FBI Director Kash Patel revealed a massive law enforcement sweep on X on Thursday.
The operation, dubbed “Operation Summer Heat,” resulted in thousands of arrests across the nation.
Patel said the effort was designed to “let good cops be cops.” He posted a video reviewing the push in an interview.
The numbers were staggering. In just three months, authorities made 8,629 arrests.
They seized 2,281 guns. They removed 44,559 kilograms of cocaine and 421 kilograms of fentanyl from the streets. Patel warned that was enough to kill 50 million Americans.
“We are not messing around,” Patel said, per an FBI press release. “Our No. 1 mission is crushing violent crime. If you hurt a child, we’re coming for you. If you jack a car, we’re coming for you. If you’re polluting our neighborhoods with deadly drugs, we’re coming for you.”
The operation ran from June 24 to September 20. All 55 FBI field offices participated. State and local law enforcement agencies also joined.
The initiative executed federal warrants against violent offenders and fugitives.
It disrupted gangs and transnational criminal groups.
Agents rescued child victims and resolved cases in Indian Country, per the Conservative Brief.
More than 6,500 arrests were linked to the FBI’s Violent Crime and Gang program. Investigators identified or located 1,053 child victims of violent crime, the FBI said.
Attorney General Pamela Bondi praised the operation. “We are grateful for Director Kash Patel and our brave FBI agents who removed more than 8,600 violent offenders from our streets this summer,” Bondi said.
“Under President Trump’s directive to make America safe again, this Department of Justice will continue prosecuting violent crime and dismantling criminal gangs who are wreaking havoc in our communities,” she added.
The FBI focused resources on Baton Rouge and New Orleans, Louisiana, Memphis, Tennessee, and Miami, Florida. In those cities, agents made 417 arrests and seized 159 firearms.
In a separate effort, 10 FBI field offices prioritized locating fugitives. They made more than 750 arrests, including over 30 murder suspects. Authorities recovered more than 60 firearms.
Notable cases included Philadelphia’s arrest of three suspects in a June armed robbery of more than $2 million from an armored truck. Kansas City agents arrested three tied to a violent car theft ring connected to homicides, shootings, and armed robberies.
The FBI has also dismissed more than a dozen agents photographed kneeling during a 2020 protest in Washington, D.C., following George Floyd’s death. Around 20 agents were terminated after being reassigned over the years, multiple sources said.
The FBI Agents Association criticized the firings. “As Director Patel has repeatedly stated, nobody is above the law. But rather than providing these agents with fair treatment and due process, Patel chose to again violate the law by ignoring these agents’ constitutional and legal rights,” they said.
The kneeling protest took place June 4, 2020, on Pennsylvania Avenue. The image spread online, drawing intense reactions. Some criticized the agents for participating, while the internal review under former Director Christopher Wray concluded they had not violated bureau policy.
