D.C.’s emergency curfew for young people is set to expire during spring break, sparking even more concern from officials about youth “takeovers” in the District as the weather gets warmer.
The D.C. Council will consider emergency legislation Tuesday to prevent the curfew from expiring on April 15 and extend it through Sept. 25.
Several gatherings of young people, dubbed “teen takeovers,” have resulted in violence in recent years, including on Halloween, several weeks after the 2025 emergency summer curfew expired. D.C. officials reinstated the curfew shortly after the Halloween chaos resulted in fights, traffic disruptions and arrests.
On March 14, about 200 people congregated in Navy Yard. That evening, someone fired a gun into the air, multiple people were robbed and two teens were arrested, police said.
The citywide curfew states those under 18 can’t be out in public or at an establishment in D.C. from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m., with some exceptions. It also allows D.C. police to designate certain areas as juvenile curfew zones, where those under 18 cannot gather in a group of nine or more. Those zones can prohibit minors from gathering after 8 p.m., ahead of the general citywide curfew.
Since it’s an emergency measure, extending the curfew legislation past April 15 would require approval from nine council members. A permanent curfew would only require seven votes.
“We had a hearing in the Judiciary Committee, and we’re going to be marking up that bill soon, and it will move through the body,” Ward 2 Council member Brooke Pinto told WTOP. “The emergency legislation requires nine votes, and my hope is that my colleagues agree that we need to extend this authority, especially as the weather gets nicer and warmer. This is when we tend to see more of these ‘youth takeovers’ in certain areas of the city.”
Pinto is confident she would have the votes to pass a permanent curfew law, but she said she’s not so sure about Tuesday’s vote.
“I’m still working to persuade my colleagues,” she said.
Speaking at a news conference Monday, Mayor Muriel Bowser told reporters now is not the time to let the emergency legislation expire.
“I don’t know why you would want to take away a tool that we need going into spring break and the summer. To me, it would be absolutely ludicrous,” Bowser said.
She also expressed frustration at the need for the council to continuously reconvene and approve emergency legislation in order for the curfew to remain in place.
“I think the council should stop playing games with this. This is a tool that we need. We’re going to keep coming back every 90 days, and you’re going to keep asking me the same question. We need it. We’re going to come back 90 days from now, stop playing games and move to permanent,” Bowser said.
Some council members, including Robert White and Zachary Parker, have expressed apprehension toward a permanent curfew, viewing the temporary curfews that have been implemented and reinstated over the course of more than a year as a temporary response.
White has expressed the need for more youth services and vocational programs, something he said would be a better long-term fix to the rise in disorderly teen gatherings.
“I don’t think we have enough focus there,” he said during a separate vote on youth curfews in December. “I think passing this youth curfew let’s us off the hook for doing that work, which is critical for reducing juvenile crime.”
Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.
© 2026 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.
