MINNEAPOLIS — New U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger was joined by ATF, FBI and Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension officials Tuesday morning to announce a new federal strategy targeting violent crime in the Twin Cities metro.
Luger is pledging to increase the role of federal law enforcement in curbing the current surge of violent crime, including carkackings, gang activity and trafficking of illegal weapons.
Luger said every prosecutor in his office is now "a violent crime prosecutor."
"Starting now, every prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney's Office will handle violent crime cases," Luger said at a joint news conference Tuesday. "Our lawyers specialize in a variety of matters from cybercrime to narcotics to investment fraud, and that will continue. But each prosecutor will handle violent crime cases in addition to their other work. every assistant us attorney is now a violent crime prosecutor."
In 2021, Luger said there were more than 650 carjackings in Minneapolis and over 100 in St. Paul.
He announced a new crime policy dictating that carjackings in Minnesota will now be charged as a federal crime, which will enable stiffer sentences.
The U.S. Attorney's office for Minnesota also plans to announce a first "wave" of additional federal criminal charges against violent criminals in the coming weeks.
William McCrary, special agent in charge of the ATF's St. Paul field division, said his office has identified several violent offenders throughout the Twin Cities and other key areas of Minnesota. During Tuesday's press conference, He showed a video of a Glock equipped with what's called an auto sear, which turns a handgun into an automatic.
"That pistol with an attached auto sear was handled by an ATF agent," McCrary said, referring to the video. "A trained professional at a closed range. Imagine what the result of that would be in the hands of an untrained individual."
Lugar said every federal prosecutor in Minnesota will also focus on illegal gun possession and the growing problem of auto sears or "switches" that can transform ordinary weapons into machine guns.
"What we're seeing are brutal attacks, on men, women with children in the backseat, organized premeditated organizations, engaging in this kind of activity," Luger said.
He added that his staff currently has 42 prosecutors and spoke of plans to hire 5 to 8 more in the criminal division. Before rolling out this new strategy he talked with victims of crimes for their perspectives on new ways to stop the violence invading our communities.
"Everyone deserves to feel safe and secure. It is the duty of law enforcement working with prosecutors like my office to ensure the safety of all of us," Luger announced.
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