Barr: Murders Drop 50% in Chicago Thanks to President Trump’s Operation Legend

Murders in Chicago have dropped 50 percent thanks to President Trump’s anti-crime initiative Operation Legend, Attorney General William Barr announced on Wednesday.

“Over the first five weeks of Operation Legend, in Chicago, murders dropped by 50 percent over the previous five weeks,” Barr announced during a Wednesday update.

In the month of August, the Windy City saw a 45 percent decrease in murders compared to July and a 35 percent decrease compared to June, the attorney general continued.

“In fact, Chicago in August saw the lowest number of murders at any time since April. The bottom line is that Operation Legend has played a critical role in cutting Chicago’s murder rate roughly in half since before the operation,” Barr said:

AG Barr: Operation Legend reversed Chicago’s “dangerous spike in violence . . . murders dropped by 50%.” pic.twitter.com/DMQeZ44NJx

— Arthur Schwartz (@ArthurSchwartz) September 9, 2020

Barr announced the launch of Operation Legend, a “sustained, systematic and coordinated law enforcement initiative across all federal law enforcement agencies working in conjunction with state and local law enforcement officials to fight the sudden surge of violent crime,” in July. Officials named the operation in honor of four-year-old LeGend Taliferro, who was shot and killed in Kansas City June 29.

The operation has since expanded to several U.S. cities, including Chicago, Albuquerque, Cleveland, Detroit, Milwaukee, St. Louis, Memphis, and most recently Indianapolis. Through these joint efforts, authorities have arrested over 2,000 suspects, 592 of whom have been charged with federal crimes.

Per the Department of Justice:

In addition, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has seized 587 firearms, more than 1.2 kilos of heroin, and more than five kilos of methamphetamine; the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has seized almost 70 kilos of methamphetamine, more than 16 kilos of heroin, more than 7 kilos of fentanyl, more than 12 kilos of cocaine, 268 firearms, and approximately $5.19 million in drug proceeds; the FBI has recovered 241 weapons; and, the U.S. Marshals Service has recovered 169 firearms and made 1,810 arrests, including 163 for homicide and 120 for sexual assault.

According to the latest update, 124 individuals have been charged with federal crimes in Chicago alone — the highest number of any city in the operation thus far. That includes:

• 30 defendants have been charged with narcotics-related offenses;
• 90 defendants have been charged with firearms-related offenses; and
• 4 defendants have been charged with other violent crimes.

Additionally, 123 defendants have been charged with federal crimes in St. Louis, 113 in Kansas City, 66 in Cleveland, 45 in Albuquerque, 58 in Detroit, 31 in Indianapolis, and 16 in both Memphis and Milwaukee.