David Nakamura

Washington, D.C.

Reporter covering the Justice Department and civil rights.

Education: University of Missouri, bachelor of journalism

David Nakamura started at The Washington Post as a summer intern in 1992. After four years as a sports reporter, he moved to the local news staff and wrote about education in Virginia and Maryland and city government in the District. In 2004, he was part of a team that uncovered high levels of lead contamination in D.C. tap water, a series that won the 2005 Selden Ring Award for investigative reporting. He has reported from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Japan and covered the Obama and Trump White Houses.
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Latest from David Nakamura

Former Kansas detective accused of assaulting Black women is found dead

Roger Golubski, who was White, had been charged with six counts of deprivation of rights, with prosecutors alleging he abused two Black women multiple times.

December 2, 2024
Roger Golubski at the Wyandotte County Courthouse in Kansas City, Kansas, in 2022.

Pam Bondi, Trump’s AG pick, said ‘prosecutors will be prosecuted’

Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general, Pam Bondi, is a former elected state attorney general who stood by him through scandal and investigation.

November 23, 2024
Former Florida attorney general Pam Bondi, left, and former acting U.S. attorney general Matthew G. Whitaker, center back, listen as Donald Trump speaks to the news media May 21 during his trial in Manhattan over hush money payments.

Justice Dept. says Trenton, N.J., police engaged in systemic misconduct

A federal investigation concluded that the Trenton police systemically used excessive force and made unlawful stops and searches of pedestrians and motorists

November 21, 2024
Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on March 8, 2022, in Washington.

Trump’s victory has Biden Justice Dept. racing to finalize police fixes

President-elect Donald Trump has promised to abandon the Biden administration’s use of federal power to help curb excessive force and discrimination by police.

November 16, 2024
The Justice Department under Attorney General Merrick Garland has opened civil investigations into 12 state and local law enforcement agencies, including in Minneapolis.

DOJ details abuses at Atlanta jail where man was ‘neglected to death’

The Justice Department described conditions at the Fulton County Jail as dangerous, alleging such issues as inmates being denied adequate medical care.

November 14, 2024
The Fulton County Jail in Atlanta

Judge denies Missouri’s effort to block federal election monitors

A U.S. district court judge ruled against Republican leaders who sought to bar federal monitors from polling sites in St. Louis County on Election Day.

November 5, 2024
Voters visit the Park Tavern polling location to cast their ballots in primary elections on March 12 in Atlanta. (Megan Varner for The Washington Post)

Former Louisville officer convicted of violating Breonna Taylor’s rights

The Justice Department charged former Louisville police officer Brett Hankison, who fired 10 shots during the 2020 raid on Taylor’s apartment that resulted in her death.

November 1, 2024
People gather in Jefferson Square in Louisville around a memorial for Breonna Taylor on Sept. 23, 2020.

Justice Dept. to monitor elections in 86 counties, most in two decades

The federal government will send election monitors to 86 jurisdictions in 27 states, the highest number in 20 years amid fears of unlawful partisan influence.

November 1, 2024
Voters cast their ballots at a polling location in Atlanta for the primary elections in March.

GOP leaders in some states move to block Justice Dept. election monitors

The Justice Department has sent out hundreds of election monitors for decades. But GOP leaders in some states have begun to deny them entry to polling sites.

October 30, 2024
Pinellas County voters wait in line to cast their ballots at the Coliseum in St. Petersburg, Florida, on Nov. 8, 2022.

U.S. officials say Russia smeared Tim Walz, might stoke post-vote violence

U.S. officials said Russian social media influencers created and helped amplify fake videos and other false content that alleged abusive conduct by Tim Walz.

October 22, 2024
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz greets supporters following a rally in Erie, Pennsylvania, on Sept. 5.