Ohio Rep. Anthony Gonzalez says he’d like for President Donald Trump’s strategy on sending federal agents into U.S. cities to be “clearly articulated,” but understands why Cleveland is on the list.
“I think it’s important for the strategy to be clearly articulated but also to make a distinction between what I see is going on in Portland versus what I understand is going to happen in Cleveland,” Gonzalez, a Republican, said during an interview on Newsmax TV’s “Spicer & Co.” on Thursday.
“In Cleveland, it’s a continuation of Operation Relentless Pursuit, which was announced back in December alongside our local police department and law enforcement and really in partnership to crack down on crime in our city and I think that’s appropriate and frankly, assuming that’s what it is, I would be very supportive of that as I imagine our city leaders would be.”
“Operation Legend,” which Trump announced on July 8, is a law enforcement effort aimed at cracking down on violent crime in the wake of the George Floyd protests.
“The effort to shut down police in their own communities has led to a shocking explosion of shootings, killing, violence, murders,” Trump said during a speech in the White House’s East Room Wednesday discussing the expansion of the effort. “This rampage of violence shocks the conscience of our nation and we will not stand by and watch it happen.”
Portland was the first city to see the arrival of federal officers in an effort that has attracted widespread criticism – camouflaged federal agents are patrolling streets and making arrests as part of their “mission” to protect federal buildings – though DHS said the mission in Portland is “to protect federal property and our law enforcement officers. In Chicago, the mission is to protect the public from violent crime on the streets.”
In Cleveland, Operation Relentless Pursuit was launched late last year with a focus on reducing violent crime by investing $71 million in federal grants.
U.S. Attorney General William Barr in December said Cleveland was the 6th most violent city in the country, with a murder rate 4-1/2 times higher than the national average.
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Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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