U.S. Attorney’s Office and Law Enforcement Partners Postpone Tonight’s Town Hall Meeting at Medgar Evers Library Regarding Project EJECT

Jackson, Miss. – The United States Attorney’s Office and its law enforcement partners are postponing tonight’s scheduled town hall meeting at Medgar Evers Library in Jackson to discuss Project EJECT, as the local councilman for the Ward recently noted that he has a conflict with the timing of tonight’s Jackson City Council meeting and several law enforcement partners are now unavailable to attend, announced United States Attorney Mike Hurst.

The town hall meetings held by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and its law enforcement partners to explain the good work being done under Project EJECT to combat crime have solicited valuable input directly from citizens that will ultimately make Jackson safer and its citizens more secure.

"Working with our law enforcement partners under Project EJECT here in the City of Jackson, we have already been successful in reducing violent crime in the City of Jackson by almost 20% from just this time last year. I commend the Jackson Police Department, our federal and state law enforcement agents and officers, and our local and federal prosecutors for taking the fight to the criminals and protecting law-abiding citizens. We will continue this fight together to make Jackson safer for everyone, and we will only continue to be successful with involvement and cooperation from our communities and our residents," said U.S. Attorney Hurst.

Project EJECT is a holistic, multi-disciplinary approach to fighting and reducing violent crime in Jackson through prosecution, prevention, re-entry and awareness, under the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods ("PSN"). PSN is program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.

Since announcing Project EJECT in December 2017, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Jackson Police Department, and agents and task force officers from various federal and state law enforcement agencies, have indicted over 80 individuals for federal crimes ranging from carjacking to illegally possessing firearms to business robberies to drugs. Of those individuals whom have been arrested and are being prosecuted, approximately 97% have been detained while awaiting trial, and 40 have either pled or been found guilty of committing federal crimes. For those whom have been convicted and sentenced, the average sentence thus far for crimes prosecuted under Project EJECT is over 6 years in federal prison.