Director Christopher Wray has named Robert E. Hughes as the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Milwaukee Field Office. Mr. Hughes has served as the chief of the Violent Crime and Gang Section of the Criminal Investigative Division at FBI Headquarters since 2014.

Mr. Hughes began his career as an FBI special agent in 1998 and was assigned to the Detroit Field Office. In addition to conducting investigations, Mr. Hughes served as a hostage negotiator and crisis management coordinator. In 2004, Mr. Hughes was selected to lead the Flint and Ann Arbor Resident Agencies of the Detroit Field Office. He created the Flint Resident Agency’s first Safe Streets Task Force.

Mr. Hughes was promoted in 2008 to unit chief in the Inspection Division at FBI Headquarters in Washington. In 2011, he was selected as the assistant special agent in charge of the criminal and administrative programs for the Cincinnati Field Office. He also served as the commander of the SWAT Team and led the office’s critical incident response.

In 2014, Mr. Hughes was promoted to Senior Executive Service and returned to FBI Headquarters as chief of the Violent Crime and Gang Section of the Criminal Investigative Division. As section chief, he led the FBI’s domestic and international violent crime programs, the violent gang program, and the Indian Country crimes program. He was also responsible for the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives program, which saw 16 captures during his tenure.

Prior to his appointment as an FBI agent, Mr. Hughes served in the Army as an officer during Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm. He was a senior aviator and standardization instructor pilot and served in numerous combat support, air assault, and air cavalry assignments.