U.S. Attorney General William Barr said the Department of Justice’s Operation Legend has yielded more than 1,000 arrests and at least 207 people have been charged with committing a federal crime, Fox News reports.
Barr made the announcement on Wednesday, a little more than a month after the anti-crime task force was launched.
Operation Legend began on July 8 as “a sustained, systematic and coordinated law enforcement initiative in which federal law enforcement agencies work in conjunction with state and local law enforcement officials to fight violent crime,” according to the DOJ.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives seized about 400 firearms so far, according to Barr’s announcement.
Operation Legend is named in honor of 4-year-old LeGend Taliferro, who was shot and killed while he slept in the early morning of June 29 in Kansas City, Missouri.
His suspected killer, Ryson Ellis, 22, was charged with second-degree murder by a Jackson County prosecutor. Ellis is being held in Tulsa County Jail, Fox News reports.
Operation Legend was first deployed in Kansas City. On July 22, it was expanded to Chicago and Albuquerque. On July 29, it made its way to Cleveland, Detroit and Milwaukee. On Aug. 6, it hit St. Louis and Memphis before heading to Indianapolis on Aug. 14.
Barr’s announcement on charges and arrests do not include Indianapolis. The more than 1,000 people arrested were charged in either state or local courts.
According to figures, in Chicago, a total of 61 defendants have been charged with federal crimes. Sixteen have been charges with federal charges in Albuquerque, 32 in Cleveland, 22 in Detroit, 11 in Milwaukee, 15 in St. Louis and 7 in Memphis.
Charges range in scope and include illegal possession of a firearm, distribution of narcotics, drug trafficking, bank robbery, illegal re-entry of an alien in connection with a widespread drug conspiracy, and making false statements to arms dealers.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.