Unlike a majority of M. Night Shyamalan’s films, the plot of Trap (2024) isn’t as original as one might think. Technically, the flick is based on a true story. While the serial killer element, as well as other components of the plot, are unique to Shyamalan’s story, the premise centered around tricking criminals possesses real-world origins.
In 1985, the U.S. Marshals in Washington state launched Operation Flagship to catch criminals evading the law—numerous of which happened to have active warrants out for serious offenses, including arson, assault, robbery, and narcotics violations. Chief Deputy Marshal Tobias P. Roche and Herbert M. Rutherford III arranged for the fictional organization Flagship International Sports Television (FIST) to send complimentary pre-game brunch tickets. The big kicker—no pun intended—was that they offered a chance to win 10 season tickets to Washington Redskins games and a grand prize of an all-expenses paid trip to New Orleans to see Super Bowl XX. Such an incentive motivated many of the intended criminals to attend.
On the day of the sting, authorities set up early to get a jump on the guests arriving at the stadium. Oddly enough, an invitation that said to arrive at 9 AM wound up receiving attendees as early as 8 AM—almost as if the criminals wanted to get caught. Undercover officers proceeded to corral the alleged fugitives into an auditorium under the pretense of becoming “program” winners.
In truth, the police led them there for classification purposes. A “winner” was simply one of the suspected fugitives, while a “double winner” warranted extra attention due to their potentially dangerous behavior. By the end of the operation, they captured 101 targets.
Operation Flagship wasn’t simply just luring criminals out of hiding. It was methodically plotted out, including the disguises worn by each of the task force’s marshals. The female officers dressed in cheerleader outfits, while one Deputy Chief wore a knock-off San Diego Chicken suit. Plenty of others joined in with Redskins attire, such as war bonnets.
At one point, organizers at the event announced a codeword, followed by the marshals detaining the fugitives above. The sting's success led to much applause, as well as recognition across media platforms. ESPN covered Operation Flagship's events in a 30 for 30 titled Strike Team.
How Operation Flagship Influenced Trap (2024)
Trap (2024) manifests the best elements of Operation Flagship, setting up The Butcher under a similar pretense. The only difference between them is Butcher showed up for his daughter, while the 1985 criminals had selfish motivations in mind.
The most prevalent similarity is how a large-scale event worked to trap criminals. Cooper technically eluded authorities, although his ability to traverse a stadium full of trained professionals bordered on the supernatural. Meanwhile, the perps rounded up during Operation Flagship fell for an easy-to-see sting. They failed to notice that their invitations came from Michael Detnaw and Markus Cran. Both surnames are anagrams for the words wanted and narc, yet no one invited to the event paid any attention to it.
At first glance, the names lack significance. But, when paired with a spontaneous prize, alarms should go off for even the most oblivious criminal. No one wins a random brunch, especially fugitives. Criminals are typically on the lam, after all. The good news is that the people caught during Operation Flagship failed to pick up on the ruse beforehand. Most of their offenses included violent ones, making their capture a positive outcome for society.
Trap is currently streaming on Netflix.