
The Justice Department on Wednesday announced that more than 100 federal agents will be dispatched to Kansas City, Mo., in response to what Attorney General William BarrBill BarrPolitics in the Department of Justice can be a good thing Majority of Republicans say 2020 election was invalid: poll Biden administration withdraws from Connecticut transgender athlete case MORE described as a "disturbing uptick in violence" in the metropolitan area.
Barr said in a statement that the "Operation Legend" initiative will direct the FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, Drug Enforcement Administration and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to "surge resources" to assist local law enforcement in Kansas City, which has reported 100 homicides this year, a 40 percent increase from 2019.
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said during a news briefing that the initiative came in response to a letter Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas (D) sent to the Missouri governor asking for more resources to combat what he called a "crisis point."
Lucas, however, said that he was not in touch with the Justice Department about the new program and learned about it through Twitter.