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Remarks as Prepared for Delivery

Thank you, Heather. I want to extend my appreciation to you, the National Legal Aid and Defender Association, the Black Public Defender Association and Alaina Bloodworth and April Frazier Camara for your hospitality and leadership.

It really is an honor to be here. I am excited to celebrate the public defenders, mitigation specialists, executives, administrators and other professionals in this room, who have dedicated their careers to affirming the dignity and humanity of the people they represent.

This Monday, our nation will collectively commemorate and celebrate Juneteenth. This holiday, which recognizes the end of enslavement for Black Americans, also marks the beginning of a long and continuing struggle for equality, equity and justice.

We cannot celebrate Juneteenth without acknowledging the continued and pervasive injustices that continue to impact Black communities in this country. From Jim Crow, to disenfranchisement, to redlining, to disp..

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, June 14, 2023
FACT SHEET: Update on Justice Department ’s Ongoing Efforts to Tackle Gun Violence
On June 14, 2023, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland and Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco convened a meeting with the Criminal Division, FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), U.S. Marshals Service, and all 93 U.S. Attorneys to discuss ongoing efforts to reduce violent crime and combat the gun violence that fuels it. These efforts include implementing the landmark Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA) passed by Congress and signed by the President last June; addressing the proliferation of untraceable and unlawful “ghost guns” that threaten public safety; surging resources to federal, state, local, and Tribal law-enforcement partners on the front lines; and adopting other common-sense reforms that keep guns out of the wrong hands.  

Focusing U.S. Attorney Resources on Gun Crimes: ..

Remarks as Delivered

Good [afternoon]. In just a few minutes, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco and I will be meeting with all 93 of our U.S. Attorneys, and with the heads of the Department’s law enforcement components, to discuss our summer anti-violent crime strategy.

Among other things, we will be reinforcing the importance of identifying, investigating, and prioritizing the prosecution of those who are responsible for the greatest violence in our communities.

We will discuss the U.S. Marshals’ upcoming launch of the next phase of Operation North Star. The last two phases resulted in the capture of more than 2,300 fugitives wanted for violent crimes across the country. Our Deputy U.S. Marshals will conduct this next phase together with our state and local task force partners to target the most dangerous criminals in communities with the highest levels of violence.

We will also discuss DEA’s plans to launch the third phase of Operation Overdrive. So far, the first two phases o..

Remarks as Prepared for Delivery

Thank you so much, Director Dettelbach.

And, thank you to the women and men of the ATF for hosting us today.

Thank you all for being here and for your commitment to our shared mission of keeping the American people safe.

I also want to acknowledge the dedicated members of the U.S. Attorney community here today—U.S. Attorneys Diggs, Esparza, Hamdani, Restaino, Simonton, and Uballez. Thanks for the work you are leading across this country to combat firearms trafficking.

It’s also great to be here with Deputy Secretary John Tien and the Deputy Homeland Security Advisor, Josh Geltzer.

And I’m grateful to Ambassador Ken Salazar for taking time out from the Chief of Missions conference to be here for this important discussion.

Although we represent different agencies, we share the same commitment to fighting the epidemic of gun violence that has shattered communities across our country.

Disrupting illegal firearms trafficking networks—those that ope..

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, June 14, 2023
U.S. Army Soldier Pleads Guilty to Terrorism Charges for Attempting to Help ISIS Conduct Deadly Ambush on U.S. Troops
U.S. Army Private First-Class Cole Bridges Provided Tactical Guidance in Attempt to Help ISIS Attack and Murder U.S. Service Members in the Middle East
An Ohio man today pleaded guilty to attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization and attempting to murder U.S. military service members based on his efforts to help the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) to attack and kill U.S. soldiers in the Middle East.

Cole Bridges, aka Cole Gonzales, 22, of Stow, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman. According to court documents, Bridges joined the U.S. Army in approximately September 2019 and was assigned as a cavalry scout in the Third Infantry Division based in Fort Stewart, Georgia. Beginning in at least 2019, Bridges began researching and consuming online prop..

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, June 14, 2023
Montana Man Sentenced for Federal Hate and Firearms Crimes for Shooting Intended to Kill and Rid Town of LGBTQI+ Residents
A Montana man was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris to 18 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release for shooting into a residence and attempting to shoot others with the intent of ridding a town of LGBTQI+ residents.

John Russell Howald, of Basin, was convicted by a federal jury on Feb. 17 of a hate crime involving an attempt to kill and discharge of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence for firing an AK-style rifle at the residence of a woman who was known within the town as lesbian and was home at the time, and then walking further into town intending to target others he perceived to be lesbian, queer, and gay. The trial lasted four days.

“This defendant is being held accountable for his horrific attempted mass shooting against the LGBTQI+ community in a..

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, June 13, 2023
Construction Firm CFO Pleads Guilty to Employment Tax Crime
Defendant Failed to Pay More Than $6 Million in Payroll Taxes
The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of a Mississippi company pleaded guilty today to willfully failing to report and pay over employment taxes withheld from employees’ paychecks.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Julian Russ of Houma, Louisiana, was the CFO of Community Construction Company LLC, a pipeline-maintenance and construction company based in Hazelhurst, Mississippi. From at least 2012 through October 2018, Russ did not file required quarterly employment tax returns or pay over the taxes withheld from employees’ wages to the IRS, despite knowing of his obligation to do so. In total, Russ caused a tax loss to the IRS of more than $6 million.

Russ faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison. He also faces a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties. A federa..

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, June 13, 2023
Oregon Man Pleads Guilty to Conspiring to Provide Material Support to ISIS
An Oregon man pleaded guilty in federal court today for conspiring to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) by producing and distributing propaganda and recruiting materials online in coordination with ISIS members overseas.

Hawazen Sameer Mothafar, 33, an Iraqi national residing in Troutdale, Oregon, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization.

According to court documents, Mothafar immigrated to the U.S. from Iraq in 2014 and, since his arrival, has resided in Troutdale. An ISIS supporter since 2014, Mothafar was the co-founder of the Sunni Shield Foundation, a pro-ISIS media organization that created and published violent propaganda promoting ISIS ideology and objectives. In this role, Mothafar created the Sunni Shield’s first media product, a video of ..

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, June 13, 2023
Property Management Company to Pay Nearly $75,000 to Resolve Servicemembers Civil Relief Act Claims
The Justice Department today announced that FPI Management Inc. (FPI) has agreed to pay $74,087 to resolve allegations that it violated the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) by imposing unlawful charges on nine servicemembers who were exercising their right to terminate their apartment leases after receiving military orders to relocate.

“The right for servicemembers to terminate leases without penalty when military orders send them elsewhere is a critical protection for people who already sacrifice so much,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department will continue to enforce federal civil rights laws to ensure that paying rent for housing they no longer need is not another sacrifice servicemembers must bear.”

“The SCRA protects servicemembers who have ans..

Thank you for the kind introduction. I appreciate the opportunity to share some thoughts with all of you today on the Antitrust Division’s global approach to criminal enforcement.

One of our values at the Antitrust Division, and the department as a whole, is to be clear with the public about our enforcement priorities, policies and the standards we apply in making charging decisions. And when we have issues and topics appropriate for reasoned discussion, we want to hear from a diverse set of views. For this reason, my colleagues and I appreciate the opportunity to participate in today’s conversations and describe the outstanding work by division prosecutors day in and day out to seek economic justice on behalf of our country.

Economic liberty is something cherished around the world. Looking at the enforcers, private practitioners, competition law experts, in-house counsel and former colleagues assembled in this room, there is at least one thing we share: We all want dynamic, vibrant ..