US attorney general heading to Alaska for tribal roundtable

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – U.S. Attorney General William Barr is heading to Alaska to meet with Native leaders and other officials on public safety concerns, including the disproportionately high rates of violence and sexual assaults.

The Department of Justice says Barr will participate Wednesday in an Alaska Native justice roundtable. He will also visit the state crime lab.

The DOJ says the visit begins a series of meetings with Native leaders as well as federal, state and local officials in the state.

The roundtable comes after Barr said in April that he had scheduled a visit to Alaska to address the problem of violence against Alaska Native women.