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Gillespie: Over 2,000 MS-13 Gang Members In Fairfax County
National Review ^ | 10/24/17 | Alexandra Desanctis

Posted on 10/25/2017 11:31:12 AM PDT by leaymane

Republican Ed Gillespie has come under attack from some public figures, who dispute his assertion that there are over 2,000 MS-13 — Mara Salvatrucha — gang members in Fairfax County, Virginia. Gillespie is currently running for governor in Virginia, and throughout his campaign, he has underscored his opposition to sanctuary cities by highlighting the presence of violent criminal gangs in Northern Virginia, including his home county of Fairfax.

In an attempt to debunk Gillespie’s MS-13 figures, Washington Post fact-checker Glenn Kessler claimed this morning that there are in fact 1,400 MS-13 members in Fairfax County rather than 2,000 – despite having stated himself that “the plain fact is that no one knows how many MS-13 gang members are in Fairfax County.”

Kessler appears to be trying a bit too hard to find reasons to slam Gillespie, without having the necessary substance to back up his own assertions. For one thing, Jay Lanham, a retired law-enforcement officer and former executive director of the Northern Virginia Regional Gang Task Force ended up confirming Gillespie’s numbers to the Washington Post.

Lanham told WTOP in June that the number of MS-13 members was now “over 5,000 easy” in Northern Virginia. When contacted by the Post for Kessler’s report, Lanham supposedly “backed away from the number” but still said he believed 2,000 MS-13 gang members for Fairfax County was “probably pretty accurate” as an estimate. This hardly serves as a refutation of Gillespie’s talking point.

But even if Kessler’s 1,400 number is closer to the truth than Gillespie’s 2,000, that’s still a disturbingly substantial figure. That many violent gang members for just one Virginia county is surely nothing to celebrate. If there are indeed 1,400 MS-13 members in the county, that would make the MS-13 population in Fairfax County equal to the population of the county’s police force, a troubling statistic.

And the point of Gillespie’s remark clearly is not that he has somehow ascertained the precise number of violent criminal gang members in Fairfax County. Rather, his argument is that Northern Virginia is experiencing far too much violent crime, and that sanctuary cities — which explicitly shelter illegal immigrants, including those convicted of felonies, from federal law enforcement — would only exacerbate the problem. On that, he is undoubtedly correct, whether his or Kessler’s estimate is closest to the correct figure.


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Politics/Elections; US: Virginia
KEYWORDS: edgillespie; fairfaxcounty; gangviolence; immigration; ms13; virginia
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1 posted on 10/25/2017 11:31:12 AM PDT by leaymane
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To: leaymane
Washington Post fact-checker Glenn Kessler claimed this morning that there are in fact 1,400 MS-13 members in Fairfax County rather than 2,000

So we can quibble the numbers by a few hundred, but WTF does that matter? 1,400 are just as destructive, just somewhat smaller in number.

2 posted on 10/25/2017 11:35:34 AM PDT by ScottinVA ( Liberals, go find another country.)
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To: leaymane

Gillespie and Guadagno are going to win in two weeks.


3 posted on 10/25/2017 11:39:20 AM PDT by Haiku Guy (eliminate perverse incentives)
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To: Haiku Guy

Isn’t he a never Trumper? Will he work with the Donald?


4 posted on 10/25/2017 11:40:26 AM PDT by DIRTYSECRET (urope. Why do they put up with this.)
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To: ScottinVA

Wow...didn’t know that the MS-13 guys were so willing to let the Census folks know that they were affiliated with this murderous troop.


5 posted on 10/25/2017 11:41:07 AM PDT by woweeitsme
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To: ScottinVA

I can hear FDR now...

“Oh, wait... It was only 360 Japanese aircraft that attacked our fleet at Pearl harbor? Well, nevermind, then...”


6 posted on 10/25/2017 11:41:55 AM PDT by Haiku Guy (eliminate perverse incentives)
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To: All

Hhaahhaha....1,400 instead of 2,000.....hahaha, well THAT will help people sleep better at nite!


7 posted on 10/25/2017 11:42:17 AM PDT by Maverick68
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To: leaymane

Whatever the number of MS-13 gangsters there are in Fairfax County, Virginia, that number is way too many, thanks to your present Governor, low life, Obamabot /Clinton, lover, Terry McAuliffe.

Ed Gillespie is right on the money and...I would suggest that every legal registered voter cast their vote for Ed Gillespie for Governor on November 7, 2017, election day. Less that Virginians, with Democrat, Communist, Socialist, Ralph Northham as your new Governor, Virginia will become the California cesspool swamp. Make Virginia “Red” again...just like Make America Great Again......Vote, Republican!!!


8 posted on 10/25/2017 11:42:55 AM PDT by JLAGRAYFOX (Defeat both the Republican (e) & Democrat (e) political parties....Forever!!!)
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To: leaymane

Thank you, bammy!


9 posted on 10/25/2017 11:44:53 AM PDT by I want the USA back (Liberalism, like insanity, is the denial of reality.)
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To: ScottinVA

What.....is that based on a tattoo count and checking with their parole officers?


10 posted on 10/25/2017 11:48:21 AM PDT by ptsal ( Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please. - M. Twain)
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To: DIRTYSECRET
Isn’t he a never Trumper? Will he work with the Donald?

That doesn't matter. A Gillespie win is good for Trump. So if all you care about is what is best for Trump, you vote for Gillespie.

Imagine the headlines on the day after Election Day:

Gillespie Wins: DEMOCRAT FALLS IN RACE IN WHICH HE WAS HEAVILY FAVORED. TRUMP WIN STREAK CONTINUES.

Northam Wins: DEMOCRATS TRIUMPH IN REPUDIATION OF REPUBLICAN PARTY AND TRUMP.

11 posted on 10/25/2017 11:49:59 AM PDT by Haiku Guy (eliminate perverse incentives)
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To: leaymane

Even one MS-13 member is one too many.


12 posted on 10/25/2017 11:51:40 AM PDT by reg45 (Barack 0bama: Gone but not forgiven.)
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To: leaymane
Couldn't the difference be hang-abouts and others who aren't officially gang members but who are strongly associated with MS-13? I'm guessing that MS-13 has a lot of street-level drug pushers who are not members but who are exclusively linked to MS-13.

2,000 versus 1,400? Is that a big enough difference to make a big deal out of it? In the Washington Post world, it is because Gillespie is a Republican. If law enforcement has identified 1,400 MS-13 members, I'm inclined to believe that 2,000 is more correct. That's not to disparage law enforcement, just recognizing the fact that MS-13 is a secret organization that doesn't print formal membership rolls.

13 posted on 10/25/2017 11:51:51 AM PDT by CommerceComet (Hillary: A unique blend of arrogance, incompetence, and corruption.)
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To: leaymane
1400, 2000, whatever. One is too many.
14 posted on 10/25/2017 11:52:24 AM PDT by bassmaner (Hey commies: I am a' white male, and I am guilty of NOTHING! Sell your 'white guilt' elsewhere.)
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To: leaymane

“But even if Kessler’s 1,400 number is closer to the truth than Gillespie’s 2,000”

At best its a crude estimate. But they don’t exactly register when they arrive. If all the government agrees that its 1400, the 2000 is perfectly rational to believe.

And the differences between 1400 and 2000 are at best...academic.


15 posted on 10/25/2017 11:54:08 AM PDT by DesertRhino (Dog is man's best friend, and moslems hate dogs. Add that up. ...)
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To: Maverick68

I have it on good authority that there are 57 MS-13 Gang Members in Fairfax County, Virginia!

16 posted on 10/25/2017 11:55:34 AM PDT by Haiku Guy (eliminate perverse incentives)
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To: CommerceComet

I don’t know why this is complicated...

Simply print out the MS-13 Gang Membership List and count the pages. Multiply the number of names on the first page of the list by the number of pages.

What could be simpler?


17 posted on 10/25/2017 11:57:46 AM PDT by Haiku Guy (eliminate perverse incentives)
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To: ScottinVA

> So we can quibble the numbers by a few hundred, but WTF does that matter? <

When the time comes (and it will), one less National Guard infantry company will be needed.


18 posted on 10/25/2017 12:03:38 PM PDT by Leaning Right (I have already previewed or do not wish to preview this composition.)
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To: CommerceComet

Exactly. It’s not like they know who every single gang member is.


19 posted on 10/25/2017 12:06:59 PM PDT by leaymane
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To: leaymane

So, Kessler has access to the MS-13 membership lists?


20 posted on 10/25/2017 12:13:37 PM PDT by Fresh Wind (Hillary: Go to jail. Go directly to jail. Do not pass GO. Do not collect 2 billion dollars.)
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