Fitch touts record as Attorney General at Neshoba County Fair

• The AG said her office has a 96 percent success rate in defending the state and its laws.

Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch (R) said Thursday that a two-week, statewide sting operation run by her office netted 72 arrests and the recovery of 29 human trafficking victims.

Fitch stated at the Nashba County Fair that Operation Guardian Force included 400 law enforcement officers coordinating search warrants, arrests, and victim services.

“I am proud of the dedicated investigators and prosecutors from the Attorney General’s Office, as well as our partners in local, state, and federal law enforcement, for their work on this operation and every day to keep our communities safe,” said Fitch, noting that approximately 400 law enforcement officers participated in the operation.

Saving human trafficking victims and arresting traffickers was not the only result from Operation Guardian Force. An app and website, known as Simply Report, is being piloted by her office. The app and website allow Mississippians to quickly and easily report tips about human trafficking, she said.

“We are the first State in the nation to use it. We are helping to turn it into a nationwide platform,” Fitch said.

The new format takes tips from citizens and feeds those tips to law enforcement. AI then helps to prioritize those tips so officers can better use their time and resources.

Fitch said the new technology is “just the tool we have needed to give you the power to be the solution to some of Mississippi’s greatest criminal threats.”

During her speech on Founders Square, Fitch emphasized that the Office of the Attorney General is helping all Mississippians. From the unborn to the recovering drug addict to human trafficking victims, the AG’s Office is there to serve all, she said.

“My amazing team and I work on one simple principle: Who did we help today?” Fitch told the crowd. 

The Attorney General went on to tout her office’s successes, mentioning taking down online predators to make Mississippi communities safer, arresting human traffickers, taking drug dealers off the streets who “peddle poison” to children.

But the office’s most important job is being there for the victims of those crimes, she emphasized. That includes “holding criminals accountable by reinstating use of the death penalty for the first time in 12 years,” which received a round of applause from fairgoers.

She touted that her office has a 96 percent success rate in defending the state and its laws.

Another first-of-its-kind website and app her office implemented is aimed at supporting women and families, known as MAMA. It brings together the public, private, and faith-based resources women need to flourish.

“In less than two years, we’ve had more than 56,000 visits to the MAMA site,” she said.

After her speech under the pavilion, Fitch said she “loves the AG’s Office” when asked if she plans to run for governor in 2027.

However, as she closed her speech, Fitch did leave room for a run for another office in the future. 

“In whatever capacity [I serve], I will always put your interests first. I will build bridges and forge partnerships,” she said.