked-choice voting, and the race is tight between Democratic primary candidates Kenyan McDuffie and Janeese Lewis George, with Lewis George taking the lead although McDuffie is favored by the ranking system.

Lewis George doesn’t support the curfews. She said, “I have voted for the youth curfew in the past. But I am against extending the curfew currently because Trump’s National Guard and federal armed agents are spread across D.C. and enforcing the curfew against our kids.”

Along with promises of community hubs, jobs, resources, and after-school programs, Lewis George is committed to hiring more police and rebuilding trust between the police and the communities they serve.

“As a mom, the last thing I want is to hand over one of our children to the same agents who have terrorized our neighbors and are not accountable to D.C,” she stated.

McDuffie, however, supports the curfews, saying that “Government has a responsibility to act when large groups overwhelm public spaces and put residents at risk.” Like Lewis George, McDuffie also promoted after school programs, summer jobs, and mentorship as solutions.

Early voting for the election began Monday.

Bowser has instituted a series of curfews for youth in Washington, D.C. The latest, which ended June 6, applies to groups of youths under 18 after 8 p.m. The order has been expanded from the Juvenile Curfew Act of 1995, which applied to juveniles under 17 years of age between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m.

The latest curfew followed a recent teen takeover in Navy Yard, part of which was captured on video and went viral. In the video, a group of teenagers, some with covered faces, fight and throw chairs at each other inside a Chipotle restaurant. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said that in response to the Chipotle takeover, her team would review social media videos to identify the teens involved.

RealClearPolitics conducted a series of street interviews outside the Chipotle in Navy Yard.

“It was a tough call for the council and the mayor to have to make those kinds of decisions. I personally think it’s helping. I think it’s worthwhile to have the curfews in place. I just think it’s unfortunate that it’s necessary,” said Sybil, 54, who works for a credit union in Navy Yard.

Sybil told RCP she has “mixed feelings” about the curfews. “I think it’s really unfortunate that you’ve gotten to a place where you have to put that kind of restriction on young people because I think it means … [there is] a lack of family values that ordinarily would keep young people occupied and engaged.”

The curfews often target neighborhoods where teen takeovers have happened. One example is Union Station, where a teen takeover that lasted less than 10 minutes in October led to destroyed property, an injured employee, and the loss of around $200 worth of merchandise at the Gallery Place movie theater. The Chinatown and Union Station areas have since become curfew zones.

As for whether people are worried about their safety in Navy Yard, Sybil disagreed. “Honestly, no … [The president] posted the National Guard here, unfortunately, last year and I do think that helps.” However, Sybil is unsure whether the National Guard’s presence helps with the takeovers because she doesn’t know if they are present when the takeovers happen.

Jere Jones, 58, also works in Navy Yard. She disagreed with Sybil’s assertion that people normally feel safe in Navy Yard. Her only comment to RCP was, “I just wish it was safer – the area. That’s all.”

Pirro responded to the Chipotle incident by reaching out to D.C. Public Schools for student attendance records to help identify the students involved. DCPS rejected the request and said it will only release the records if ordered to do so by a judge. In a statement, DCPS said, “We want the District’s families to be assured that we take our responsibility to protect student data seriously and will only share educational records when required by a lawful court order.”

While in favor of the curfews, Sybil said Pirro’s request for DCPS attendance records in response to the Chipotle teen takeover went too far. “There’s so many reasons why youth don’t attend school…and just because they’re not in school does not mean they’re out doing something mischievous,” she said. Sybil also pointed out that it’s possible many of the teens involved in the takeovers were coming from schools outside the city.

Pirro has also announced her intention to begin prosecuting parents of teens involved in takeovers for contributing to the delinquency of a minor. If found guilty, parents could face up to six months in jail.

Edward, 68, who owns an insurance agency in Navy Yard, told RCP the teen takeovers do not affect him much because they usually happen on weekends, when he is at home. Still, he said he supports Pirro’s decision to prosecute parents of teenagers involved in takeovers and called the government-issued curfews “probably the best they can do.”

Heightened tensions between the government and teenagers in Navy Yard can be seen in an April video taken during curfew hours, which shows an officer yelling down the Navy Yard metro escalator “Come up! See what happens … Go ahead! Try it! … We’re coming!” and laughing. The video later shows the same officer pulling two girls off a bike. The girls shout, “What are you doing? Why are you grabbing me?” The curfew at the time applied to groups of nine or more youths under 18 years old.

Businesses in the D.C. area have also started imposing their own age restrictions. While not a curfew, DC USA, which is the “largest retail development in the District of Columbia” according to its website, now has a sign by the entrance which says, “All visitors to DC USA under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult.” The Columbia Heights shopping center is home to Target, Bed Bath & Beyond, Petco, Old Navy, Chick-fil-a, Lidl and more. RealClearPolitics reached out to DC USA about the rule but has not received a response.

The mayoral Democratic primary results are expected to take longer than usual because of the process of ranked-choice voting. The last day mail-in ballots can be received is June 26, meaning the result will not be until after then. In the meantime, there is no apparent move to replace the Mayor’s Order curfew that expired on June 6.

This article was originally published by RealClearPolitics and made available via RealClearWire.