Trump tweets: ‘I am sending in Federal help’ for violence in Chicago

WASHINGTON — In January, President Donald Trump threatened to “send in the Feds” if Chicago could not stop its “horrible carnage,” and on Thursday, the Chicago Sun-Times reported that’s just what he did.

In a Twitter post Friday morning, Trump said, “Crime and killings in Chicago have reached such epidemic proportions that I am sending in Federal help. 1714 shootings in Chicago this year!”

According to the Sun-Times’ count, 1,737 people have been shot this year, 306 of them killed.

The city of Chicago requested additional federal enforcement help last year. It has taken Trump six months to send more agents to the city.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel has made several White House visits to prod Trump and his team to bolster law enforcement resources in Chicago.

Emanuel spokesman Adam Collins told the Sun-Times Friday morning, “Six months ago, we made it clear that we would welcome additional federal support, and six months later we appreciate the 20 new ATF agents that are now arriving.

“But the progress CPD has made this year has happened without any of the new resources from the federal government we requested.”

City Hall was aware the Trump administration was mustering additional resources for the city. The Sun-Times reported Thursday that authorities had “confirmed that about 20 additional agents with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives have been sent to Chicago to combat gun violence here.

From reporter Frank Main’s story:

In January, Trump said he would “send in the Feds” if city officials didn’t fix the “carnage.”

Here’s the cover