Fox’s Maria Bartiromo Presses Gop Senator About High Crime Rate In Her State: What Are You Doing To ‘clean It Up?’

Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo spoke to Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) on Tuesday, asking her about the high crime rate in her state and what is being done to address it.

“I’ve got to tell you, this weekend I was so struck by Kash Patel, the new FBI director, senator, who said to me that there’s real trouble in Memphis when it comes to crime. Listen to Kash Patel and what he told me on Sunday,” Bartiromo began, before playing a clip of Patel saying:

But Memphis, Tennessee, is the homicide capital of America per capita. Didn’t know that. We have a problem there. We’re now addressing it. We’re rolling out one of our task forces in the state of Tennessee. But we also know that Ohio possesses the roadway system where the trafficking is through the roof just because of the interstates.

“So, senator, it’s very concerning. What can you tell us about Memphis and the efforts to clean it up?” Bartiromo then asked in a rare mention of red state crime on the right-leaning network.

“Yes, indeed, and when Director Patel came to me before he came to the Judiciary Committee, we talked about this with Memphis and our concern there with the homicide rate, and he has been working with me ever since that point, and I am so grateful,” Blackburn replied, adding:

And also to AG [Pam] Bondi, who is focused on this issue with us. We know that there are gangs in Memphis, they are recruiting juveniles to commit carjackings, smash and grabs, home robberies, things of that nature. We had a U.S. Attorney there who was not prosecuting these crimes and getting people into court. They were turning them back out. Because of that, the juvenile crime rate had escalated. So we have some legislation that Senator Hagerty and I have worked on for grants for local law enforcement.

Cortez-Masto and I have the After School Act to put money into programs where we can have kids participate in these enrichment programs from 2 to 6 o’clock in the afternoon, which is the time that juvenile crime spikes and that gangs are doing recruitment. We’re committed, the FBI and the DOJ are committed to getting this crime rate down in Memphis. And to making certain that we’re addressing the needs of that community and I’m grateful for their help and support in this effort.

Watch the clip above via Fox Business Network.

The post Fox’s Maria Bartiromo Presses GOP Senator About High Crime Rate in Her State: What Are You Doing to ‘Clean it Up?’ first appeared on Mediaite.