The Justice Department on Thursday highlighted hundreds of arrests made during Operation Show Me Justice, a major federal crackdown in St. Louis, Missouri.
Launched in August, the initiative brought together the U.S. Marshals Service, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Drug Enforcement Administration and St. Louis Police Department to intensify enforcement against firearms offenses, drug trafficking and other criminal activity.
Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter and Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., announced the end of the months-long operation during a news conference.
Federal authorities execute an arrest in St. Louis, Missouri, on Wednesday, October 14, 2026. (Mike Tobin/Fox News)
McCotter said the operation resulted in 435 arrests connected to drug offenses, gun crimes and other violations. Of those, 412 involved people wanted on outstanding warrants, many of whom were facing more than one warrant, he told reporters.
Authorities also confiscated 80 kilograms of drugs, 166 firearms, six machine-gun conversion devices and more than $1 million in cash, according to McCotter.
The acting deputy attorney general encouraged mayors, city council members and state leaders nationwide to work with federal agencies on comparable public-safety efforts.
McCotter said the operation was built around the idea that communities should not view violent crime as unavoidable or simply accept it as part of daily life.
“To the mayors, city councils, governors and police chiefs watching: Violence is not inevitable,” he said. “We want to partner with you, work alongside you and provide help.”
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Federal officials have already joined forces with state and local agencies in Washington, D.C., and Memphis for similar crime-fighting initiatives.
MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE – OCTOBER 11: Members of the National Guard patrol on October 11, 2025 in Memphis, Tennessee. National Guard members began patrolling Memphis this week as part of a federal task force established by President Trump to combat what the administration says is violent crime in the city. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images) (Brett Carlsen/Getty Images)
The St. Louis announcement came about a week after federal and California authorities launched a large-scale enforcement effort in Los Angeles’ notorious Skid Row district.
Known as Operation Save Skid Row, the campaign involved 28 arrest warrants and 44 search warrants as authorities sought to disrupt drug distribution operations in the area.
Law enforcement officers look at encampments that had been taped off in Skid Row on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026 in Los Angeles. Federal law enforcement officials, along with the Los Angeles Police Department, are targeting drug dealing in Downtown Los Angeles with “Operation Save Skid Row.” (Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
More than 100 law enforcement vehicles took part in the Los Angeles operation. Those arrested included alleged members of several gangs, among them the Main Street Crips, Grape Street/Raymond Avenue Crips and Pueblo Bishop Bloods.
“Open-air drug markets will no longer be tolerated in the United States, and certainly not on Skid Row,” First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said at a news conference. He attributed many residents’ mental health crises and reluctance to seek treatment to dealers who, he said, keep people addicted and take their public assistance funds to finance drug purchases.