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President Donald Trump and FBI Director Kash Patel announced on Wednesday that the agency has arrested more than 8,000 “dangerous criminals” as part of a nationwide crime crackdown known as “Operation Summer Heat,” including hundreds accused of crimes against children.
According to the bureau, 792 of those arrested were accused of violent offenses involving minors. The operation focused on major cities across the United States and drew little public attention from the White House or other federal officials.
“We kept it a little quiet,” President Donald Trump said. “And it had a big impact.”
Trump made the remarks during a press conference alongside FBI Director Kash Patel, praising the effort as part of his broader strategy to restore safety in urban areas.
“You can have a child walk through the middle of Washington DC and nothing’s gonna happen,” Trump said.
“So many people – they’re going out to dinner. They didn’t go out for 4 years. Now they’re going out. Restaurants are opening, are full – usually that means good things!”
Patel noted the arrests as the “best numbers” in American history.
“In just seven months…these are the best numbers for fighting crime in US history. And it’s only seven months in. And to do that, our vehicle to do it, of choice was Operation Summer Heat, which the FBI architected to go after violent criminals. And in just a three-month span, you had 8,700 arrests of violent criminals,” said Patel.
“You had 2,200 firearms seized off the streets permanently to safeguard our communities. You had 421 kilograms of fentanyl seized. Just to put that in perspective, that’s enough to kill 55 million Americans alone. You had 45,000 kilograms of cocaine seeds, and thanks to our Department of Justice partners, you had 2,100 indictments in three months from June to September alone,” he continued.
Earlier this year, the president federalized law enforcement in Washington, D.C., to combat crime and illegal immigration. He has since expanded similar efforts to cities including Memphis, Tennessee, and Chicago, Illinois.
