ATF launches anti-gun trafficking campaign in South Florida, cracking down on "straw purchasing"
"I think that nobody should be buying guns for anybody else," said gun owner Waldo Toyos. "You buy your own gun, and it's your gun."
Waldo Toyos is a gun owner, but doesn't think everyone should own a gun, especially those who legally cannot.
"Miami and South Florida and all the way up until the Orlando area," said ATF Deputy Director Rob Cedaka. "There is a lot of firearms trafficking, and it ends here and ends up in the Caribbean. It also ends up in Mexico as well."
Federal and local officials teamed up on Friday to increase awareness of their "Don't Lie for the Other Guys" campaign.
"When these firearms are out there in our community and in the wrong hands, we see the results: we see the shootings, we see the robberies, we see the crimes that are occurring," said Miami-Dade Asst. Sheriff Erick Garcia.
According to ATF, more than 40 illegal firearms were confiscated in Margate more than five years ago as part of a long-standing investigation.
"We've seen traffickers spread themselves all around the country trying to develop targets, people that they think are easy victims to go out and willing to use their clean, criminal history, or lack of criminal history to be able to buy a firearm," said Cekada.
The owner of Top Gun in Southwest Miami-Dade sees the importance of this initiative in keeping the community safe.
"It's important to get the information out to customers and to prevent crimes from happening," said Steve Schack, Top Gun's owner.
"If you're going out and committing a crime, whether you're purchasing a gun or doing anything that here in [Miami-Dade County], we're gonna go out, we're gonna look for you and we're gonna make an arrest," said Garcia.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Mike Johnson says Ghislaine Maxwell coming clean on Epstein case would be ‘a great service to the country'
Speaker Mike Johnson called on Jeffrey Epstein's accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, to come clean and told Americans that he "hoped" she could be trusted as he faces the growing uproar around the White House's handling of the investigation. Johnson appeared Sunday on NBC's Meet the Press, where moderator Kristen Welker asked him point-blank if the convicted sex-trafficker girlfriend of Epstein could be trusted to accurately testify about the crimes she and Epstein committed. Epstein was awaiting prosecution for sex trafficking underage girls after a previous conviction on similar charges when he died in federal custody. Maxwell has been thrust back into the spotlight as the MAGA base has grown frustrated with President Donald Trump and his administration's shutting down of the so-called Epstein files release. Last week, a top Department of Justice official met with Maxwell about the case. "Well, I mean, look; it's a good question. I hope so," Johnson told Welker in response. "I hope that she would want to come clean." "I hope she's telling the truth. She is convicted, she's serving a 20-year sentence for child sex trafficking. Her character is in some if she wants to come clean now, that would be a great service to the country. We want to know every bit of information that she has." The House Oversight Committee voted this week to issue a subpoena for Maxwell after the Justice Department announced its own plans to speak with her. Agency officials did so for nine hours between Thursday and Friday, after making a statement seeming to confirm that her testimony hadn't been aggressively sought before. Some have called Maxwell to testify and suggested she should be given a pardon for sharing what she knows about the Epstein case. She was convicted of sexual abuse against minors and sex trafficking for helping Epstein carry out crimes. Johnson touted the Oversight subpoena favorably Sunday, casting it as evidence that GOP leadership supported efforts aimed at transparency. The Trump administration turned speculation about Epstein's death and the so-called 'Client List' of his co-conspirators into a raging wildfire in early July. The Justice Department and FBI published a joint memo explaining that future releases from the files would not take place, and that the list of Epstein's accomplices was not found. Epstein was rumored to have cultivated personal relationships with many powerful men and institutions. Critics of the president have alleged that a cover-up is in the works regarding the Epstein files. Democrats have hammered the president for his reversal, and a pair of scoops from the Wall Street Journal have reported on the president's connections to Epstein, to Trump's fury. The newspaper reported the contents of a message allegedly penned by Trump to Epstein as part of a 50th birthday celebration in 2003, including allusions to a shared 'secret' between them. Trump firmly denied authoring the note, and sued the Journal and its reporters in response. A second article from the Journal days later reported that Attorney General Pam Bondi informed Trump in May that he was mentioned in the Epstein investigation multiple times, but it was not clear in what context. The White House called that story 'fake' and has repeatedly insinuated that Democrats including Joe Biden tampered with evidence while Trump was out of office. Being mentioned in the files does not mean wrongdoing, and hundreds of names are reportedly included. The lead GOP co-sponsor behind a House resolution that would force the Justice Department to release the entirety of its collected evidence related to Epstein said Sunday that his push was to help the convicted pedophile's victims and would only grow stronger in the coming weeks. Earlier on the same network, Rep. Thomas Massie appeared alongside the resolution's lead Democratic co-sponsor, Rep. Ro Khanna, as the two promoted a resolution that would force Attorney General Pam Bondi to release 'all unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials' related to the Epstein and Maxwell investigations. Massie told Welker that 'the release of the Epstein files is emblematic of what Trump ran for' and explained that the president's MAGA base expected results. 'There seems to be a class of people beyond the law, beyond the judicial all thought that when Trump was elected, he would be the bull in the china shop and break that all up,' said Massie. Massie went on to say that the Trump administration had lost his trust on the issue after publicly supporting transparency around the investigation, then doing an abrupt about-face. The administration is now calling on its supporters to move on from the issue and focus on hashing out issues with the 2016 'Russiagate' investigation instead of Epstein. Top administration officials, including Vice President JD Vance, also spent months calling for the very releases the Justice Department says it won't authorize. 'People who were allegedly working on this weren't sincere in their efforts,' Massie said. 'Somebody should ask Speaker Mike Johnson, why did he recess Congress early so that he didn't have to deal with the Epstein issue?' 'Politics is the art of the doable. There's enough public pressure right now that we can get 218 votes and force this to a vote on the floor,' said Massie. He also firmly rejected a DOJ memo explaining the administration's position against further releases of information from the Epstein files, despite the very public promises of Bondi and others to do the opposite. In the memo, agency officials said that explicit imagery involving children was 'intertwined' throughout the files collected by the Justice Department. Some have said the files should not be released to protect sex-abuse victims of both Maxwell and Epstein. 'That's a straw man [argument],' Massie responded on Sunday, after Welker read part of the memo. 'Ro [Khanna] and I carefully crafted this legislation so that the victims' names would be redacted, and that no child pornography will be released.'
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Deputy Attorney General to meet today with Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell
U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche is meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein's former girlfriend, on Thursday in Florida, where she is serving time for her role in their sex trafficking scheme to abuse girls, according to a CNN report. Blanche had announced Tuesday that he had contacted Maxwell's attorneys to pursue any potential new leads as Trump's MAGA base excoriates the administration over its handling of the so-called 'Epstein Files.' A July 6 DOJ memo had concluded there were no more significant disclosures to be made in the case. Maxwell will be transported from Florida Correctional Institution-Tallahassee, where she is being held, to the U.S. attorney's office, which is located inside Tallahassee's federal courthouse, ABC News reported. Blanche declined to comment at the courthouse on Thursday morning but David Oscar Markus, an attorney for Maxwell, told ABC: "We're looking forward to a productive day.' Maxwell, 63, was sentenced to 20 years in 2021 for her role in a scheme to sexually exploit and abuse multiple girls with Epstein and is serving time at the federal prison. Her attorneys have taken an appeal of her conviction to the Supreme Court. On Wednesday, the Wall Street Journal reported that President Donald Trump was told in May by Attorney General Pam Bondi that his name appeared in the Epstein Files 'multiple times'. The president denied to reporters earlier this month that his name was in the files. Appearing in the files does not indicate that an individual has committed any wrongdoing, nor has Trump ever been accused of misconduct in connection with the Epstein case. 'This is another fake news story, just like the previous story by The Wall Street Journal,' White House communications director Steven Cheung told the WSJ about the claims Trump was named in the files. The president has filed a $10 billion defamation suit against the WSJ and its owners after it published a report last week claiming that Trump gave Epstein a bawdy birthday card in 2003. Trump has vehemently denied the claims. On Tuesday, the House Oversight Committee approved a subpoena for Maxwell. At the White House later that day, Trump said that the subpoena for Maxwell "sounds appropriate." Maxwell's brother praised Trump this week for making a 'positive statement' about his sister, in an interview five years ago, when the president said: 'I wish her well.' Appearing on Piers Morgan Uncensored, Ian Maxwell hailed Trump's 2020 remark. 'I don't think that anyone else showed the slightest piece of humanity, not anybody at that time, and yet he did. He didn't need to. He's the president of the United States, the most powerful man in the world. He could've just sloughed it off. He didn't. He made a positive statement. I am very grateful to that and I know Ghislaine was too,' he said. Last week, Trump requested Bondi release 'any and all pertinent' grand jury transcripts related to the Epstein case. So far two judges have denied Bondi's requests on legal grounds. The White House has been trying to quell the uproar, including from its MAGA base, following the DOJ's July 6 memo, which stated there was no 'client list' of high-profile associates linked to Epstein's sex trafficking scheme. The memo also confirmed the official investigation that the sex offender died by suicide in 2019 and said no further investigations were needed. Earlier this year, Bondi has said she had a 'truckload' of files to review from the FBI, and insinuated that the 'client list' was sitting on her desk. In February, she released 'Phase 1' of the files, a tranche of documents that included mostly publicly available information. After the July 6 DOJ memo was released, the president's MAGA following erupted, demanding more information. Democrats, as well as prominent members of Trump's own party, including his former Vice President Mike Pence, joined the calls for increased transparency around the case. Trump has pushed for the media and his supporters to move on. 'Are you still talking about Jeffrey Epstein? This guy's been talked about for years. You're asking — we have Texas, we have this, we have all of the things. And are people still talking about this guy, this creep? That is unbelievable,' Trump replied to a reporter, who asked him about the Epstein memo at a Cabinet meeting on July 8. The president has used Truth Social to blast his 'past supporters' for buying into 'this 'bulls***,' hook, line and sinker.' He wrote: 'Let these weaklings continue forward and do the Democrats' work, don't even think about talking of our incredible and unprecedented success, because I don't want their support anymore!' Earlier this week, a CNN reporter called Trump to ask about unearthed archived photos capturing Epstein at his 1993 wedding to Marla Maples, the president replied: 'You've got to be kidding me.' The phone call lasted just 30 seconds before Trump hung up, the network reported. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Jasmine Crockett unleashes on Ghislaine Maxwell talking to Trump DOJ before Congress: ‘Out of jail for free'
Rep. Jasmime Crockett wants Ghislaine Maxwell — who is serving a 20-year sentence for aiding sex trafficking financier Jeffrey Epstein — to testify before Congress before she speaks under oath to the Trump Justice Department. US Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, President Donald Trump's former personal attorney, will meet with Maxwell on Thursday in Florida, where she is serving out her two-decade sentence for scheming with the late pedophile power-player to sexually exploit and abuse young women and girls. The meeting comes just a day after the House Oversight Committee, on which Crockett sits, voted to subpoena Maxwell. On Wednesday, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer issued a subpoena and set Maxwell's deposition date for Aug. 11. 'I don't know that we'll get anywhere, but I know if there's anybody that I want to talk to her, it is us — and not the administration — because at least if she comes before the committee, even if it's behind closed doors, it will be bipartisan,' Crockett, a frequent Trump antagonist, told The Independent. 'It won't just be one side able to ask questions, it'd be both sides, whereas the administration, they're a bunch of thugs,' she railed. 'And frankly, if it means that she can engage in a coverup, he'll most likely let her out of jail free. He's let people out of jail for far less.' This comes after the Department of Justice released a two-page memo on July 6 saying that Epstein, the convicted pedophile, had no 'client list' and died of suicide in his New York City jail cell, where he was found hanged by bed sheets. But Crockett, who spoke to The Independent before Comer issued his subpoena, also cautioned that she did not know if they would actually hear testimony from the once high-flying former socialite Maxwell. 'I don't know if she has appeals that are pending, and I'm sure that her attorneys will have some issues, some questions surrounding so it's more complicated than just subpoenaing her,' the Democrat said. 'We can subpoena all we want to. We have had a number of transcribed interviews as well as depositions over the last two weeks, and frankly, a lot of them ended with nothing because people invoked privilege and things like that.' Crockett has become a fundraising dynamo because of her combative style of questioning on the Oversight Committee and her willingness to joust with Republicans in the majority. But she recently lost her bid to replace the late Gerry Connolly (D-VA) as the top Democrat on the committee to Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA). Garcia told The Independent that subpoenaing Maxwell does not mean the committee trusts her to be truthful. 'She's a documented liar, she's obviously done an enormous amount to harm young girls and and and has an interest, of course, in, in being free,' Garcia said. 'We should still want to have her come testify in front of oversight in the Congress, but, but we should just be very we should understand that this is a very complex witness and someone that has caused great harm and not a good person to a lot of people.' The House of Representatives broke a day early after the House Rules Committee ground itself to a halt because Democrats continued offering amendments to release files related to Epstein. In an attempt to mollify Democrats and some conservatives, Republicans proposed a non-binding House resolution to get the Department of Justice to release files. In addition, Rep. Thomas (R-KY) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) have a discharge petition, which would force a vote and circumvent Speaker Mike Johnson, to release files related to Epstein. Massie, a critic of Trump, accused Johnson of covering for the president. 'He doesn't want a paper-thin sliver of daylight between him and the president, and so that's why he's avoided taking even the symbolic vote on the non-binding resolution,' Massie told The Independent. Trump, a friend of Epstein's for many years before a falling out that appears to have come before it was publicly known the financier was being investigated over his sex trafficking, has criticized his supporters and others for focusing on the Epstein case. He also vehemently denied a story in The Wall Street Journal that he sent Epstein a note for the disgraced financier and predator's 50th birthday party and also filed a $10 billion lawsuit against the newspaper and its owners News Corp and Rupert Murdoch, among others.
