Attorney General William Barr on Wednesday announced that Operation Legend, a Trump administration initiative to combat violent crime that started in July, has led to more than 5,000 arrests, according to a Department of Justice statement, The Daily Caller reports.
Since the start of the controversial operation, more than 5,000 individuals have been arrested in nine cities, of the 5,000 approximately 1,057 have been charged with federal offenses. Approximately 568 of those defendants have been charged with firearms offenses, while approximately 411 have been charged with drug-related crimes and approximately 247 for homicide.
According to the statement, over 2,000 firearms have been seized; and nearly 22 kilos of heroin, more than 15 kilos of fentanyl (enough to deliver more than 7.5 million fatal doses), more than 130 kilos of methamphetamine, more than 28 kilos of cocaine, and more than $7.3 million in drug proceeds have been seized.
Operation Legend has reached into states such as New Mexico, Missouri, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Tennessee, and Indiana.
During a roundtable discussion with law enforcement Wednesday morning, Barr applauded the crime-fighting effort in St. Louis where Operation Legend began in August, and the city has seen a 49% decrease in homicides and rapes have decreased 38% since then, according to Barr.
The operation was named after LeGend Taliferro, a 4-year-old who was shot and killed June 29 while sleeping in his Kansas City home.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) launched “Operation Legend” with local and federal law enforcement to target violent crimes, which includes investigating LeGend Taliferro’s case in this operation.
According to The Daily Caller, this year, Kansas City has seen a 40 percent increase of homicides compared to last year. President Donald Trump promised to protect cities that have high rates of violent crimes and stated “Help is on its way.” Attorney General William P. Barr announced the start of the operation on July 8, 2020.