COLUMBIA — Local, state and federal law enforcement agencies arrested 33 people in Columbia on Thursday and Friday in what the Department of Justice is labeling "Operation Brightside."
In a news conference at the Columbia city hall Monday afternoon, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri Matthew Price said in addition to the arrests, officers also served 19 federal indictments, 21 felony state warrants and conducted six residential search warrants.
This was a joint law enforcement operation between eight agencies, including the Columbia Police Department, Boone County Sheriff's Office, Missouri State Highway Patrol and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
"The mission of Brightside was straightforward: Use existing, Missouri-based law enforcement personnel and resources in a coordinated way to serve warrants, arrest individuals wanted for serious crimes, identify additional evidence to support successful state and federal prosecution," Price said in the news conference. "I want to emphasize that this was a home-grown solution to a hometown problem."
Problems with crime have been in the spotlight in Columbia in recent years, and the shooting death of Aiyanna Williams, a Stephens student and innocent bystander who was shot and killed in downtown on the University of Missouri's Homecoming weekend this year, brought renewed attention to the issue.
As UM System President Mun Choi sat in the audience of the news conference, Price acknowledged that he and Choi spoke because of that shooting.
"The death during Homecoming weekend was, frankly, the straw that broke the camel's back," Price said. "So, I reached out President Choi. I wanted to meet to hear his concern from his perspective, and let him know that we have federal tools and resources at our disposal ready to help address the situation."
Operation Brightside was the product of a law enforcement coalition called a violent crime abatement team focused on mid-Missouri. It was formed in December of 2024, and Price said work on the major warrant-based enforcement conducted last week was well underway before the shooting on Homecoming weekend.
On Thursday, the Columbia Police Department issued a release that said the only people law enforcement were seeking were people suspected of violent crime and that authorities were pursuing suspects based on warrants. The Police Department said there were no arrests being made based on immigration status. A news release from Price's office affirmed that statement.
Homeland Security Investigations was one of the agencies that participated in the operation, but Price reaffirmed at the Monday news conference that no immigration arrests were made. Price said he was not aware of any ongoing conversations with the Department of Homeland Security to conduct mass immigration operations in mid-Missouri.
During the news conference, Columbia Police Chief Jill Schlude said she was not aware of any injuries to anyone during the operations on Thursday or Friday.
This story has been updated with new details.