United States Attorney General William Barr recently announced that the Department of Justice is leading over 500 investigations into the destruction caused by riots across the country. Barr explained the reason for the investigations via Senator Ted Cruz’s podcast “The Verdict.”

“We’ve had scores of indictments so far for such things as arson, destruction of federal property,” Barr said. “We have right now about 500 investigations underway, so it’s picking up pace. We are committed to holding accountable the people who engaged in this.”

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During the interview, Barr explained the reason for the increase in investigations is heavily associated with the lack of response by other levels of government. “That’s where the burden is right now, on state and local, and in many places, they’re not stepping up to the plate, they’re not doing their job,” said Barr.

Barr also suggested that many of these riots were protests that were infiltrated by “provocateurs and agitators” with some even having associations with Antifa. “We are seeing strong evidence of coordination in many of these violent episodes,” he explained.

This announcement comes on the heels of President Trump’s recent “Monument Executive Order” that allows the feds to arrest anyone defacing or trying to tear down a federal statue or monument, a crime that carries a possible ten-year sentence.

Unlike Democrat officials in cities across the country, President Trump and the DOJ are not just sitting back on their heels while leftist mobs attack our cities and citizens. While the Democrats turn a blind eye, allowing the crime wave to continue in hopes that it will help their chances of winning the 2020 election, President Trump and AG Barr are working diligently to get these violent offenders off the streets.

That plan appears to be working already. Once the recent executive order was announced and POTUS shared the “FBI Wanted Poster” on Twitter, the mob in D.C. finally backed down and didn’t carry out their reported plans to destroy the statue of President Andrew Jackson in Lafayette Square over the weekend.

In a statement released in May, Barr expressed his concern with the riots and vowed to address them. “It is time to stop watching the violence and to confront and stop it,” he said. “The continued violence and destruction of property endangers the lives and livelihoods of others, and interferes with the rights of peaceful protestors, as well as all other citizens.”