Trump card: Federal agent surge ahead of law and order theme
President Donald Trump has announced plans to send federal agents to the Democratic-run cities of Chicago and Albuquerque to crack down on violent crime as part of his “law and order” theme ahead of November’s election.
Trump, joined at a White House event by Attorney General William Barr, unveiled an expansion of the āOperation Legendā program to more cities in a further effort by federal officials to tackle violence.
āToday Iām announcing a surge of federal law enforcement into American communities plagued by violent crime,ā said Trump, a Republican who has accused Democratic mayors and governors of tolerating crime waves.
āThis bloodshed must end; this bloodshed will end,ā he said.
The program involves deploying federal law enforcement agents to assist local police in combating what the Justice Department has described as a āsurgeā of violent crime.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, both Democrats, welcomed the federal help, so long as it was to assist local law enforcement with community policing and public safety.
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Both rejected the use of federal agents for the kind of protest crackdown seen in Portland, Oregon, saying such actions would be met with legal action.
āIf the Trump administration wishes to antagonise New Mexicans and Americans with authoritarian, unnecessary and unaccountable military-style ācrackdowns,ā they have no business whatsoever in New Mexico,ā Lujan Grisham said in a statement.
Barr sought to differentiate the initiative from the use of federal agents from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to quell unrest in Portland, where local authorities have complained about the federal involvement.
Barr said the law enforcement personnel from a variety of agencies will serve as āstreetā agents and investigators who will be working to āsolve murders and take down violent gangs.ā
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āThis is different than the operations and tactical teams we use to defend against riots and mob violence,ā Barr said. āWe will continue to confront mob violence. But the operations we are discussing today are very different ā they are classic crime fighting.ā
Trump hopes his ālaw and orderā push will resonate with his political base as he trails Democrat Joe Biden in opinion polls ahead of the November 3 presidential election. But the initiative risks inflaming tensions running high in many cities in the wake of the death in police custody of George Floyd, an African-American.
Operation Legend involves federal agents from the FBI, US Marshals Service and other agencies partnering with local law enforcement.
Lightfoot said it was not unusual for federal law enforcement to work alongside local partners, but urged Chicagoans to watch for any sign that federal agents, especially DHS officers, were stepping āout of line.ā
āWe donāt need federal troops, we donāt need unnamed, secret federal agents,ā said Lightfoot, in reference to tactics used by federal personnel in Portland.
The White House has sought to focus on city crime even as Trumpās approval numbers plummet in response to his handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
-AAP
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