Associated Press
RICHMOND, Va. — Attorney General Jeff Sessions is continuing to push his tough-on-crime agenda, this time to law enforcement officials in Virginia.
Sessions will speak to police and federal officials Wednesday in Richmond. He is expected to further underscore his efforts to make fighting street violence a top mission of the Justice Department.
In his first month in office, Sessions has repeatedly cited the need for harsh sentences for the most violent criminals, particularly those who use guns. He has stressed the need to try gun cases in federal court, where they can carry longer sentences in faraway prisons.
But making prosecution of violence a priority is a radical departure for a Justice Department that has focused more on prevention of cyberattacks from foreign criminals, counterterrorism and the threat of homegrown violent extremism.