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Feds Say Agents in Detroit Will Help Fight Crime Not Arrest Protesters

DETROIT (CBS Detroit/A.P.) - U.S. Attorney, Matthew Schneider wants to assure Detroiters; agents are sent to Detroit to help fight crime, not arrest protestors.

Schneider said so in a Wednesday press conference as he tressed that they would be helping local law enforcement combat a rise in violent crime in Detroit.

"The United States Department of Justice will not sit on the sidelines while murderers spread violence in our neighborhoods," Schneider told reporters as he described a "surge" of agents and deputy marshals in Detroit.

He mentioned the death of 4-year-old Nathaniel Mesiah Roby-Townsend, who was killed in May during a drive-by shooting. The FBI separately announced a $25,000 reward for information that helps solve the case.

Schneider said the federal officers sent to Detroit had been assigned to capture fugitives, address illegal gun possession and break up drug trafficking, among other tasks. More than 40 people in the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, known as the ATF, have been newly hired in Detroit or assigned to the effort.

The FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, and U.S. Marshals Service are also involved. Similar announcements were made in Milwaukee and Cleveland.

Earlier this week, Detroit police Chief James Craig said the violence was rising in the city, with more than 500 guns being seized in a recent four-week period. Craig and Mayor Mike Duggan said they welcome the government's help.

"There's no question we've seen more gang activity," Duggan said. "There are more people carrying guns than we have seen before. That's what the officers are all telling me."

The arrival of agents in Portland greatly raised tensions in that city, with fireworks, flares, and rocks thrown at federal officers. Oregon's governor announced Wednesday that the agents would begin a "phased withdrawal."

Detroit had days of protests after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis but hasn't experienced the unrest seen in other parts of the country.

"To be clear, ATF and none of my federal partners here are going to be driving around the streets in unmarked cars to make contact somehow or swoop up protesters and demonstrators. I have no interest," said Jim Deier, head of the ATF in southeastern Michigan.

As the officials spoke, dozen of people marched outside the ATF office, chanting profane slogans. A sign read, "We need federal funds, not federal agents!"

"Federal agents have been in Detroit for decades," said Schneider, who was appointed U.S. attorney by President Donald Trump. "Some of what we are doing is no different than what I did as an assistant United States attorney years ago when my bosses were Eric Holder and President Barack Obama."

© 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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