D.C. Order Expanded Juvenile Curfew Authority in May and June
Mayor Muriel Bowser issued an emergency order that expanded the District’s authority to impose curfews on people under 18 after incidents at Gallery Place and Navy Yard.
Mayor’s Order 2026-086 established an 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew for people under 18 for a stated 15-day period beginning May 22, 2026. The citywide emergency-curfew period ended June 6.
The order also authorized the chief of the Metropolitan Police Department to create temporary curfew zones with an earlier 8 p.m. start time. That provision gave police a way to impose tighter restrictions in selected commercial or entertainment areas rather than applying the earlier hour across the District.
What the order cited
The order linked the emergency declaration to youth-disorder incidents in two prominent Washington areas.
At a Gallery Place movie theater, the order described property destruction, approximately $200 in stolen merchandise and an employee being struck with a water bottle. It also cited a May 16 incident at Navy Yard involving violence at a Chipotle.
The order said MPD had designated 19 curfew zones in 2026 and that nine total curfew violations had occurred in active zones. Those figures were presented as part of the justification for the expanded authority.
The order’s cited incidents are descriptions in the mayoral document. It does not, by itself, provide a full set of police incident records or a broader accounting of youth-related disorder across the city.
How the curfew authority worked
Under the emergency order, the regular restriction covered people under 18 between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. during the 15-day period. In an extended curfew zone, the authorized start time was 8 p.m.
The distinction matters for neighborhoods such as Gallery Place and Navy Yard, where restaurants, entertainment venues and other businesses draw evening crowds. A zone designation could move the beginning of the restriction several hours earlier in a specific area.
The action was a government response to reported incidents, not a finding that every young person in the affected areas had participated in wrongdoing. The order set out the authority and restrictions; it did not establish that the policy reduced crime citywide.
What happens next
The emergency period specified in the order has ended. The order itself does not establish whether the expanded authority remained in force under any later legislation or extension, so the document should not be read as confirming that the same emergency curfew was active after June 6.
The District’s action came as federal prosecutors also announced enforcement measures targeting teen takeovers in Washington. Together, the announcements reflected a broader law-enforcement response to incidents involving young people, but the mayor’s order was the measure that set the specific local curfew hours and zone authority described here.
Sources
- Mayor’s Order 2026-086: Declaration of a Public Emergency and Limited Juvenile Curfew, Government of the District of Columbia
- U.S. Attorney Announces New Enforcement Measures Targeting Teen Takeovers, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia
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