WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump and Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Kash Patel announced that crime crackdowns resulted in the rescue of 5,400 lost children and the arrest of more than 28,000 violent criminals in the past seven months during a press conference at the White House on Oct. 15.
More than 20 federal agencies participated in a joint investigation as part of the president’s crime crackdown collaboration known as Operation Summer Heat.
“Historically, the summer months have been a time when violent crime soars ... but not under President Trump,” the president said.
“There’s still much more work to be done ... to defend law and order and combat violent crime, arrest illegal aliens, and make American cities the safest in the world.”
Agents conducted operations in all 50 states, with no publicity before they arrived, in what Trump described as the “largest law enforcement operation targeting violent criminals in American history.”
“We were in many cities that people didn’t know about,” Trump said. “We kept it a little quiet, and it had a big impact.”
Authorities arrested more than 8,000 violent criminals—including four of the nation’s most wanted fugitives, murderers, and suspects wanted for abusing children—in major cities, representing an arrest rate increase of more than 250 percent in some jurisdictions, he said.
The president pinpointed San Francisco as one of the other locations he believes need federal law enforcement support to protect the community. States and cities nationwide could soon see an influx of federal agencies, but no announcements are expected.
“We’re going to go into other cities that we’re not talking about, purposely,” Trump said. “We’re going to have a surge of strong, good people, patriots, and they’re going to go in, [they’re going to] straighten it all out.”
The administration has made reducing crime and protecting Americans from violence a priority. The president signed seven executive orders related to public safety this year.
“We’re going to save all of our cities, and we’re going to make them essentially crime-free,” Trump said.
National Guard deployments to the nation’s capital—in addition to Portland, Chicago, and Memphis—are supporting local and state law enforcement efforts.
Armed Guard members patrolling Washington are visible in groups around parks, federal buildings, and neighborhoods near Capitol Hill, among other locations.
Authorities have arrested 1,700 individuals in the city since the Trump administration declared a crime crisis in August, the president said.
“The ‘Make D.C. Safe Task Force’ has been incredible, and the ‘Make Memphis Safe Task Force’ is having similar results,” Trump said.
Results across the country are unprecedented, according to the FBI director.
“These are the best numbers for fighting crime in U.S. history, and it’s only been seven months,” Patel said.
Among other notable seizures, federal agents seized 1,900 kilograms of fentanyl, enough of the deadly opioid to kill approximately 127 million Americans, he said.
Agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives have seized more than 25,000 illegal firearms since Trump took office, according to Attorney General Pam Bondi.
She highlighted the arrest of a 70-year-old man in Memphis for allegedly raping a child younger than three years old.
“That one case makes everything we’re doing worthwhile,” Bondi said during the event.
