State prosecutors say they are \u201cthe most effective tools to preserve democracy.\u201d<\/b>
\nDistrict Attorney Larry Krasner is organizing a crew to advance his frequent vow to prosecute any federal law enforcement officials who commit crimes.
Krasner and eight other progressive prosecutors from across the country have founded a coalition with the aim of helping each other litigate such cases, and raising funds to counter the U.S. Justice Department\u2019s efforts to quash them.
They hail from Minneapolis \u2014 where police and prosecutors are investigating the fatal shootings of protesters Renee Good and Alex Pretti by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents \u2014 and from cities and counties in Arizona, Texas and Virginia.
The group launched Wednesday and calls itself Fight Against Federal Overreach, or FAFO. That\u2019s also the acronym for \u201cF\u2014 around and find out,\u201d a phrase Krasner often uses when he promises to prosecute rogue law enforcement officials or people seeking to interfere in elections.
The announcement follows widespread reports of alleged civil rights violations by ICE agents in Minneapolis and statements from the Trump administration that have raised doubts about the integrity of federal investigations of the shootings.
Vice President JD Vance said the agent who shot Renee Good was \u201cprotected by absolute immunity,\u201d and federal officials have refused to cooperate with investigations by Minnesota officials into both shootings.
\u201cWe find ourselves in a moment when one of the most effective tools to try to preserve democracy in the United States is state prosecutors,\u201d Krasner said during a virtual press conference for the new coalition. \u201cDespite the misinformation you have heard from the mouth of the Vice President, we do have the ability to bring state criminal charges against federal officers and to prosecute those cases to conclusion.\u201d
Krasner said it\u2019s up to state and county prosecutors to prosecute federal officers for crimes such as homicide or illegally covering up misconduct. The latter could bring charges such as obstructing the administration of justice, tampering with evidence, perjury and false oaths, he said.
Vance\u2019s claim of absolute immunity is \u201cabsolute nonsense,\u201d Krasner said.
\u201cThere is a sliver of immunity that is not going to save people who disarm a suspect and then repeatedly shoot him in the back, from facing criminal charges,\u201d he said. \u201cThere is a sliver of immunity that is not going to save people who are shooting young mothers with no criminal record and no weapon, in the side or back of the head, when it\u2019s very clear the circumstances didn\u2019t require any of that.\u201d
Under an 1890 U.S. Supreme Court decision, federal officers do have immunity from state prosecution for \u201cnecessary and proper\u201d actions performed while doing their jobs.
On a few occasions, courts have allowed such prosecutions to go ahead. In 2001, a federal Appeals Court ruled that Idaho could prosecute a manslaughter charge against an FBI sharpshooter who killed white separatist Vicki Weaver during the Ruby Ridge standoff of 1992. It was the first time a federal agent had ever been charged as a killer while doing their job, NPR reported.
Steve Descano, Commonwealth\u2019s Attorney in Fairfax County, Virginia, said he and then-Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring brought state charges against two U.S. Park Police officers who fatally shot a man in 2017 after a traffic collision and car chase.
\u201cIf you break state law, you\u2019ll have to answer to the state authorities. I know because I\u2019ve done it,\u201d Descano said during the press conference. \u201cI\u2019ve done it right here from this office, and there is no federal pardon power that can help you escape answering for your crimes.\u201d
It\u2019s unclear, however, if a federal law enforcement officer has ever been successfully convicted on state homicide charges for actions taken as part of their work. In the Ruby Ridge case, for example, after the court allowed the charges, a newly elected county prosecutor decided to drop them.
In Fairfax County, a federal district judge ruled that the U.S. Park Police officers had immunity, and Descano and the state appealed. After Herring lost his bid for reelection, Virginia\u2019s new Attorney General Jason Miyares, a Republican, ordered the appeal dropped in 2022.
While prosecuting federal officers is difficult, the FAFO prosecutors said they felt compelled to try because they believe ICE is violating citizens\u2019 constitutional rights and the Justice Department has shown it is not willing to defend them.
\u201cQuite frankly, what\u2019s going on in America is wrong, and violates every concept and principle of what we hold America to be dear,\u201d said John Creuzot, the district attorney in Dallas, Texas. \u201cDemocracy is at stake. Freedom of speech, freedom of protest, is at stake. American justice and accountability are all at stake.\u201d
\u201cNever in my life, and never in my 43 years of practicing law, have I seen federal law enforcement or even local law enforcement weaponized against American citizens, otherwise peaceful individuals,\u201d he said.
Ramin Fatehi, the Commonwealth\u2019s Attorney in Norfolk, Virginia, said the group was not formed to argue with the Trump administration\u2019s deportation policies, even though many of the members feel they are \u201cimmoral and counterproductive.\u201d
Rather, they have organized \u201cto say that when you cross the line, the line of our criminal codes, that is where we step in,\u201d he said. \u201cThat is where we hold people accountable.\u201d
The attorneys formed FAFO to formalize their sharing of strategies, and to solicit donations to pay for forensic investigators and specialized lawyers that small county prosecutors\u2019 officers may need to bring on when the Justice Department challenges the validity of their cases, they said.
\u201cWhat this group of extraordinary people is offering is a chance for the nation to support us, so that when we have to go into federal court as local DAs and sue on behalf of democracy and the Constitution, and to hold harm doers and wrongdoers to account, it needs to be a fair fight,\u201d said Laura Conover, the Pima County Attorney in Arizona. \u201cWe need to make sure that we have all the resources available so that the law prevails.\u201d
The group\u2019s fundraising and communications are handled by Defiance.org. The not-for-profit social impact organization was founded by Miles Taylor, a former Department of Homeland Security staffer during the first Trump administration, and Xander Schultz, a tech company founder and democracy activist, to \u201cdefy Trump\u2019s abuses of power,\u201d according to its website. Donations to FAFO are not tax-deductible.
Fatehi said he hopes federal officers hear about the group\u2019s promise to go after agents who commit crimes, and avoid misconduct in the first place.
\u201cThen when they are thinking about beating a protester, destroying evidence, shooting somebody who is unarmed \u2026 they will say, \u2018Wait a minute, I\u2019m in Tucson. Wait a minute, I am in Dallas. I am in San Antonio, I\u2019m in Philadelphia, I\u2019m in Norfolk, and I know that this DA is going to be watching me,\u2019 and maybe, just maybe, that will save a life,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd if it doesn\u2019t, then we\u2019re here and we\u2019re ready.\u201d<\/p>\n