Philly DA’s ‘hunt you down’ warning to ICE draws calls for DOJ criminal probe
Soros-backed Democratic prosecutor Larry Krasner is facing criticism for his inflammatory remarks against federal immigration enforcement, with a Republican lawmaker urging the Justice Department to launch a criminal investigation after Krasner said he would "hunt down" ICE agents.
Krasner, the district attorney for Philadelphia, took to the podium at Penn Square last week to denounce ICE agents as "a small bunch of wannabe Nazis," adding, "if we have to hunt you down the way they hunted down Nazis for decades, we will find your identities."
House Intelligence Committee member Greg Steube, R-Fla., called out Krasner and recommended that Attorney General Pam Bondi take a closer look at his ever-escalating remarks on the issue.
Steube cited federal code categorizing threatening a federal officer as a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
FEDERAL PROSECUTORS OPEN INVESTIGATION INTO WALZ, FREY OVER ALLEGED IMPEDING OF LAW ENFORCEMENT
"The DOJ should absolutely arrest and convict this guy," he said.
Krasner previously said he would seek to arrest and prosecute federal agents who "come to Philly to commit crimes" — in an apparent reference to allegations that law enforcement acted unlawfully when shooting a Minnesota woman who appeared to intentionally hit one of them with her car while disrupting an operation.
In the remarks that drew Steube’s ire, Krasner boasted that the 350 million Americans who live in the U.S. outnumber the "small bunch of wannabe Nazis" before offering to work with other states’ prosecutors to pursue them criminally after President Donald Trump’s term ends.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Justice Department to ask whether it planned to follow Steube’s recommendation, but received no response. A White House official who was asked about the situation directed Fox News Digital back to the DOJ.
Krasner also earned a rebuke from his own party, as Pennsylvania Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro told Fox News that such remarks are "unacceptable… abhorrent and it is wrong; period; hard-stop; end of sentence."
"We have a psychopath with a badge," fellow Pennsylvanian Rep. Dan Meuser, a Dallas Republican, said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
DHS SHARES OBSCENE, THREATENING VOICEMAIL SENT TO ICE AGENT, BLAMING LOCAL POLS FOR 'INCITEMENT'
Meuser condemned Krasner for repeatedly failing to prosecute actual violent criminals, citing a reported prosecution rate of 30% for such crimes.
"Every responsible Democrat must condemn this behavior. Failure to do so only increases the temperature in an already volatile situation, endangering federal law enforcement and communities alike," he said, adding that Senate Democrats are borrowing Krasner’s "reckless political playbook" in using DHS funding as a cudgel in government-shutdown negotiations.
Meuser quipped that many critics rightly dub Krasner "Let ‘Em Go Larry" for his position toward prosecution of suspects who aren’t members of federal immigration enforcement.
Meuser has been at the forefront of calling out prosecutors for their actions and statements, authoring the Holding Prosecutors Accountable Act, which would make district attorney offices that fail to prosecute at least two-thirds of arrests ineligible for certain Justice Department grants.
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin was asked about Steube’s call and said that Krasner’s comments were "vile."
WHITE HOUSE BLAMES DEMOCRATS FOR ICE VIOLENCE AS MINNEAPOLIS ERUPTS, INSURRECTION ACT THREAT LOOMS
"He is intentionally stoking the flames of hatred and division in this country for political gain. Calling law enforcement Nazis and encouraging violence and doxing of them is absolutely disgusting," she said, citing the 1,300% increase in assaults against ICE.
"The violence and dehumanization of these men and women who are simply enforcing the law must stop," McLaughlin said, adding that Krasner should instead be thanking ICE for removing several dangerous illegal immigrants from the Delaware Valley itself.
She cited Yehi Badawi from Egypt, who was convicted of aggravated assault and robbery; Cuban national Alan De Armas-Tundidor, a convicted drug trafficker; and Thanh Long Huynh of Vietnam, who was convicted of both rape and cocaine distribution.
In recent comments to Fox News Digital, another top Pennsylvania Republican who taught relevant subjects at the U.S. Army War College, said the federal supremacy clause would likely moot any actions by Krasner or Philadelphia against ICE agents following lawful federal orders.
"The Constitution is not optional," said state Sen. Doug Mastriano of Gettysburg, who ran against Shapiro in 2022.
State Senate Intergovernmental Operations Committee Chairman Jarrett Coleman, an Allentown Republican whose panel oversees local-state-federal interactions, told Fox News Digital earlier this month that claims Philadelphia officials can intercede with federal immigration enforcement are "empty threats."
DHS PUNCHES BACK AT MOULTON FOR 'INCITING RIOTERS' WITH 'GROSS' ICE REMARKS
"If they do obstruct federal law enforcement efforts, the Pennsylvania Senate will be the least of their worries," he said, later remarking that if Krasner paid more attention to actual violence, "Philadelphia wouldn’t be such a s---hole."
Hungarian-American billionaire George Soros, a far-left funder of many allegedly soft-on-crime prosecutors in localities around the country, dumped $1.7 million into Krasner’s 2017 election, according to Philadelphia’s PBS affiliate.
Philadelphia City Council Minority Leader Kendra Brooks, of the left-wing Working Families Party, and Democrat Rue Landau also authored legislation intended to limit ICE operations within city limits.
The city’s lone Republican councilman, Brian O’Neill, is ranked as the third party rather than minority in the Democratic-led chamber.
Fox News Digital reached out to DHS for further comment.