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Attorney General Pam Bondi said Wednesday that federal authorities have made 1,700 arrests in Memphis since the Trump administration took over oversight of law enforcement operations there one month ago.
The arrests come as part of President Donald Trump’s initiative to deploy the National Guard and a federal task force to the city, which has the highest violent crime rate per capita in the United States. The operation marks the first expansion of Trump’s Washington, D.C., crime crackdown into another major city.
Bondi said the arrests include 126 alleged gang members. She added that the task force has seized nearly 300 firearms and located about seven dozen children during the effort.
“Tolerating crime is a choice. Under President Trump, we choose law and order: residents of our cities do not have to live in fear of violent crime,” Bondi told Fox News. “Our federal surge into Memphis has put gang members behind bars, rescued dozens of children, and proven that collaboration between federal and local law enforcement can quickly make American cities safe again.
“I am grateful to all of our partners, especially Memphis leadership, for working closely alongside our agents,” she added.
The federal task force includes agents from the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. National Guard troops have been stationed in Memphis since Sept. 29 to support local police operations.
Administration officials have said the program could expand to other cities with persistently high crime rates if the initial results in Memphis continue.
President Trump signed an order last month to counter high crime in the city.
“The city, a beacon of American culture that was Elvis’s home and is often called the birthplace of rock and roll and the blues, should be safe and secure for all of its citizens and Americans who visit its historic landmarks such as Graceland, Beale Street, and the Memphis Pyramid,” the order reads.
“To restore public safety and order, State and local leaders have requested Federal assistance, and I will act quickly to ensure that Federal authorities assist Memphis law enforcement to the fullest possible extent,” the order added.