On Wednesday, Fox News's Tucker Carlson highlighted MS-13's call for its members to kill police officers in Nassau County on Long Island.

Only a few months ago, many members of the establishment press were criticizing the Trump administration's targeting of the gang in its law-enforcement efforts. They and the national press in general have been disgracefully quiet about this latest development.

Carlson relayed the latest news, and then interviewed Patrick Ryder, Chairman of the Nassau County Police Department:

Transcript:

TUCKER CARLSON: Meanwhile, MS-13 has been terrorizing ordinary people — mostly immigrants, by the way — in this country for years. It's the deadliest gang in America, and it seems to be turning its sites against American law enforcement. That's not our take. That's what they're saying. In recent weeks, Long Island police have arrested several gang members, and according to informants, leaders are telling their foot soldiers, "It is time to take the streets back and shoot a cop like we do in El Salvador." They shoot a lot of cops in El Salvador. They run the country. Patrick Ryder is commissioner of the Nassau County Police Department, and he joins us tonight. Mr. Ryder, thanks for coming on. PATICK RYDER: Thank you sir, for having us. CARLSON: So our understanding of MS-13 is, up until now, they've committed in a number of crimes, a number of high-profile killings. But they haven't targeted law enforcement. You think that's changing. RYDER: Well, we got our threat last Wednesday. They decided they were going to put out a notice to their foot soldiers that you are going to take a cop's life, just like they do in El Salvador. CARLSON: So why the change? RYDER: They don't like the fact that we've increased our enforcement. We're going after the MS-13 and all our gangs out here in Long Island. So from the increased enforcement, they decided they were going to act back. Well, in return, we're going to act back. CARLSON: Where are these people coming from? RYDER: Most of them are crossing from the borders of both Mexico and Texas. They find their way up into the New York area where there is work for most migrant workers. CARLSON: Yes. RYDER: But again, those who don't join the gangs, they get threatened by the gangs to join them. They go after the young kids and try to flip them. CARLSON: So you may have missed this because you're busy enforcing the law. But here in Washington, MS-13 has had in effect some high-profile defenders who have said it's wrong, it's immoral, it's probably bigoted actually, to target MS-13 because they're immigrants. RYDER: I spent a lot of time in the Hispanic community. And these leaders in the community, they don't want them there. They don't want any part of them in the community.

This increased gang militance wouldn't have been expected by those who rely on the elite pundits in the establishment press, who, as Carlson indicated, have been busy trying to pretend that MS-13 isn't really much of a threat. Examples include but are not limited to these:

On January 31, Brian Flood at Fox News, after President Donald Trump's promised more aggressive action against the gang in his State of the Union address, reported that "Often-misinformed MSNBC star Joy Reid is under the impression that international criminal gang MS-13 isn’t a major issue and the only people that have even heard of the thugs are regular viewers of Fox News."

and the only people that have even heard of the thugs are regular viewers of Fox News." A March 1 New York Times story claimed that "law enforcement officials at local, state and federal levels describe the Trump administration’s hard-charging campaign against MS-13 as out of proportion with the threat." The "law enforcement officials" would likely feel differently, especially now, if they worked in Nassau County.

The "law enforcement officials" would likely feel differently, especially now, if they worked in Nassau County. A February 27 Houston Chronicle item claimed that "Rival gang members and informants will always be among MS-13’s main concerns." Obviously, given the news from Long Island, rival gangs are not their only concerns.

Obviously, given the news from Long Island, rival gangs are not their only concerns. A February NPR interview cast the Trump Justice Department's focus on MS-13 as a cynical political tool: "New Yorker writer Jonathan Blitzer ... (said) President Trump uses the notorious gang to paint a portrait of rampant criminality among immigrants — and to frame the broader immigration debate."

In an October Washington Post op-ed ("MS-13 is not ravaging the United States"), the author claimed that "MS-13 is indeed a problem. For Central Americans. It’s a problem that’s made worse by xenophobic fearmongering by opportunistic politicians ..."

In a Townhall column on February 24, Ron Hosko, president of the Law Enforcement Action Network and a former FBI assistant director, had a far more sober take on the gang whose motto is “kill, rape, control”:

They aren’t just Trump’s boogeymen. These monsters are real.

Carlson's January reaction to the criticism from Reid and others about MS-13's threat was as follows: "This isn't a philosophy, it's a sickness."

The uncomfortable truth the left won't acknowledge is that President Trump inherited a serious problem:

... the gang rebuilt itself under (former President Barack) Obama’s open-border immigration policies.

A Google News search on "gang Nassau County police" (not in quotes, sorted by date, past week) done at 3:30 p.m. ET on Friday returned only 10 results, almost all of them locally based.

Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com.