Operation Legend
Operation Legend is a federal law enforcement operation in the U.S. initiated by the administration of President Donald Trump. The operation was named after four-year-old LeGend Taliferro, who was shot and killed in Kansas City, Missouri, on June 29, 2020. According to the White House, Operation Legend was implemented after President Trump began deploying federal law enforcement agents to crack down on violent crime in the wake of the George Floyd protests. For Operation Legend, agents from various federal agencies were deployed to aid city and county law enforcement officers.
Background
In the early morning hours of June 29, 2020, four-year-old LeGend Taliferro was killed while he was sleeping after his apartment was shot by gunfire. The death of Taliferro occurred during a time of increased violence in Kansas City and Missouri as a whole, with at least five children being killed in Kansas City in the first six months of 2020.On July 3, 2020, Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas sent a letter to the Governor Mike Parson stating that the city was "at a crisis point" regarding to crime. Mayor Lucas called on Governor Parson to create a special legislative session in the Missouri General Assembly so Missouri could address the crime issue facing the city.
Operation
Kansas City
Five days after Mayor Lucas's letter was sent, the United States Department of Justice announced the Operation Legend initiative on July 8, 2020, to bring federal law enforcement agents to Kansas City to assist local authorities with combatting crime. During a press conference, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany cited crime statistics in Kansas City, including a forty percent increase of homicides, stating that agents from the United States Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Marshals Service, the Department of Homeland Security, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives would be deployed to the city within the next ten days.Expansion
On July 22, 2020, President Trump announced plans to expand Operation Legend to Albuquerque, Chicago, Baltimore, and Philadelphia.Politico relayed that the mayors of Baltimore, Chicago, and Philadelphia had not been contacted by the DHS, who "struggled to lower the temperature of protests" in Oregon where multiple officials said the influx of federal officers had heightened tensions. According to Reuters, a Department of Justice official said the operation was not related to the deployment of federal agents to ongoing protests in Portland, Oregon. Acting DHS Secretary Wolf, reported the Associated Press, "drew a distinction between the mission in Portland—to protect federal property—and the surges in Kansas City, Chicago and Albuquerque to help stop violence."
Later the same day, the White House released an event summary stating that the program would expand to Cleveland, Detroit, and Milwaukee, over the next three weeks.
Effects
Arrests
On July 22, 2020, Attorney General William Barr announced that more than 200 individuals were arrested during the initial operation in Kansas City, stating "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". Local authorities could not confirm the number announced by Barr, with The Kansas City Star later stating that "A Department of Justice official said the 200 arrests cited by Barr Wednesday included some dating back to December 2019, and included both state and FBI arrests in joint operations." At the time of Barr's announcement, federal agents related to Operation Legend had actually made only one publicly known arrest, according to NPR.Reactions
In Kansas City, protests occurred against the operation on July 17, 2020, with organizers calling for fifty percent of funds for the Kansas City Police Department being diverted to housing, health and education initiatives in the city. The mother of LeGend Taliferro, Charron Powell, responded to protesters stating "Operation LeGend is to investigate murders that have been unsolved and one of those is for my 4-year-old son that did not make it to 5,... and if you're against that, maybe you have to reevaluate your stance and your mentality to see what direction you're headed in".New Mexico Governor Luhan Grisham stated “If the Trump administration wishes to antagonize New Mexicans and Americans with authoritarian, unnecessary and unaccountable military-style ‘crackdowns,’ they have no business whatsoever in New Mexico.”
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said the assistance would be welcome provided that it was a genuinely collaborative partnership, but clarified in a statement in reference to tactics used by federal personnel in Portland that “We don’t need federal troops, we don’t need unnamed, secret federal agents.”
David Lapan, DHS spokesperson for the early Trump administration, expressed concern that the deployments could harm the department’s reputation, expressing that “It’s overly militaristic, it’s being seen in partisan political terms, and it’s usurping the authorities of the local law enforcement and elected officials”.
Cleveland Mayor Frank G. Jackson said on July 23, 2020, that he would have a press conference the next day regarding the federal personnel being sent to Cleveland. Ohio Governor Mike DeWine likened the operation to the usual crime-fighting partnerships between local law enforcement and the federal government, saying such relationships are “healthy.” “The idea of agents, people coming in where there’s not the consent of people locally — that would be a problem in Ohio. I don’t think that’s going to happen. We have no indication that’s going to happen,” DeWine said. At his press conference July 24, Jackson said, "‘This is not Portland'" and repeatedly saying the goal was to do nothing more than address violent crime. Still, Jackson expressed dismay that he only learned about the new Justice Department initiatives when reporters started calling the city about it, saying "that’s not how partnerships should work."
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said he supports the deployment of federal agents, as long as they are not dealing with what have been largely peaceful protests. “We have great partnerships with the U.S. Attorney, the ATF and the DEA,” Duggan said during a press briefing Wednesday, July 23. “I’ve never seen as many illegal guns on the street that we have today. If they want to have more ATF officers dealing with the illegal trafficking of guns, that would be a welcome contribution.” United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan Matthew Schneider states that Operation Legend is merely an extension of previously-announced local-federal partnerships meant to tackle violent crime. "It has nothing to do with operations that have deployed federal agents to cities like Portland, Oregon, to quell ongoing protests", said Schneider.
Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett and the Milwaukee Police Department are among those criticizing a White House plan to send federal agents to the city within the next three weeks. Attorney General Josh Kaul and Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes, who are concerned after federal agents used violent force against protesters in Portland, Oregon. "I maintain that this is a very ridiculous decision and this is a president that is trying to save himself," Barnes said during a call with WPR Friday, July 24. "The last thing we need is more militarized presence at a time like this, and on top of all of that, I just don't trust the president. If was the pilot program, we're all in trouble. The mayor of Portland, the governor of Oregon and two state senators have all called for the removal of these federal officers." Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers Thursday said he sent a letter to the president to indicate “this type of unilateral intervention has not been requested by either the City of Milwaukee or the State and is not welcome in Wisconsin.“ “I oppose that, and I sent the president a letter expressing my concern about sending agents to Milwaukee, or Madison, or anyplace in the state,” said Evers. “I have full faith and trust not only in the people in Wisconsin, but also the folks that serve in our police departments. Amping up the federal presence will, I believe, create more turmoil.”