MILWAUKEE, Wisc., (SPECTRUM NEWS) -- Wisconsin’s U.S. Attorney for the state’s Eastern District is responding to concerns regarding federal agents being deployed to Milwaukee.
This is on the heels of President Trump’s announcement to send a “surge of federal law enforcement to American communities plagued by violent crime.”
One of those cities will be Milwaukee.
US Attorney Matthew Krueger says the initiative is part of ongoing partnerships with state and local law enforcement. He says the deployment of federal agents is not a response to recent protests.
“The sorts of agents who will come to and who all already working in Milwaukee and have been for months are agents from FBI, DEA, the ATF, the Marshall Service,” says Krueger. “These are trained investigators who solve violent crimes.”
Those crimes include drug and gun trafficking and homicides. Krueger says 40 additional people have been shot in Milwaukee in recent months, compared to the same time last year.
The initiative is called Operation Legend, named after a 4-year-old boy who was shot and killed in Kansas City.
Krueger says agents will not patrol the street arresting those peacefully exercising their First Amendment rights.
“We cherish our First Amendment rights to protest and speak peacefully and the federal agencies here are professionals who will protect and allow peaceful protests to happen in our city,” he says. “That’s entirely allowed within our democracy.”
ACLU of Wisconsin’s executive director Chris Ott says he and other social justice organizations are concerned that these agents will cause further violence. This stems from recent unrest in Portland, Oregon.
“Federal forces have operated so violently and so recklessly in Portland that local authorities have demanded their removal and we don’t want to see this a repeat of this failed and chaotic approach here in Wisconsin,” Ott says. “Just last night, a federal judge issued a restraining order against the federal agents in Portland, saying they can’t target journalists and legal observers who have been at the protests.”
Krueger responds to the community’s concerns regarding Portland:
“Federal agents from the Customs and Border Patrol Agency, a different agency, were working with the Federal Protective Service because the federal courthouse in Portland had been repeatedly damaged and vandalized,” Krueger says. “They were there to protect that federal property and that’s very different from Milwaukee.”
Milwaukee Police Chief Alfonso Morales released a video statement, saying in part:
“The Milwaukee Police Department is aware of the deployment of federal agents to other cities for the purpose of providing support to those agencies as they address civil unrest,” Morales says. “We, the Milwaukee Police Department, did not request and respectfully decline the deployment of federal agents to Milwaukee for those purposes.”
Senator Ron Johnson issued the following statement:
“We should welcome additional federal resources, both dollars and law enforcement officers, to help reduce violent crime and drug trafficking. No one is talking about sending an occupying force. It is disappointing that some are suggesting this is anything other than an effort to combat crime.”
Krueger says additional details regarding how many agents will be deployed to Milwaukee and when will be made available as soon as possible.