{"id":19659,"date":"2025-11-23T16:02:46","date_gmt":"2025-11-23T16:02:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news2.watchtowatch.top\/new-michigans-sos-under-fire-for-allowing-dead-voters-to-influence-elections\/"},"modified":"2025-11-23T16:02:46","modified_gmt":"2025-11-23T16:02:46","slug":"new-michigans-sos-under-fire-for-allowing-dead-voters-to-influence-elections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news2.watchtowatch.top\/?p=19659","title":{"rendered":"NEW: Michigan\u2019s SOS Under Fire For Allowing Dead Voters To Influence Elections"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"NEW:<\/p>\n

In the heart of the nation\u2019s capital, the battle over crime and public safety has taken on a new intensity. Federal agents, prosecutors, and political leaders are no longer talking only about policies or strategies. Instead, they are showcasing bold action \u2014 raids, arrests, and seizures that span thousands of miles. This week, that action became visible in a dramatic way, as one of the most extensive law enforcement operations in recent years culminated in a wave of arrests.<\/p>\n

Behind the headlines lies a story that stretches from Los Angeles to Baltimore to Washington, D.C., weaving together drugs, weapons, violence, and politics. It is a story of a network dismantled \u2014 and a city bracing itself for what comes next.<\/p>\n

At the center of this storm is\u00a0Jeanine Pirro<\/strong>, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. Appointed by President Donald Trump earlier this year, Pirro has made no secret of her intent to pursue crime aggressively. This week, she stood before the press to announce the outcome of a\u00a0<\/p>\n

More than\u00a020 residential search warrants<\/strong>\u00a0were executed on Tuesday morning in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Los Angeles. The scale of the operation was unprecedented for the city in recent memory. Backed by the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Metropolitan Police Department, federal agents stormed properties tied to what they described as a\u00a0<\/p>\n

The charges? Running a network that funneled PCP and fentanyl \u2014 two of the most dangerous drugs on the streets \u2014 into Washington neighborhoods already scarred by violence.<\/p>\n

The seizures told their own story. Authorities recovered:<\/p>\n

18 firearms<\/strong>, including an AR-style rifle, a shotgun, and a Draco-style pistol.<\/p>\n

Over two kilograms of suspected narcotics.<\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

More than $50,000 in cash.<\/strong><\/p>\n

A\u00a0pill press machine<\/strong>\u00a0designed to manufacture counterfeit fentanyl pills.<\/p>\n

The pill press was especially alarming. Such machines have fueled the\u00a0opioid crisis<\/strong>, producing pills that mimic legitimate medications but often contain fatal doses of fentanyl. Investigators believe this network wasn\u2019t just distributing \u2014 it was\u00a0<\/p>\n

For prosecutors, the discovery underscored the scale of the operation: not just street-level dealing, but an enterprise that reached into production itself.<\/p>\n

An\u00a0eight-person conspiracy indictment<\/strong> unsealed last week revealed the cast of characters. The defendants came from across the country: two from California, one from Baltimore, and five from Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n

Seven were arrested in the raids:<\/p>\n

Leonard Edwards, 52, Washington, D.C.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Eric \u201cMarbury\u201d Prather, 43, Washington, D.C.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thomas Wilton Hancock Jr. (\u201cFresh\u201d), 43, Baltimore, Maryland<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sarda Smith, 36, Oxon Hill, Maryland<\/strong><\/p>\n

Michael Thomas, 49, Los Angeles, California<\/strong><\/p>\n

Reginald Lassiter, 39, Washington, D.C.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Darryl Riley, 39, Washington, D.C.<\/strong><\/p>\n

One remains at large, their indictment sealed as law enforcement continues the pursuit.<\/p>\n

The use of street names \u2014 \u201cMarbury,\u201d \u201cFresh\u201d \u2014 reflects a familiar pattern in organized drug networks. Aliases create barriers for investigators, shielding identities and reinforcing loyalty within the group.<\/p>\n

Authorities believe the group concentrated much of its activity around the\u00a02900 block of Knox Place SE<\/strong> in Washington. For years, the neighborhood has struggled with homicides, shootings, and drug crime. At least five killings occurred there in the last year alone.<\/p>\n

The choice of Knox Place was no accident. Criminal networks often embed themselves in areas where economic hardship and strained policing create opportunities. For residents, the arrests may bring relief \u2014 but they also raise painful questions about why the violence had to reach such intensity before real intervention came.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors described the network as\u00a0structured like a business<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Suppliers in California sourced the drugs.<\/p>\n

Baltimore served as a\u00a0distribution hub<\/strong>, a midpoint connecting West Coast suppliers with East Coast dealers.<\/p>\n

Washington, D.C. was the retail market, with local dealers flooding communities with product.<\/p>\n

This separation of supply, distribution, and sales made the network harder to trace \u2014 but not impossible.<\/p>\n

A turning point came earlier this year when law enforcement intercepted a shipment in\u00a0Kansas<\/strong>\u00a0containing\u00a017 gallons of PCP<\/strong>. Such a quantity could supply multiple cities for months. It also revealed just how ambitious this network was, moving drugs in industrial volumes across the heartland.<\/p>\n

The arsenal recovered in the raids reflects the violent nature of the trade. The\u00a0Draco pistol<\/strong>\u00a0in particular \u2014 compact, powerful, and favored by gangs \u2014 is emblematic of the firepower traffickers use to protect product, intimidate rivals, and enforce control.<\/p>\n

Investigators believe the group\u2019s operations directly contributed to spikes in shootings and homicides across D.C. neighborhoods. For Pirro, the case is proof that\u00a0drug trafficking and gun violence are inseparable problems<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

But Pirro\u2019s announcements did not stop with arrests. She also revealed a\u00a0policy change on firearms prosecutions<\/strong>\u00a0that could reshape how the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office handles gun cases in D.C.<\/p>\n

From now on, her office will not automatically prosecute individuals for simply possessing rifles or shotguns under D.C.\u2019s strict local laws. Instead, federal charges will focus on:<\/p>\n

Cases where long guns are used in violent crimes.<\/p>\n

Cases involving defendants legally barred from possessing firearms.<\/p>\n

This shift reflects recent\u00a0Supreme Court rulings<\/strong>\u00a0expanding Second Amendment rights, including the landmark\u00a0District of Columbia v. Heller<\/em>\u00a0(2008) and the 2022 ruling that struck down New York\u2019s concealed carry restrictions.<\/p>\n

\u201cA blanket ban on possessing shotguns and rifles cannot stand under the Supreme Court\u2019s guidance,\u201d Pirro said. \u201cWe will continue to seize all illegal firearms, and vigorously prosecute crimes connected with them.\u201d<\/p>\n

The change does\u00a0not<\/strong>\u00a0apply to handguns, which remain subject to existing prosecution guidelines.<\/p>\n

All of this unfolds within the larger framework of President Trump\u2019s declaration of a\u00a0crime emergency in Washington, D.C.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Federal agents and\u00a0National Guard troops<\/strong>\u00a0have been deployed in the capital since early September, tasked with curbing what the White House calls an \u201cescalating public safety crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to administration figures, the crackdown has already led to the seizure of\u00a076 firearms<\/strong>\u00a0in just a few weeks. The dismantling of the drug network is being hailed as the\u00a0most significant victory yet<\/strong>\u00a0under this initiative.<\/p>\n

Jeanine Pirro\u2019s appointment as U.S. Attorney was controversial from the start. A former Fox News host and outspoken critic of D.C.\u2019s crime policies, she has brought an aggressive, media-savvy style to the office.<\/p>\n

Her early months have been marked by both high-profile arrests and\u00a0setbacks<\/strong>. In recent weeks, two separate cases brought by her office failed to secure grand jury indictments \u2014 raising questions about strategy and preparation.<\/p>\n

But this week\u2019s operation may help quiet critics. By coordinating a multi-state takedown and unveiling a major conspiracy indictment, Pirro is showing the aggressive approach she promised when she took the role.<\/p>\n

The arrests and seizures highlight several realities:<\/p>\n

Drug trafficking today is interstate.<\/strong>\u00a0No longer confined to one city, networks stretch across states with supply chains resembling legitimate businesses.<\/p>\n

Firearms are central to the trade.<\/strong>\u00a0From rifles to compact pistols, weapons protect profits and enforce control.<\/p>\n

Federal-local cooperation is critical.<\/strong>\u00a0Only by combining FBI, DEA, and local police resources was the network exposed and dismantled.<\/p>\n

The stakes are immense.<\/strong>\u00a0With counterfeit fentanyl pills and bulk PCP shipments, the potential damage to communities was enormous.<\/p>\n

As legal proceedings begin against the seven arrested defendants, prosecutors will argue their case not just in court, but in the court of public opinion. For the Trump administration, the takedown is proof that the crime crackdown is working. For critics, questions remain about long-term solutions and whether aggressive federal presence can address the root causes of violence and addiction.<\/p>\n

What is certain is that Washington, D.C. has become a testing ground \u2014 a city where crime, politics, and policy collide in real time.<\/p>\n

The story of this drug network is not just about eight defendants. It is about a capital city at the center of a national debate: how to balance justice with rights, toughness with fairness, and immediate results with lasting change.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the heart of the nation\u2019s capital, the battle over crime and public safety has taken on a new intensity. Federal agents, prosecutors, and political leaders are no longer talking only about…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19658,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19659","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-breaking-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news2.watchtowatch.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19659","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news2.watchtowatch.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news2.watchtowatch.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news2.watchtowatch.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news2.watchtowatch.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19659"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/news2.watchtowatch.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19659\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news2.watchtowatch.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/19658"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news2.watchtowatch.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19659"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news2.watchtowatch.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19659"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news2.watchtowatch.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19659"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}