Operation Flagship was a one-day sting in Washington, D.C., on December 15, 1985. The goal was simple: arrest people with outstanding warrants without the usual risks of home raids or street chases.
To make that happen, the U.S. Marshals Service and the Metropolitan Police Department needed a hook that felt urgent and hard to pass up. They chose a sold-out NFL game, Washington Redskins vs. Cincinnati Bengals, with playoff stakes that made tickets especially tempting.
In November, they mailed invitations to the last known addresses of roughly 3,000 wanted individuals. The letter claimed the recipient had “won” two free tickets through a new cable outfit called Flagship International Sports Television. The name was part of the joke, since its initials matched the Marshals’ Fugitive Investigative Strike Team (FIST). The invite told “winners” to show up at the Washington Convention Center at 9:00 a.m. for a pre-game brunch and prize pickup, with extra bait like raffles for season tickets and even a Super Bowl trip.
Even though nobody had entered any contest, 167 people RSVP’d and came. Before dawn on game day, officers turned the convention center into a convincing fan event, complete with balloons, a buffet-style brunch, and football highlights playing on big screens. Teams arrived around 5:30 a.m., and some guests showed up as early as 8:00.
About 166 marshals and police worked the operation, many dressed as tuxedoed ushers, caterers, staffers, mascots, and cheerleaders. As guests arrived, “event employees” checked IDs, confirmed names through backroom calls, and handed out color-coded tags. One marshal in a giant chicken suit and others in costume watched for anyone getting suspicious, while cheerleaders used friendly hugs to check for weapons without making it obvious.
Guests were then moved in small, manageable batches. Groups of about 10 to 20 were escorted into an auditorium for a short welcome from a top-hat-wearing emcee. At the cue word, “surprise,” a tactical team rushed in, surrounded the seated group, and quickly put them in handcuffs. Detainees were escorted out to waiting buses, keeping the room calm and the arrests controlled.
By the end, 101 fugitives had been taken into custody. A last-minute cease-and-desist complaint from a real local broadcaster nearly complicated things, but the sting still went forward. Later that day, the Redskins won the actual game 27–24, while Operation Flagship became a famous example of a high-yield arrest operation built on staging, timing, and a sharp read on what people will do for “free” tickets.
