Attorney General Merrick Garland has warned that as the United States continues to combat the “scourge of violent crime,” we are “witnessing an extremely alarming surge in threats to those who serve the public.”
Garland will speak Friday in Washington, D.C., with leaders from the Department of Justice's law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, ATF, DEA, and U.S. Marshals Service, to combat violent crime and improve criminal threats against public officials. We talked about prosecution and deterrence.
“Violent crime is not only a threat to people's physical safety, but also a threat to people's ability to live their daily lives freely. Violent crime isolates people and communities. Violent crime disrupts our public life. “If not addressed, it could undermine people's trust in government and each other,” Garland said.
“Our department and our state and local partners will not rest until every community in this country is safe from the scourge of violent crime,” he continued. “At the same time that we are seeing a downward trend in violent crime, we are also seeing a very alarming spike in threats to those who serve the public.”
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Attorney General Merrick Garland testifies before the House Judiciary Committee in Washington, D.C., in September. (AP/Jose Luis Magana)
Garland said the FBI showed a 6% decline in homicides nationwide from 2021 to 2022, while the Metropolitan Police Executives Association showed double-digit declines in homicides in 69 major cities through September 2023. He pointed out that it was reported that In the same period of 2020.
But “now is not the time to relax our efforts,” he said. “We still have a lot of work to do.”
“In May 2021, we launched a violent crime reduction strategy aimed at addressing the surge in violent crime that occurred during the pandemic,” Garland told reporters. “Central to that strategy is our partnership, partnerships among federal law enforcement agencies to help fight violent crime, partnerships with state and local law enforcement agencies tasked with protecting our communities; and the importance of partnership with the local community itself.”
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Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., said he was the victim of a series of threatening voicemails last month. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc, via Getty Images)
Garland said that in the final months of last year, the Justice Department “made violent threats against FBI agents, federal judges, including Supreme Court justices, presidential candidates, members of Congress, members of the military, and election officials.” We have investigated and prosecuted individuals.” . ”
“Just this week, several bomb threats were made to courthouses across the country. The U.S. Marshals Service, FBI, and state and local partners are actively investigating these bomb threats, which constitute serious crimes.” added Garland. “And just yesterday, we arrested and charged a person who threatened to kill members of Congress and their children.”
Attorney General Merrick Garland speaks at the U.S. Department of Justice Building on November 18, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
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Garland also spoke about the upcoming Jan. 6 anniversary of the protests, saying “we must never forget the horrific violence inflicted on law enforcement officers” on that day.
