'No choice': Trump sends federal forces to Democratic-run cities

US President Donald Trump intends to send significant federal forces to American cities to suppress crime as part of Operation Legend, reports Air force.

Photo: Shutterstock

Speaking at the White House, Trump said he had no choice but to send hundreds of federal law enforcement officers to Chicago and other cities ruled by Democratic mayors and engulfed in rioting.

Additional forces will also be deployed to Albuquerque and Kansas City. Earlier federal law enforcement was deployed to Portland. The mayor of the city said that this only worsened the already difficult situation with the protests.

US Attorney General William Barr, who joined Trump at the press conference, said about 200 federal agents were sent to Kansas City, about the same will follow in Chicago and about 35 agents will travel to Albuquerque.

The government is also providing more than $ 60 million in federal grants that will go towards hiring more police officers in cities that are experiencing a spike in crime.

Barr said the increased federal law enforcement presence meant tackling "classic crime" as opposed to deploying Homeland Security agents to Portland to combat riots and street lawlessness.

Against the backdrop of the upcoming elections, Trump decided to bet on intolerance for violations of the law.

After the death of a black American, George Floyd, who was detained in Minneapolis, a wave of protests swept across the country, many of which escalated into riots and pogroms.

At the same time, armed crime rates rose sharply in some major cities, including New York, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Chicago and Milwaukee.

The president, accusing Democrats of being weak and failing to curb a surge in crime, said: “In recent weeks, we have seen a radical movement toward defunding, disarming and dismantling our police.”

On the subject: Mayors urge Trump to withdraw federal troops from major US cities

The result, he said, was a shocking explosion in gunfights, murders, violent deaths and other heinous violent crimes.

“This bloodbath must stop. And it will be stopped,” the head of state added.

On July 22, federal agents fired tear gas and stun grenades against demonstrators in Portland, where unrest has lasted for 54 days.

The police used special means to disperse the demonstrators gathered outside the federal court building.

Federal agents have been accused of traveling around Portland for wearing full protective gear in unmarked vehicles and arbitrarily detaining protesters.

Chicago Mayor Laurie Lightfoot reported. that federal forces will arrive in the city to strengthen the local police.

“We are open to true partnership, but we do not accept dictatorship,” the mayor said at a news conference, warning that the methods used in Portland will not be tolerated.

Trump has repeatedly referred to the issue of armed violence in Chicago.

“This rampage of violence is shocking to the public conscience,” he said on July 22.

The dispatch of federal forces to Chicago was preceded by a serious incident in which several people were shot and wounded at a local funeral home. The attack is associated with the showdown of local gangs.

In Kansas, where federal agents are also heading, a four-year-old boy named LeJend Taliferro was shot dead in his bed in June. The current crime-fighting operation was named after him, Trump said.

“No mother should hold her dead child because politicians refuse to do what is necessary to keep their community or their city safe,” the president said.

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According to the Kansas City Star, if current trends continue, 2020 will be a record year for murders in Kansas. Since the beginning of the year, 110 people have been killed in Kansas City and another 50 in its suburbs.

In Chicago, homicides are up 34% year over year, according to the local press.

A 2018 FBI study found that Albuquerque's violent crime rate is 3,7 times the nationwide. The number of murders and rapes in the city is twice as high as the national average.

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