Attorney General Merrick B. Garland Delivers Remarks at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Rhode Island

Remarks as Delivered

Thanks, Zach.

I am very happy to be here. I'm looking forward to meeting with the people around this table. These are the people who keep Rhode Island safe. These agents and deputies, assistants take the risks every single day.

I could not be more grateful for the partnerships reflected here. I'm interested in seeing additional facts and learning more about how this is working out here.

I am also grateful to have the chance to recognize the extraordinary work of your office. This office is the face of the Justice Department in Rhode Island. When people in this state look to what the Justice Department is doing, they look to this office. And I have been consistently impressed with the work that the office does.

That work, and the work of our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners, makes an enormous difference to protecting the people of Rhode Island.

Three-and-a-half years ago, the Justice Department launched an ambitious strategy to fight the sharp spike in violent crime that took place during the pandemic.

We focused our efforts on the most powerful tool we have, which is reflected right here: our partnerships with federal, state, and local law enforcement.

And then we fortified those partnerships with grants from our grant-making components and by bringing to bear the new technological tools we have that help us identify the principal drivers of violent crime: the repeat shooters, the crews and gangs that are causing the most mayhem in our communities.

Today, we know that work is paying off.

Statistics released by the FBI last week show an historic drop in homicides last year, and one of the lowest levels of violent crime in 50 years.

And statistics release by the FBI this week show that that trend is continuing. This update shows that violent crime has continued to decline considerably in the first half of 2024 compared to the same time last year - including a further 10% drop in violent crime and a 22% decline in murder.

But we know that progress in many communities is still uneven. And, of course, there is no level of violent crime that is acceptable.

That's why the Justice Department is continuing to work with our partners here in Rhode Island to continue our fight against violent crime, disrupt drug trafficking and violent firearms traffickers, and keep communities in this state safe.

For this office, just two weeks ago, that meant announcing a partnership with ATF, and the cities of Pawtucket, Central Falls, and Woonsocket to use federal authorities to prosecute domestic abusers for gun crimes and keep firearms out of their hands.

In July, this office partnered with the FBI, the ATF, the Department's National Security Division, four other U.S. Attorneys' Offices, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, and the Department of Homeland Security to secure the sentence of three men. Those men conspired, prepared, and trained to attack America's power grid to advance their white supremacist plans.

That same month, this office worked with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and members of the Rhode Island High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force to secure a 10-year sentence for the co-leader of a drug trafficking organization that imported more than 100 kilograms of cocaine into Rhode Island.

In June, this office charged two individuals in a murder-for-hire conspiracy targeting two federal prosecutors and a federal witness. No prosecutor should ever fear violence for doing his or her job, and no witness should ever fear violence for telling the truth. The Justice Department will prosecute these disturbing crimes whenever and wherever they occur.

Earlier this spring, working with the Rhode Island Drug Task Force, comprised of 11 federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, this office secured a 10-year prison sentence for a man who led a fentanyl trafficking conspiracy that possessed and distributed enough fentanyl to create more than two million fatal doses.

And earlier this year, this office worked with ATF, the North Providence Police Department, and the Rhode Island state fire marshal's office to charge a man who allegedly set multiple fires around the exterior of the Shiloh Gospel Temple, a predominantly Black church. We are grateful to the North Providence Police Department, whose swift action prevented catastrophic damage to the church.

In addition to using our investigative and prosecutorial capabilities, we are also committed to using our grantmaking capabilities to invest in public safety.

So far this year, the Department has awarded more than $23 million in grants to Rhode Island.

These funds will help law enforcement agencies in Rhode Island hire more officers, prevent and combat violent crime and drug trafficking, and improve services for survivors of domestic and dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, and other crimes.

We remain committed to providing our law enforcement and community partners with the resources they need to protect their communities.

These examples I have shared are just a snapshot of the extraordinary work that your office has done every day to protect people in Rhode Island and to fulfill the Justice Department's mission to ensure the rule of law, to keep our communities safe, and to protect civil rights.

Just recently, the latter included the Department's efforts to monitor compliance with federal voting rights laws in Pawtucket.

Last month, thanks to the work of this office and the Civil Rights Division, we announced that federal observers would be assigned to monitor the September 10 primary in Pawtucket for compliance with the Voting Rights Act.

This comes after a federal court approved a consent decree earlier this year to resolve the Department's Voting Rights Act claims regarding the availability of election assistance and materials in Spanish for Spanish-speaking voters with limited English proficiency.

In the weeks ahead, the Department will release additional information about efforts to monitor for compliance with federal civil rights laws in elections in communities across the country. Additionally, guidance documents and other voting resources are available on the Justice Department's website to explain your right to vote.

The right to vote is the cornerstone of our democracy. It is the right from which all other rights derive. There are many things up for debate in the United States. One of them is not the right to vote. That right must not be up for debate. The Justice Department will never stop working to ensure that every eligible voter can cast a ballot that counts.

I am very proud of the public servants who make up this office for the work that they do every single day to protect the rule of law, to keep our country safe, and to protect civil rights. And I am equally proud of the relationships that they have developed with the people around this table. Those partnerships are the essence of the way in which we keep our communities safe.

Thank you all very much. I now look forward to beginning our meeting.

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