President Donald Trump and FBI Director Kash Patel on Wednesday praised what they called the bureau's historic summer of criminal arrests.
They said that nearly 8,700 violent offenders have been taken off the streets.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump touted Operation Summer Heat and compared his record on crime reduction to that of his predecessor, Joe Biden.
Since Trump took office in January, FBI figures show an 86% increase in arrests, totaling 28,649 in 2024, compared with 15,388 in 2023, 15,771 in 2022, and 16,864 in 2021.
"Over the past few months, FBI offices in all 50 states made crushing violent crime a top enforcement priority, and that's what they did — rounding up and arresting thousands of the most violent and dangerous criminals," Trump said.
The FBI also reported a 27% drop in homicides compared with 2024, with the national total falling from 1,402 in June 2024 to 991 this past June.
"In just seven months ... these are the best numbers for fighting crime in U.S. history. And it's only seven months in," Patel said.
"And to do that, our vehicle to do it, of choice was Operation Summer Heat, which the FBI architected to go after violent criminals. And in just a three-month span, you had 8,700 arrests of violent criminals," Patel added.
"You had 2,200 firearms seized off the streets permanently to safeguard our communities.
"You had 421 kilograms of fentanyl seized. Just to put that in perspective, that's enough to kill 55 million Americans alone.
"You had 45,000 kilograms of cocaine seized, and thanks to our Department of Justice partners, you had 2,100 indictments in three months from June to September alone."
He also highlighted the FBI's seizure of 1,900 kilograms of fentanyl — an amount he said could kill 127 million Americans.
In addition, agents confiscated 45,000 kilograms of cocaine, and he reported that 2,200 guns have been seized over the past seven months.
Trump and Patel were joined by Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche for the press conference.
The president touted the administration's crackdown on crime in Washington and his recent deployment of federal troops to Chicago and Memphis, Tennessee.
James Morley III ✉
James Morley III is a writer with more than two decades of experience in entertainment, travel, technology, and science and nature.
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