Last Updated on July 22, 2020
President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he will be authorizing the deployment of “hundreds” of federal officers to Chicago to end the bloodshed after a mass shooting during a funeral in the city injured 15 people.
In the aftermath of the race riots and violence following the death of George Floyd, and the staggering total of over 300 murders and 1300 shootings in Chicago so far this year, there has been significant public pressure for the federal government to intervene.
Trump has previously criticized Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot for her sluggish response to the recent crime wave.
On Wednesday, Trump held a press conference in which he stated, “My first duty as President is to protect the American people, and today I am taking action to fulfill that sacred obligation.”
“In recent weeks, there has been a radical movement to defund, dismantle, and dissolve our police departments,. Extreme politicians have joined this anti-police crusade and relentlessly villified our law enforcement heroes,” Trump said.
The President continued, “This bloodshed must end, this bloodshed will end. Today I am announcing a surge of federal law enforcement into American communities plagued by violent crime. We’ll work every single day to restore public safety, protect our nation’s children, and bring violent perpetrators to justice.”
“We have no choice but to get involved,” Trump added.
Video from the ;press conference can be seen below.
https://twitter.com/Breaking911/status/1286033620277362690
This story is developing and may be updated as needed.
