Washington, DC: District of Criminals (nickname)

The United States capital of Washington, District of Columbia (“DC”), has been nicknamed the “District of Criminals” since at least 1992. The “criminals” term usually refers to the federal government, not necessarily the local government of the district itself.
 
Other “D.C.” nicknames include “District of Confusion” (since at least 1943), “District of Corruption” (since 1951), “Da Capital” (since at least 1979), “Dot.Com” (since 1999) and “District of Cunts” (popularized on the television series Veep in 2013). “Washington Demands Cash” has been cited in print since 1958.
   
 
Wikipedia: Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C. (pronounced /ˈwɒʃɪŋtən ˌdiːˈsiː/), formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States, founded on July 16, 1790. Article One of the United States Constitution provides for a federal district, distinct from the states, to serve as the permanent national capital. The City of Washington was originally a separate municipality within the federal territory until an act of Congress in 1871 established a single, unified municipal government for the whole District. It is for this reason that the city, while legally named the District of Columbia, is known as Washington, D.C. Named in honor of George Washington, the city shares its name with the U.S. state of Washington located on the country’s Pacific coast.
 
The District is located on the north bank of the Potomac River and is bordered by the states of Virginia to the southwest and Maryland to the other sides. The city has a resident population of 599,657; because of commuters from the surrounding suburbs, its population rises to over one million during the workweek. The Washington Metropolitan Area, of which the District is a part, has a population of 5.4 million, the eighth-largest metropolitan area in the country.
 
The centers of all three branches of the federal government of the United States are located in the District, as are many of the nation’s monuments and museums. Washington, D.C. hosts 174 foreign embassies as well as the headquarters of the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Organization of American States (OAS), the Inter-American Development Bank, and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). The headquarters of other institutions such as trade unions, lobbying groups, and professional associations are also located in the District.
 
Washington, D.C., is governed by a mayor and a 13-member city council. However, the United States Congress has supreme authority over the city and may overturn local laws. Residents of the District therefore have less self-governance than residents of the states. The District has a non-voting, at-large Congressional delegate, but no senators. D.C. residents could not vote in presidential elections until the ratification of the Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1961.
   
CafePress
D.C. = District of Criminals
White T-Shirt
 
28 July 1992, Long Beach (CA) Press-Telegram, “This ‘Bo” says he knows winning White House”:
Together, he said, they will clean up Washington, DC—the district of criminals.
 
29 October 1992, Chicago (IL) Tribune, “Alternative candidates the life of their parties” by George Papajohn, Chicagoland, pg. 1:
Kathleen Kaku, the Socialist Workers candidate for U.S. Senate, denounced the “capitalist rulers” in power.
 
The Populist Party’s John Justice echoed Spiegel on abolishing the income tax and, like Kaku, railed against those in power. The D.C. in Washington, D.C., he said, stands for “District of Criminals.”
   
Google Books
Ring Around the Rosie . . . !
By Gyeorgos C. Hatonn
A Phoenix Journal
1995
Pg. 130:
Right now in the District of Columbia [aka “District of Criminals”] the crime rate is so high, young people plan for their funerals instead of their future.
 
26 August 1996, St. Albans (VT) Daily Messenger, letters to the Editor, pg. 4, col. 5:
Why the FED, Inc., of course!—in collusion with our leaders in the District of Criminals.
   
Godlike Productions
Sorter
6/24/2008 4:29 AM
Gigantic Protest March upon Washington D.C. (District of Criminals) July 12
 
Infowars.com
Cindy Sheehan Moving to District of Criminals
Jake Tapper
ABC News
October 6, 2009
She’s back and this time, she’s here to stay. Cindy Sheehan says she is moving to Washington. The anti-war activist was outside the White House for the second day in a row, with a bullhorn and a handful of protestors, shouting against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Guantanamo and calling for “health care not warfare.”