Garland spoke about the safe return of Abigail Edan, a 4-year-old American kidnapped by Hamas in Gaza.
On Monday, Attorney General Merrick Garland paid a visit to the United States Attorney’s Office in New York City, where he made brief public statements about his office’s role in obtaining the safe return of American hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.
During his visit, Garland met with U.S. Attorney Damian Williams, as well as other federal, state, and local law enforcement officials, to discuss community issues. The visit is part of the attorney general’s nationwide tour of U.S. Attorney’s Offices.
“While these kinds of meetings between the Justice Department and our law enforcement partners are always important, the current global threat environment makes this one particularly urgent,” Garland said at the start of his speech.
“Over 40 hostages kidnapped by Hamas on October 7th have been released in recent days.” Avigail Idan, a 4-year-old American, was among them,” he said. “We welcome Avigail’s return and hope to see the return of more hostages in the days to come.”
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Williams was by the attorney general’s side as he said that the department’s Victims Services Office and the FBI’s equivalent victim services offices were prepared to “provide assistance to released Americans and their families.”
“We also want to keep collaborating with our allies in the U.S. administration to ensure that all Americans who are missing—including those who are currently being held captive—are returned home. The Justice Department is being watchful in the face of possible threats from terrorism and hate-fueled violence as always, but especially now.”
Garland added that his department was concentrating on domestic activities that could be impacted by the conflict between Israel and Hamas as well as broader concerns in the Middle East.
“We are closely monitoring the impact that the conflict in the Middle East may have on inspiring Foreign Terrorist Organizations, homegrown violent extremists and domestic violent extremists, both here in the United States and abroad,” he stated. “All of us have also seen a sharp increase in the volume and frequency of threats against Jewish Muslim and Arab communities across our country since October 7.”
The attorney general then brought up the Vermont investigation, in which three Palestinian males had been attacked.
“There is understandable fear in communities across the country,” Garland stated. “The ATF and FBI are currently looking into the terrible shooting deaths of three individuals who are of Palestinian heritage in Vermont. The inquiry is still underway, and it will determine whether this is a hate crime or not.
“No individual or community in this nation should have to live in constant fear of acts of hate-motivated violence. Our daily motivation comes from keeping that pledge,” he continued.
Updates from Vermont’s investigation team, according to Garland, will be “coming soon.”
“While we are confronting this elevated global threat environment, we also know we cannot lose sight of many other challenges and includes working closely with our law enforcement partners to combat violent crime,” said the attorney general.
He also gave instances of how his administration was still looking for ways to stop the supply of the lethal drug fentanyl.
“This office also has an important part of the Justice Department’s broader strategy to disrupt and dismantle fentanyl by attacking every link in the chain of the trafficking networks,” he stated.
