St. Louis, Missouri, often leads the nation in murders — not the sheer number of them, but the rate. In 2024, for instance, the Gateway City recorded 52.9 homicides per 100,000 residents, the highest rate in the country for the third year in a row. (Chicago’s got them beat handily in the overall total.)
Donald Trump has campaigned on a theme of law and order, and on Tuesday, federal officials announced that they brought it to The Lou in the form of Operation Viper, which resulted in 91 arrests, including perps suspected of violent crimes. Law enforcement recovered 36 weapons and seized large amounts of fentanyl, meth, and cocaine.
Missouri Republican Sen. Eric Schmitt hailed the mission in a press briefing Tuesday at FBI headquarters in downtown St. Louis:
I worked to secure a surge of federal law enforcement agents for St. Louis to help tackle violent crime in our community, and the results speak for themselves.
Operation Viper brought down over 90 criminals, took deadly drugs off the streets, & seized illegal firearms.
Because… pic.twitter.com/TEJGsfadCh
— Eric Schmitt (@Eric_Schmitt) May 26, 2026
I worked to secure a surge of federal law enforcement agents for St. Louis to help tackle violent crime in our community, and the results speak for themselves.
Operation Viper brought down over 90 criminals, took deadly drugs off the streets, & seized illegal firearms.
Because of our efforts — St. Louis has the largest permanent per capita infusion of FBI Agents in the country. They are focused on violent crime.
This isn’t a one and done deal. More federal law enforcement is here to stay.
This is also part of the Trump Admin & @FBI’s permanent commitment to making our cities safe again & I’m proud to work with them to help protect Missouri families.
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FBI Co-Deputy Director Andrew Bailey also took to the podium and said that the mission targeted people wanted for homicide, aggravated assaults, illegal gun and drug trafficking, and other violent offenses.
“We’re changing the perception of this city and of this region by making St. Louis safe again,” he said.
FBI’s Operation Viper in St. Louis led to 91 arrests, 36 weapons confiscated, and large drug seizures targeting violent offenders. @LauraSimonTV pic.twitter.com/QlHrK2d3Dh
— FOX2now (@FOX2now) May 26, 2026
This is the way. Although statistics show that crime is down in the United States from recent highs during the pandemic, Americans don’t feel safer. Too many of our streets are haunted by unpredictable homeless people, home invasions and street takeovers are a daily occurrence in cities like Los Angeles, and residents are having to blockade the streets to avoid gunfire in crazy Seattle. The woke element in our society has de-emphasized crime fighting and consequences in cities across our nation, and soft-on-crime, George Soros-backed district attorneys in many of our blue cities have turned our urban areas into no-go zones.
Trump, FBI Director Kash Patel, and Republicans like Schmitt are proving that there’s a better way — and that way means going after the bad guys instead of just waiting for them to strike and then letting them walk. This is how you do it.
Editor’s Note: The American people overwhelmingly support President Trump’s law and order agenda.
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