Operation Legend is proving to be a success, Attorney General Bill Barr declared Wednesday.
The attorney general confirmed that 2,500 arrests have so far been made in the federal law enforcement operation, which he credited with slashing Chicago’s murder rate in half, the Washington Examiner reported.
“Operation Legend is working”
Barr launched Operation Legend in July to help fight crime in America’s cities, many of which have seen an increase in homicides this year. Against a backdrop of summer unrest, Barr declared the operation a triumph for law and order that is saving lives and putting violent criminals behind bars.
“Operation Legend is working,” he said, speaking in Chicago, according to the Examiner. “Crime is down and order is being restored to this great American city.”
Just this weekend, an 8-year-old girl was gunned down in the Windy City as Chicago reels from habitual gun violence. But Barr hailed on Wednesday progress that has been since Operation Legend started, pointing to a 50% drop in murders in Chicago since July, one of the city’s deadliest months in recent history.
There were 105 murders in July, compared to 63 in August, according to the Chicago Tribune.
“The results of those actions speak for themselves: over the first five weeks of Operation Legend in Chicago, murders dropped by 50% over the previous five weeks. August ultimately saw a 45% decrease in murders compared to July, and a 35% decrease compared to June,” Barr said, according to Fox News.
A win for law and order
There have also been 500 arrests in Chicago alone, and 600 people face federal charges, Barr reported Wednesday.
“Bringing federal charges is significant because defendants arrested for violent crimes are often detained before trial, unlike state defendants who are too often released,” the attorney general said, according to Fox. “In addition, federal defendants will face serious sentences if convicted, with a real possibility of long-term imprisonment…knowing that, many of the arrestees cooperate with the government and lead to even more violent offenders.”
The operation has sent 1,000 federal agents to Albuquerque, Cleveland, Detroit, Indianapolis, Memphis, Milwaukee, St Louis, and Kansas City, and Chicago. Almost half of them are in Chicago.
According to Fox, the mission is named for 4-year-old LeGend Taliferro, a Kansas City boy who was killed in his sleep by a stray bullet.
“The purpose of the operation was to make clear that his life mattered, his name should be remembered, and other innocent victims like him, including the 8-year-old girl killed in Chicago on Labor Day, should not suffer such senseless death,” Barr said Wednesday.
The post Barr declares success in Operation Legend: 'Order is being restored' first appeared on Conservative Institute.
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