Trump also used the occasion to rebuke the Democratic leaders of cities such as Minneapolis, Philadelphia and New York, where he linked a recent spike in violent crime to calls for drastic police reforms, including pushes to defund police departments and redirect more money toward social services.<\/p>\n

He cast the decision as a reluctant choice, though he has threatened to intervene in America\u2019s largest cities since mass protests over systemic racism and police violence first broke out in Minneapolis at the end of May.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrankly, we have no choice but to get involved,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe must remember that the job of policing the neighborhood falls on the shoulders of local elected leadership,\u201d Trump said on Wednesday, joined by the loved ones of victims of gun violence. \u201cNever forget that. When they abdicate their duty, the results are catastrophic.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAmericans must hold their city leaders accountable,\u201d he went on, a demand he said entails insisting \u201cthat community officials fully support, fully back and fully fund their local police departments.\u201d<\/p>\n

Barr and acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf took pains to differentiate Operation Legend from the deployment of federal officers currently taking place in Portland, Ore. Local officials and even former DHS secretaries<\/a> have denounced the tactics used by those agents, who are part of a DHS-led<\/a> \u201cRapid Deployment Force,\u201d according to a recent court filing.<\/p>\n

The federal agents in Portland have been shown on video clashing violently with protesters there with less-lethal projectiles and tear gas and in some cases snatching individuals from the street<\/a> in unmarked vehicles. The tactics are the subject of multiple legal challenges, and Portland politicians have demanded that the federal forces be withdrawn from the city.<\/p>\n

More than a dozen mayors preemptively <\/b>signed on to a letter<\/a> to Barr and Wolf objecting to a potential surge in their own cities and <\/b>accusing the administration of violating protesters\u2019 constitutional rights and employing \u201cunacceptable and chilling\u201d tactics while abusing federal law enforcement \u201cpurely for campaign fodder.\u201d In a similar letter to congressional leadership, the same group asked for hearings on the issue and the inclusion of language in spending bills to block taxpayer money from paying for such operations.<\/p>\n

Both of Oregon\u2019s senators and two Portland-area House members on Wednesday asked<\/a> inspectors general at both the Justice and Homeland Security departments to look into the actions of federal forces in the city.<\/p>\n

But leaders in New Mexico and Chicago suggested that they weren\u2019t totally opposed to what the administration announced. <\/b><\/p>\n

In Chicago, where Mayor Lori Lightfoot had asserted she would not allow a Portland-like force in her city, the mayor boasted that \u201cI\u2019m glad to see the president got the message.\u201d <\/b><\/p>\n

While she asserted the city would keep a close eye on the officers stationed there, Lightfoot didn\u2019t rule out the potential upside.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf those agents are here to actually work in partnership on support of gun violence and violent cases, plugging into existing infrastructure federal agents, not trying to play police in our streets, then that\u2019s something different and that may add value,\u201d she told reporters during a news conference, though she added: \u201cIt\u2019s too soon to be able to say if this is a value add or not.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her hesitant embrace of federal assistance came as her city saw 23 shootings<\/a> on Tuesday alone, including a mass shooting outside of a funeral home that injured 15. <\/b><\/p>\n

But the mayor also accused the president of targeting Democratic-led cites to \u201cdivert attention\u201d from what she called his \u201cfailure\u201d on the coronavirus pandemic, a notion that Trump rejected later on Wednesday. <\/p>\n

Gov. <\/b>Michelle Luhan Grisham of New Mexico, a Democrat, also said she would be monitoring the agents \u201cfor potential civil rights violations if and when the federal government sends officers to our state.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, she added: \u201cWe would welcome a genuine conversation about community public safety work and fighting violent crime. I hope that is the case.\u201d<\/p>\n

The agents that will be detailed under Operation Legend, Barr said on Wednesday, will be \u201cworking to solve murders and to take down the violent gangs, and they\u2019ll be working shoulder to shoulder with state and local colleagues.\u201d He too, asserted the rise in crime \u201cis a direct result of the attack on the police forces and the weakening of police forces.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a different kind of operation, obviously, than the tactical teams we use to defend against riots and mob violence,\u201d he said. \u201cWe will continue to confront mob violence,\u201d he added, calling their directive \u201cclassic crime fighting.\u201d
<\/br><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

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Trump also used the occasion to rebuke the Democratic leaders of cities such as Minneapolis, Philadelphia and New York, where he linked a recent spike in violent crime to calls for drastic police reforms, including pushes to defund police departments and redirect more money toward social services. He cast the decision as a reluctant choice,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":60858,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[792,90],"class_list":{"0":"post-60857","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"tag-announces","9":"tag-trump"},"yoast_head":"\n