Fort Worth, Texas: 141 People Charged as Federal Operation New Day Ends

Federal prosecutors announced the end of Operation New Day in Fort Worth on Monday, a public safety push that ran for about two and a half months and produced federal charges against 141 people.

U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould announced the results at a press conference in Fort Worth on November 9. Between August 24 and November 5, officers ran more than 20 undercover operations in Fort Worth communities, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Texas said.

The seizures list is long. Officers took in 35 firearms, more than 100 grams of fentanyl, more than 45 kilograms of methamphetamine and more than 22 kilograms of cocaine during the operation, prosecutors said.

Charges by the numbers

The 141 cases break down across several kinds of federal offenses. Prosecutors charged 51 defendants with illegal reentry after deportation and 45 with drug trafficking offenses, including possession with intent to distribute and conspiracy to distribute controlled substances.

Fifteen defendants face firearms charges, including felon in possession of a firearm or ammunition, unlawful possession of machineguns and possession of a firearm by an illegal alien. Agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also seized 41 machinegun conversion devices during the operation.

Nine defendants were charged with child exploitation and related sex offenses. Ten were charged with violating national defense airspace. Seven face election and citizenship related charges, two face document fraud charges, one is charged with assaulting a federal officer and one with falsely representing himself as a U.S. citizen.

What officials said

"In two and a half months, Operation New Day took 141 criminal offenders off the streets of Fort Worth," Raybould said. He said the defendants include drug traffickers, armed felons and people who exploit children, and he said prosecutors will keep pursuing anyone who threatens North Texas communities.

ATF officials said the machinegun conversion devices pose an extreme threat to communities and to the officers who protect them. DEA Special Agent in Charge Joseph B. Tucker said the operation shows what federal, state and local partners can do together to take deadly drugs and illegal firearms off the streets.

Acting U.S. Marshal Sean Malecha said the North Texas Fugitive Task Force works on the streets of Fort Worth and Tarrant County every day with its partners, and that anyone on its list will be found and brought to face justice in the Northern District of Texas.

Who took part

The operation was run with the U.S. Marshals Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. The Tarrant County Sheriff's Office, the Fort Worth Police Department and the Tarrant County District Attorney's Office also took part.

Eight assistant U.S. attorneys from the Fort Worth Division and one from the Dallas Division are prosecuting the cases.

Indictments, informations and criminal complaints are allegations only. Every defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.