JACKSON — U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst called a press conference at the United States Courthouse downtown Monday to release some details about the results of a recent cooperative sting to go after a mix of alleged criminals with outstanding warrants, gang members and their associates, and sex offenders. He said other agencies will likely refer some of them to his office for prosecution under his controversial crime-fighting initiative Project EJECT—Empower Jackson Expel Crime Together—under which Hurst pledges to go after the “worst of the worst.”
“[T]his is what Project EJECT is all about: increased cooperation among our law enforcement to take the worst of the worst off our streets and the empowerment of our citizens and our communities through education, awareness, and assistance,” he said Monday.
Last week, a “surge” of law enforcement took place in Jackson to sweep up a variety of suspects, whom Hurst declined to name. The U.S. Marshals Service’s Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force led the arrests sweep, with members from the Jackson Police Department, Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, Mississippi Bureau of Investigations, Mississippi Department of Corrections, Pearl Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco Firearms and Explosives, Ridgeland Police Department, Biloxi Police Department, the Metro 1 Air Support, and sheriff’s departments from Hinds, Madison and Rankin counties…