Trump calls Chicago a ‘disaster,’ to send ‘surge of federal law enforcement’
'Operation Legend' is the name of the campaign and will include members of the FBI, the U.S. Marshals, the DEA, and the Department of Homeland Security
On Wednesday, President Donald Trump announced “Operation Legend.” The executive operation will send federal law enforcement personnel into several U.S. cities to support local police in squelching crime and civil unrest.
The name of the campaign is also styled as “Operation LeGend” named after LeGend Taliferro, a four-year-old child shot and killed in Kansas City, Missouri.
READ MORE: Trump says Chicago is ‘worse than Afghanistan,’ like ‘living in hell’
One of the first cities where the operation will take place will be Chicago, Illinois.
“Today, I’m announcing a surge of federal law enforcement into American communities plagued by violent crime,” Trump said, “We’ll work every single day to restore public safety, protect our nation’s children, and bring violent perpetrators to justice. We’ve been doing it, and you’ve been seeing what’s happening all around the country. We’ve just started this process, and, frankly, we have no choice but to get involved.”
(Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
According to The Chicago Tribune, President Trump called Chicago mayor, Lori Lightfoot, to notify her of the deployment.
“Perhaps no citizens have suffered more from the menace of violent crime than the wonderful people of Chicago, a city I know very well,” Trump said on Wednesday.
“In recent weeks, there has been a radical movement to defund, dismantle, and dissolve our police departments. Extreme politicians have joined this anti-police crusade and relentlessly vilified our law enforcement heroes,” the president remarked, “To look at it from any standpoint, the effort to shut down policing in their own communities has led to a shocking explosion of shootings, killings, murders, and heinous crimes of violence. This bloodshed must end. This bloodshed will end.”
The announcement was made alongside Attorney General Bill Barr, Acting Department of Homeland Security head, Chad Wolf, and FBI director, Christopher Wray.
READ MORE: Chicago violence sparks war of words between Trump, mayor
Barr stated that hundreds of federal agents will be a part of the “surge” in the city where they will be engaged in “classic crime-fighting.”
These efforts will include investigating homicides, gangs, gun crime, and targeting drug trafficking organizations. The agents will include members of the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Department of Homeland Security.
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