BENSENVILLE, Ailing. — U.S. Legal professional Normal Pam Bondi and Well being and Human Providers Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had been within the Chicago space Wednesday to announce joint seizure operations of illicit vaping gross sales — a transfer that comes because the White Home has been threatening to ship the army into town.
The operation, by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Meals and Drug Administration, was executed throughout six states Wednesday morning and focused 5 distributors and 9 retailers with civil enforcement motion.
Bondi and Kennedy had been each current on the website of the biggest seizure in Bensenville, Ailing., the place 600,000 models of unlawful product was seized.
The Division of Justice focused the distributors and retailers to halt their alleged distributions of sure vaping merchandise, together with illegally-flavored vapes, THC-infused vapes, and merchandise containing 7-OH, an unlawful compound with opioid-like results derived from kratom vegetation.
The ATF, along side the U.S. Marshals Service, carried out the raids in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, New Jersey and North Carolina.
In April, the U.S. Supreme Court docket upheld the FDA’s ban on the promoting of flavored vapes not authorized by the FDA. The FDA has mentioned flavored vapes pose a well being threat as a result of they may encourage younger folks to make use of tobacco.
In August, Bondi directed the ATF to maneuver ahead with a deliberate operation after Kennedy recognized illicit vaping merchandise shipped into the U.S. from China as a precedence for the well being division.
“It is clear many of those merchandise are being illegally introduced into America. They’re concentrating on youngsters, younger adults, faculty college students and even members of our army,” Bondi mentioned at a press convention Wednesday.
“These unlawful and unregulated merchandise should not secure,” she added, and “Chinese language firms are making thousands and thousands off these merchandise.”
“The Division of Justice will use each authorized measure to cease” the gross sales, she mentioned.
Kennedy mentioned the packaging of among the merchandise from China was “designed to draw younger folks” — and that such merchandise are banned in China.
The presence of two Cupboard secretaries at such an operation is uncommon, and it passed off two days after the Division of Homeland Safety introduced Immigration and Customs Enforcement was launching “Operation Halfway Blitz” within the metropolis, concentrating on undocumented immigrants who’ve dedicated crimes.
The Trump administration has repeatedly threatened in latest weeks to ship within the Nationwide Guard to fight excessive crime within the metropolis.
Requested about crime within the metropolis, Bondi mentioned, “Chicago may be very violent.” “We’ve a authorities right here that doesn’t wish to cooperate with President Trump,” she added.
In a put up on Fact Social final week, President Donald Trump wrote, “Chicago is the worst and most harmful metropolis within the World, by far.”
On Saturday, he posted what gave the impression to be an AI-created picture of himself in entrance of the Chicago skyline with helicopters, flames and the phrase “Chipocalypse Now.”
“‘I really like the scent of deportations within the morning…’ Chicago about to seek out out why it’s referred to as the Division of WAR,” the put up mentioned.
He is additionally delivered combined messaging, saying in a radio interview final week when requested whether or not he was going to deploy the Nationwide Guard within the metropolis, “I don’t wish to point out when, however it’s going to be taking place there.”
At different factors, he is mentioned he’d ship them in if requested to take action by Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker.
Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, each Democrats, say the transfer is neither needed or wanted.
“The president’s absurd characterizations don’t match what is going on on the bottom right here. He has no thought what he’s speaking about,” Pritzker advised reporters final week. “There isn’t any emergency that warrants deployment of troops,” he mentioned.
Each Pritzker and Johnson have criticized the administration for slashing public security funding, together with canceling tons of of thousands and thousands of {dollars} in grants.
Statistics present crime has been down in numerous cities, together with Chicago. The most up-to-date statistics, present homicides have dropped 31% from final yr, whereas shootings had been down 37.4%.
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