ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ

A former St. Louisan and for years a perennial candidate and persistent gadfly in Missouri politics, Martin has announced a new campaign to crack down on felons caught with firearms, Ìý°ù±ð±è´Ç°ù³Ù±ð»å.

Last week, Martin sent his prosecutors another in his steady stream of internal memos that orders them to move all felon-in-possession cases to federal court, instead of local and circuit courts.

The memo also calls for revoking outstanding plea offers in such cases and requires that suspects be held in custody until their cases play out in the courts.

Ex-felons convicted in federal gun possession cases can be sentenced to prison for five to nine years.

While praising prosecutors for reducing crime, Martin said, “Violent crime in the District of Columbia, however, is still unacceptably common.�

Martin, who has advocated for Jan. 6 rioters, has been leading D.C. as interim U.S. attorney since January.

Martin broke onto the Missouri political scene in 2005, when he served as chief of staff to Gov. Matt Blunt. He also has served as chair of the St. Louis Board of Election Commissioners, and also as head of the state Republican Party.

Elections-wise, Martin has lost one bid to become Missouri attorney general and failed in two attempts to be elected to the U.S. House.

His most recent actions have drawn the attention of other Missouri legislators in Washington.

At a GOP gathering on Saturday at Westport Plaza, U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, a Republican, smiled when asked about Martin’s audacious debut as a federal prosecutor.

“Ed has always been a disruptor,� Hawley told reporters, “and I think Donald Trump wants some disruption.�