U.S. Department of Justice

Sixty-Eight Defendants Charged in Indictment of Dozens of Members and Associates of California White Supremacist Gang Federal and local law enforcement today arrested 42 members and associates of the SFV Peckerwoods, a San Fernando Valley, California-based white supremacist street gang, on a 76-count federal grand jury indictment alleging they engaged in a years-long pattern of racketeering activity that included trafficking of drugs — including fentanyl — illegal firearms possession, and COVID-19 benefits and loan fraud. “The Justice Department has dealt a decisive blow to the San Fernando Valley (SFV) Peckerwoods, a violent white supremacist gang that we charge is responsible for trafficking deadly fentanyl and other drugs, committing robberies, and perpetrating financial fraud to fund both their criminal enterprise and that of the Aryan Brotherhood,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “With today’s charges and arrests, the Justice Department, together with our state, local, and federal partners has targeted the heart of this gang’s operations, and we will continue to zero in on the criminal enterprises that endanger our communities.” Read more: https://lnkd.in/gfH3ttMk

Justice Department Awards $4B to Support Community Safety The Justice Department announced today that it is awarding $4 billion to support public safety and community justice activities in the states and territories and in local and Tribal communities. The grants, from the Department’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP), will fund efforts across the country to reduce violence, expand services for crime victims and survivors, and improve outcomes for youth and adults involved in the criminal and juvenile justice systems. “The Justice Department is working together with our law enforcement and community partners across the country to turn the tide in the fight against violent crime,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “This $4 billion investment across more than 3,800 different programs will advance our efforts to drive down violent crime, support victims, build trust between law enforcement and the communities we serve, and ensure that all Americans feel safe and are safe in their communities.” Read more: https://lnkd.in/daPRA9hn

On #CXDay, learn more about the Access DOJ initiative – the Justice Department’s first customer experience hub led by the Office for Access to Justice. #GovCX #AccessToJustice https://lnkd.in/gAHT9rP7

Justice Department’s Office on Violence Against Women Awards $228.5 Million in Awards, Contributing to a Total of Over $690 Million in Awards this Year to Combat Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, Dating Violence, and Stalking The Justice Department’s Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) is today awarding over $228.5 million in grants to enhance a wide range of supportive services for survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking. The awards will go toward court-based programs, legal assistance, and initiatives tailored for older adults, rural communities, and other underserved groups. This set of awards also includes funding with a special emphasis on reducing barriers and enhancing access to services, safety, and healing for survivors in culturally specific communities. These awards are part of the $690 million in grants administered by OVW that the Department announced earlier this month as part of the commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act. Over the past month, many of these grants have been distributed to communities across the country. Those awards will enhance coordinated community responses to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking across all states, territories, and numerous Tribal nations. They also build on an additional $86 million in awards announced earlier this week by OVW’s Office of Tribal Affairs. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gYYYGvZY

Former California Man Sentenced to 35 Years in Prison for Attempting to Murder Two Jewish Men Leaving Los Angeles Synagogues Last Year A former California man who shot and wounded two Jewish men last year as they left religious services in the Pico-Robertson area of Los Angeles was sentenced today to 35 years in prison. Jaime Tran, 30, formerly of Riverside, pleaded guilty on June 3 to two counts of hate crimes with intent to kill and two counts of using, carrying, and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. “After years of spewing antisemitic vitriol, the defendant planned and carried out a two-day attack attempting to murder Jews leaving synagogue in Los Angeles,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “Vile acts of antisemitic hatred endanger the safety of individuals and entire communities, and allowing such crimes to go unchecked endangers the foundation of our democracy itself. As millions of Jewish Americans prepare to observe the High Holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the Justice Department reaffirms its commitment to aggressively confronting, disrupting, and prosecuting criminal acts motivated by antisemitism, or by hatred of any kind. No Jewish person in America should have to fear that any sign of their identity will make them the victim of a hate crime.” Read more: https://lnkd.in/gG5ay7V6

Readout of Departments of Justice and Interior Roundtable on Media Coverage of Missing or Murdered Indigenous Peoples and Human Trafficking Read more: https://lnkd.in/gS_4gDGk

Yesterday, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco joined the Atlantic Council’s #TransatlanticForum on GeoEconomics to discuss how the Justice Department is protecting against overlapping threats to national and economic security, as well as foreign interference in our elections. The Deputy AG warned that nations like Russia, Iran, and China look to project power at home and abroad by acquiring and abusing emerging technology like #ArtificialIntelligence - noting these threats play out not only on physical battlefields but in economic zones & information spaces. She was also clear in describing the aggressive and complex efforts of these malign foreign actors to interfere in our election to sow discord and distrust. She stressed that the Justice Department is focused on “investigating it, exposing it, and disrupting it." Deputy AG Monaco also stressed she has a great deal of confidence in a fair and safe election process - commending the efforts the intelligence community has made to ensure Americans understand the lengths to which some of our foreign adversaries will go to influence this election.

Today, Justice Department today announced that the U.S. Marshals Service arrested 3,421 violent fugitives, including 216 for homicide, 803 for assault, and 482 for weapons offenses, during the latest phase of its high-impact fugitive apprehension initiative called Operation North Star FY 2024. Read Attorney General Garland's Full Remarks: https://lnkd.in/g5jWym9e

Three IRGC Cyber Actors Indicted for ‘Hack-and-Leak’ Operation Designed to Influence the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election Indictment Alleges the Activity Was a More Recent Phase of a Wide-Ranging Hacking Conspiracy in Support of IRGC Targeting of Current and Former U.S. Officials The Justice Department today announced the unsealing of an indictment charging Iranian nationals, and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) employees, Masoud Jalili, 36, also known as, مسعود جلیلی, Seyyed Ali Aghamiri, 34, also known as, سید علی آقامیری, and Yaser Balaghi, 37, also known as, یاسر بلاغی (the Conspirators), with a conspiracy with others known and unknown to hack into accounts of current and former U.S. officials, members of the media, nongovernmental organizations, and individuals associated with U.S. political campaigns. The activity was part of Iran’s continuing efforts to stoke discord, erode confidence in the U.S. electoral process, and unlawfully acquire information relating to current and former U.S. officials that could be used to advance the malign activities of the IRGC, including ongoing efforts to avenge the death of Qasem Soleimani, the former commander of the IRGC – Qods Force (IRGC-QF). Read more: https://lnkd.in/gQbHdzTV

U.S. Marshals Arrest Over 3,400 fugitives in Operation North Star The Justice Department today announced that the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) arrested 3,421 violent fugitives, including 216 for homicide, 803 for assault, and 482 for weapons offenses, during the latest phase of its high-impact fugitive apprehension initiative called Operation North Star FY 2024 (ONS FY24). ONS FY24 enforcement activities covered 74 operational days, from May 10 to Sept. 13, and targeted fugitives and violent offenders in 10 metropolitan areas, prioritizing those who used firearms in the commission of crimes or signaled high risk factors for violence. ONS FY24 targeted violent offenders wanted on warrants for homicide, sexual offenses, robbery, aggravated assault, and firearms violations. During the operation, investigators also seized 534 firearms, more than $508,000 in U.S. currency, and 456 kilograms in illegal narcotics, including 138 pounds and over 550,000 pills of deadly fentanyl. The 10 metropolitan areas selected for ONS FY24 were identified using data from the National Crime Information Center and the FBI Uniform Crime Report, and included Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas; Charleston and North Charleston, South Carolina; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Little Rock, Arkansas; Phoenix; St. Louis (to include East St. Louis, Illinois); Birmingham, Alabama; Winston-Salem, North Carolina; Dayton, Ohio; and San Antonio. “We first launched Operation North Star in 2022 to identify and apprehend the most dangerous fugitives and violent offenders,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “From May to September of this year, the U.S. Marshals Service worked with state and local law enforcement partners in 10 metropolitan areas to arrest more than 3,400 fugitives and violent offenders and seize large quantities of firearms and fentanyl. I am deeply grateful to every Deputy U.S. Marshal, Task Force Officer, investigator, and police officer who carried out these arrests, and who did so at great risk to themselves.” Read more: https://lnkd.in/gnQAh9fa