In a Wednesday visit to the state's capital, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions specifically targeted a 2015 Supreme Court ruling that he says allowed more than 1,400 violent criminals to be released, including 18 in Arkansas.
The 2015 decision, which ruled that the definition of a violent felon in the Armed Career Criminal Act was too vague, in part re-categorized many offenders as non-violent — particularly those charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm.
In front of a room of law enforcement officers and politicians, Sessions argued Wednesday that the law's real consequence was to release violent offenders back into the community.
"Releasing repeat offenders has consequences," Sessions said. "Every crime committed by a recidivist released by this court case would not have happened. Every one of their victims would not have been victimized."
Sessions said at least eight people were released in Little Rock alone and that more than 42 percent of released offenders have been arrested again since the 2015 ruling. Sessions called on local officials, state legislators and members of Congress to vie for a fix to the law,
The attorney general did not take questions at the event. He also did not address a Wednesday tweet by President Donald Trump that called on him to end the investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller into Russia's intervention into U.S. elections.
Sessions and a panel of federal and state officials met Wednesday afternoon in Garland County to discuss the school’s armed security program.
Lake Hamilton School District Superintendent Steve Anderson praised law enforcement officers at the meeting but said they weren’t enough to keep children safe in the event of a shooter.
In addition to hiring armed security officers, a small number of administrators have been trained and licensed to carry a weapon, which are locked in undisclosed locations, he said.
“We know we’re not the U.S. Navy SEALs, but by golly, we’re a long way from Barney Fife,” Anderson said, referring to the character from The Andy Griffith Show. “We’ll do what it takes to protect our babies.”
The seven-person panel — which included Sessions, Anderson, Gov. Asa Hutchinson, U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman, Deputy Secretary of Education Mick Zais, Health and Human Services representative Cindy Kemp and Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers Director Thomas Walters, said they were eager to work with local school administrators and law enforcement to identify best practices and recommendations.
The visit was part of the administration’s efforts to learn ways to keep schoolchildren safe after a gunman killed 17 students at a high school in Parkland, Fla.
Read Thursday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.