With Chicago’s out of control homicide rate not slowing down and its leadership playing politics rather than actually leading, President Donald Trump and Attorney General Bill Barr have decided to expand the “law and order” project known as “Operation Legend” into Chicago.
“This bloodshed must end, this bloodshed will end,” Trump said during a speech at the White House.
“Today I am announcing a surge of federal law enforcement into American communities plagued by violent crime,” he announced.
Trump said that due to the rate of homicides and crime in Chicago, he felt the federal government has no choice but to get involved.
“Today I’m announcing a surge of federal law enforcement into American communities plagued by violent crime. We’ll work every single day to restore public safety,” Pres. Trump says at news conference on protests. https://t.co/I6Cmz7Ykp1 pic.twitter.com/vw3rANaaVC
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) July 22, 2020
According to Fox News, the move is meant to actually make a difference in Chicago’s shocking murder and crime rate by moving federal agents from multiple departments into the city:
The Department of Justice said the operation is meant to curb a spike in violent crime in the city, where there have been more than 100 homicides this year.
Federal law enforcement officers currently working out of Chicago, including FBI officials, U.S. Marshalls, DEA and ATF, will be “loaned” to the Justice Department to help fight crime as part of the program. The Chicago expansion is expected to involve about 100 federal law enforcement officers, with the same plan for Albuquerque.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot is likely going to put up a fight. On Tuesday, she tweeted out that she would not “allow Donald Trump’s troops to come to Chicago and terrorize our residence.”
Under no circumstances will I allow Donald Trump’s troops to come to Chicago and terrorize our residents.
— Mayor Lori Lightfoot (@chicagosmayor) July 21, 2020
The tweet was met with an entire wave of pushback as Chicago was already in the throes of a mass shooting that injured 15 people at a funeral. The shooting was gang-related according to police. Lightfoot’s response has been, so far, to make this about resistance to Trump instead of solving the actual problem.
Trump has likened Democrat-run cities to to “war zones” and has been dropping clues here and there as to his plans to intervene federally.
“They’re supposed to be asking for help and they don’t want to ask, so maybe they’re proud or maybe they think it’s bad politically, but we can’t have happen what’s happening,” Trump said.
“We’re going to straighten things out,” he added.
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