The number of violent criminals arrested by the FBI is up 90% compared to the 18-month period prior to the Trump administration.
Posted by The Dan Bongino Show, Checked
- Sources
- 4 contradict2 support2 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 60%
The Dan Bongino ShowSep 16, 2026
The 54,000 arrests and 90% increase are supported as the FBI's official count (White House release and Patel's Senate testimony), but MS NOW's review of DOJ data says that count includes state, local, and other federal arrests made when an FBI employee was present, and that the FBI made fewer violent-criminal cases than in the Biden period.
A played clip makes this claim. Listeners heard it, so it counts against the post.
What was said
… This has been the most prolific run of crime reduction in the United States history. With the help of our great partners, since the beginning of the Trump administration, the FBI has arrested 54,000 violent criminals. That's up 90% from the 18 month year period prior to that. That's making America safe. 31,000 violent gang members have been arrested by the FBI. That's up 30%, making America safe. We've removed, the FBI has removed 3,258 kilograms of fentanyl. That's, we have located, found, and identified 11,081 child victims. …
The Dan Bongino Show · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Contradicts. MS NOW's review of Justice Department data says the 54,000 count includes arrests by state, local, and other federal agencies whenever an FBI employee was present, and the FBI acknowledges many were not FBI cases.[3][4][5]
Contradicts. MS NOW reports that the FBI referred 15% fewer criminal cases for federal prosecution in Trump's second term than in the same period under Biden, and that it arrested fewer violent criminals than in the comparable Biden-era span.[4][6]
Supports. The White House release and Patel's Senate testimony both state the FBI arrested nearly 54,000 violent criminals, up 90% from the preceding 18 months.[2][7]
Context. A CNN transcript of a September 2026 hearing gives a different figure of 5,400 violent-criminal arrests up 90%, which is not the same count as the 54,000 claim and is not used for grading.[8]
Context. FactCheck.org reports that the FBI's own crime data show violent crime declining since 2020 and that the administration's claims about the decline were misleading, but it does not address the 54,000 arrest figure directly.[1]
Sources
8 sources: 1 fact-checker, 1 primary, 1 tier 3, 5 not rated
- 1murders Archivesfactcheck.org · fact-checker · cited for: context
- 2President Trump Delivers the Largest Drop in Violent ...whitehouse.gov · primary source · cited for: supports
- 3Kash Patel 'poaching credit' to cover up his own failures ...rawstory.com · tier 3 · cited for: contradicts
- 4Crime stats touted by Kash Patel are bolstered by arrests ...ms.now · not rated · cited for: contradicts
- 5Trump caught 'juicing the stats' to fake tough-on-crime claimsalternet.org · not rated · cited for: contradicts
- 6Kash Patel's FBI Statistics Are All Wrong - Yahooyahoo.com · not rated · cited for: contradicts
- 7FBI Oversight Hearing 9/16/26rev.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 8FBI Director Kash Patel Faces Senate Judiciary Committee. Aired 9 ...transcripts.cnn.com · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
Related claims
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