Prince George’s County Executive to announce National Harbor curfew: sources

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. - Later Thursday morning, multiple sources tell FOX 5’s Stephanie Ramirez, Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks is expected to announce an emergency executive order that would implement a 5 p.m. curfew on weekends at National Harbor with exceptions. 

The emergency order will be temporary. Sources say it’s meant to have something in place until an emergency Prince George’s juvenile curfew bill goes through its legislative process to become law.

Councilmember Edward Burroughs, whose district includes National Harbor, announced the juvenile curfew bill last week. He and others elevated it to an emergency bill after disturbing videos surfaced, showing the fighting and chaos at National Harbor this past weekend, after hundreds of teens had gathered. 

National Harbor

"It’s unacceptable for parents to essentially drop their kids off when they’re not acting right. It’s also unacceptable when a young person commits a crime, especially a violent crime … it’s unacceptable for a parent to refuse to pick up their child once they’re obtained by law enforcement. That’s unacceptable, so we’re going to hold parents accountable," said Burroughs, who claims this has been a long-standing issue at the Harbor. 

Burroughs claims that as of Thursday morning, he had not spoken with the county executive about her emergency order, even though it’s his understanding, the executive order essentially mirrors his emergency bill. He does agree that National Harbor – what lawmakers say is the "economic driver" of Prince George’s County – needs to be protected. 

The current curfew for teens 16-years-old and older begins at around midnight on weekends.

The councilmember’s emergency bill would allow business owners to ban together and apply for a curfew as early as 5 p.m. in their commercial spaces. It would apply to the entire county and would give parents and/or guardians a first warning before fines are instituted for the offenses.

National Harbor

Sources also tell FOX 5 the emergency order would increase punishments for parents and/or guardians, possibly charging up to $250 and charging what it costs to have an employee watch the juvenile, if it takes longer than an hour to pick up that juvenile once called. 

Sources also affirmed the executive order will only apply to National Harbor. 

Council Chair Jolene Ivey told FOX 5 these are not just county children gathering and that this is something the entire region should be paying attention to. 

Stick with FOX 5 on this developing story…