Can't Even Organize a Two-Car Funeral Procession

DOJ hasn't sent out a release correcting Barr's misstatement. We know b/c @mawilner pressed them on it. And he pressed hard b/c @annaspoerre asked KCPD, FBI & U.S. attorney's office, who couldn't verify, and I talked to the mayor, who said it wasn't true. https://t.co/EwjTWFM1Gn

— Bryan Lowry (@BryanLowry3) July 23, 2020

AG Barr says:

“Just to give you an idea of what’s possible, the FBI went in very strong into Kansas City and within two weeks we’ve had 200 arrests,” Barr had said.

The facts say:  bullshit.

The number baffled many in Kansas City, including local officials who said they could not vouch for it.

Speaking with McClatchy after the Wednesday event, the senior Justice Department official clarified that the 200 figure included arrests dating back to December 2019.

It also included, the official said, both state and FBI arrests in joint operations.

Can’t find those arrests, either.

The official said Barr was referring to the number of arrests made in the city since the launch of Operation Relentless Pursuit, a precursor effort to Operation Legend that surged federal agents in U.S. cities facing crime waves, including Kansas City.

“We have made since December 2019 200 arrests in Kansas City,” the senior official said, referring to the launch of that initial operation. “Legend is essentially a continuation of that.”

Which, if you read Barr's statement carefully, is not what he said. He said within 2 weeks, not within 9 months.  As for the arrests:  still can't find 'em.  All they found was this:

Monty W. Ray, 20, of Kansas City, was arrested Friday by an Independence officer and an agent with the U.S. Marshals Service. Ray was charged Monday in federal court with being an unlawful drug user in possession of firearms, according to a criminal complaint.

My one foray into criminal law was a federal case on illegal possession of a firearm by a felon.  Basically the same crime as this one.  They could have found the guy in a room with a gun, or even a house with a gun.  My guy was caught with a gun in the package tray of a car he was driving with, IIRC, a busted taillight that got him pulled over.  He was confused, since it wasn't even his gun.  Didn't have to be; "possession" does not mean "ownership."  IOW, a very easy crime to prosecute (which does not mean it's an unimportant crime, but what are the other 624 federal agents doing?)

So this is what a surge in federal officers provided in Kansas City?  Talk about confusing a fart for a hurricane.  And this is where it gets more interesting:

The newest Kansas City operation, named for 4-year-old LeGend Taliferro, who was fatally shot June 29 when sleeping in an apartment in Kansas City, is aimed at quelling a “surge of violent crime,” Barr said earlier this month. This year is on track to be the city’s deadliest, with 110 homicides reported as of Wednesday, according to data kept by The Star that includes police shootings.

Since its announcement, Operation Legend has been met with some backlash and protests decrying the presence of federal law enforcement in Kansas City. On Thursday, the White House touted the operation as a successful federal response to violent crime.

As Operation Legend rolls out, 225 federal agents from the FBI, DEA, Marshals Service and ATF are expected to join 400 agents already working and living in the metro area, Tim Garrison, U.S. attorney for the Western District of Missouri, said at a July 15 news conference.

Yes, Trump is using the name to expand this effort into other cities:

On Wednesday, President Donald Trump announced the expansion of Operation Legend into additional cities around the country, defying local government officials who have warned that he lacked the authority to send federal agents into their streets.

Speaking from the White House, Trump said he had “no choice but to get involved” amid rising violent crime rates in several of America’s largest cities, including Albuquerque and Chicago, where Operation Legend will soon be initiated.

So he is, or he isn't, doing to the rest of the country what he did to Portland; and they're arresting 200 people for very violent crimes for which Trump has no choice but to get involved, or he's getting 1 drug user on a firearms possession charge (but not drugs?) for the 625 federal agents dispatched.  In other words, he's having no impact on the violent crime rate whatsoever.

Raise your hands, everyone who's surprised.