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Gov. Landry and federal partners announce intensified operation in Baton Rouge after deadly officer shooting
Summary
State and federal officials described a coordinated operation in Baton Rouge that yielded more than 100 arrests and multiple seizures of firearms, conversion devices and narcotics; officials said the work will continue and the state will seek additional prosecutorial resources to handle the caseload.
Acting U.S. Attorney Ellison Travis opened a multi‑agency news conference in Baton Rouge to summarize a coordinated federal‑state operation targeting violent gangs and drug trafficking.
"We're here to provide some information on ongoing proactive law enforcement operations going on in Baton Rouge," Travis said, and credited federal and local partners for the work that produced 52 federal indictments charging 68 defendants, he said.
Gov. Landry framed the operation as part of a model replicated from New Orleans and tied it to a spike in violence that included the recent killing of Sergeant Caleb Isworth. "I am not going to let his death go in vain," the governor said, adding the operation is "the beginning, not the end" of sustained efforts to reduce violent crime.
FBI Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Tapp said the FBI deployed violent‑crime rapid‑response teams and led 34 operations targeting local gangs. "This combined effort has produced significant results," Tapp said, and he urged the public to submit tips to the FBI tip line.
ATF Special Agent in Charge Joshua Jackson described ATF work that layered trace and other investigative data and said the agency ran roughly 37 undercover operations, recovered multiple firearms and seizure items tied to "Operation Broken Carousel." "We recovered 39 firearms ... four machine gun conversion devices," Jackson said, and described nearly 10 kilograms of mixed narcotics recovered in ATF investigations.
East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney Helen Moore thanked officers and agents and said many of the cases will be handled by her office. Moore said the DA's office needs more prosecutors to process the incoming caseload and welcomed the state's offer of additional funding and positions.
Officials' public counts varied in phrasing: speakers referenced 52 indictments charging 68 defendants, "more than 100" arrests and "over a 100" firearms seized; some speakers cited a figure of about 106 arrests. The agencies also reported seizures of machine‑gun conversion devices, large quantities of fentanyl, cocaine, marijuana and hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash. Where officials used differing counts, this article reports the figures as the speakers presented them and notes the variation.
Gov. Landry said the state will pursue incentives and "warrants" — state salary supplements to fund additional prosecutor positions — to help retain prosecutors and handle the caseload. He said decisions in courtrooms, including bond determinations, are the third "leg" of the criminal‑justice "three‑legged stool" and that courts and prosecutors must complement enforcement to keep dangerous people off the street.
Officials emphasized the operation would continue. The governor thanked the U.S. Department of Justice, the FBI, ATF, U.S. Marshals, Louisiana State Police, the Baton Rouge Police Department and the Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office for their roles, and said the state plans to replicate similar efforts in other cities.
No new charges, court dates or detailed indictments were released at the conference beyond the counts officials summarized. Officials asked anyone with information about violent crime or narcotics trafficking to contact law‑enforcement tip lines.
