Philadelphia District Attorney To Prosecute 17-Year-Old Terrorism Suspect

Broad + Liberty ran my piece on the Philly DA announcing that he was prosecuting a 17-year-old suspect on terrorism-related charges.

You can read the piece via the below link or the below text:

Paul Davis: Krasner announces prosecution of juvenile on terrorism-related charges (broadandliberty.com) 

The arrest of the son of a prominent attorney in Philadelphia on various terrorism-related charges has made news around the world.

On August 14th, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner announced the arrest of the seventeen-year-old suspect. 

According to Krasner, the juvenile, not named due to his age, was arrested by FBI SWAT agents at his home in West Philadelphia. An investigation by the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force, which includes detailed Philadelphia Police detectives, led the FBI to the activities of the youth. 

The District Attorney’s Office has charged the juvenile with Weapons of Mass Destruction, Criminal Conspiracy, Arson, Causing/Risking Catastrophe, Attempt to Commit Criminal Mischief, Possession of an Instrument of Crime, and Recklessly Endangering Another Person.

“The work of the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force potentially thwarted a catastrophic terrorist attack in the name of a perverted ideology that in no way, shape, or form represents the beliefs of the overwhelming majority of peace-seeking people of faith, including Muslims,” District Attorney Larry Krasner said. “The charges we have filed against this individual represent the most serious alleged terrorist activity prosecuted in Philadelphia County court in recent history. We intend to pursue full accountability for these crimes and will continue to work vigilantly with our law enforcement partners to protect all of our communities from hateful, ideologically driven acts of violence.”

Jacqueline Maguire, the FBI Special Agent in Charge of Philadelphia Office, added, “Protecting the United States from terrorist attacks is the FBI’s number one priority, and I think it’s very fair to say that lives were saved because of this investigation. 

“Investigations like this one – with the amazing work that continues and the successful mitigation of such a significant threat – are exactly why we do what we do, and yet another reminder of what a privilege it is to serve with such dedicated colleagues. I’m so proud of my team for their incredible work on this case, and thankful to our partners for their significant and continued assistance.”

Maguire went on to state that the juvenile is alleged to have been in contact with individuals and groups designated by the U.S. State Department as global terrorists, including Katibat al Tawhid wal Jihad (“KTJ”), which is believed to primarily operate in Syria and is responsible for attacks including the deadly April 2017 attack on the St. Petersburg, Russia, metro and the 2016 suicide car bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force investigators were able to connect a social media account that communicated with an account affiliated with KTJ in March and April of 2023 to the juvenile. The juvenile’s phone number was also found by investigators to have a banner of Riyad-us-Saliheen Martyrs’ Brigade, a Chechnya-based terrorist group, as its profile photo. On August 6, according to the Task Force, the juvenile’s WhatsApp profile photo was changed to the image of the ISIS banner.

“Self-radicalization by young people via the internet is a threat to all families. Parents: Keep an eye out for violent cults that would lure in your kids under the guise of politics or religion,” Krasner stated. “The juvenile is further alleged to have received messages related to construction of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and to have purchased materials online such as chemical cleaners that are used to construct IEDs, as well as outdoor or tactical gear.”

FBI special agents surveilling the juvenile observed him purchasing materials that can be used to make IEDs, and recovered from his household trash materials including electric wiring that can be used to construct IEDs. U.S. Customs and Border Protection provided records revealing fourteen international shipments of military and tactical gear to the juvenile’s address.

A warrant for the juvenile’s arrest was approved on August 11th, and the juvenile was arrested, and two residences tied to him were searched by federal agents.

Krasner stated that if the juvenile’s case is transferred by a judge to adult criminal court, more information related to the allegations against him will be available to the public.

I was curious as to why the suspect was being prosecuted by the Philadelphia DA rather than the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Cases like this are usually prosecuted at the federal level. 

I contacted both the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the DA’s office and inquired why the case was being prosecuted by the Philadelphia DA, but neither office has responded to my question.

I reached out to investigative reporter Ralph Cipriano, who offers his comprehensive reporting on crime, court cases and the Philly DA in his Big Trial articles on Substack. I asked him if he knew why Krasner was prosecuting the case.

“I am told that the feds want nothing to do with prosecuting juveniles, so they are happy to leave it to the DA’s office to handle,” Cipriano replied. “I’m hearing the feds may want to charge the parents of the terrorist, especially the Mom, but Krasner has already expressed publicly no interest in doing that, saying his office doesn’t believe in ‘guilt by association.’ However, I imagine the feds, if they decide to charge the parents, could do so without having to bother with dealing with the DA’s office.”

Cipriano noted that the suspect’s mother co-signed her son’s passport application and also took her son to Lowe’s to shop for chemicals that might be used in a homemade bomb. 

“Dad gave him access to more than 50 guns. Both Mom and Dad had to be aware that their son was setting off homemade bombs in the backyard, as even the D.A. charged him with arson. Seems understandable to me that the feds might decide to pursue charges against one or both of the parents. But don’t expect Krasner to do anything,” Cipriano said.

I suspect and hope that the juvenile will be prosecuted as an adult due to his being nearly eighteen and the seriousness of the crimes. He is certainly old enough to be held accountable.

When I was seventeen, I was in the U.S. Navy, serving on an aircraft carrier. 

Paul Davis, a Philadelphia writer and frequent contributor to Broad + Liberty, also contributes to Counterterrorism magazine and writes the On Crime column for the Washington Times. He can be reached via www.pauldavisoncrime.com.

Speaking To Former Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter About Philadelphia District Attorney Krasner And Crime

I interviewed former Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter (seen in the above photo) today for my Philadelphia Weekly Crime Beat column.

I asked Mayor Nutter about his Philadelphia Inquirer op-ed that criticized Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, as well as other crime issues. 

His op-ed took Krasner to task over the DA's remarks about Philadelphia not being in a crime crisis. 

District Attorney Larry Krasner’s recent remarks about whether we are experiencing a crime crisis

are some of the worst, most ignorant and most insulting comments I have ever heard spoken by an elected official.

Krasner told reporters: “We don’t have a crisis of lawlessness, we don’t have a crisis of crime, we don’t have a crisis of violence.”

It takes a certain audacity of ignorance and white privilege to say that right now. As of Monday night, 521 people, souls, spirits have been vanquished, eliminated, murdered in our City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection, the most since 1960.

I have to wonder what kind of messed up world of white wokeness Krasner is living in to have so little regard for human lives lost, many of them black and brown, while he advances his own national profile as a progressive district attorney. 

… As someone who has lived the experience of a black man in Philadelphia and worked at the highest level of city government, I see that police and judges are trying to keep Philadelphians safe, but Krasner is not. No matter what he says, this city is experiencing a crisis of violence and murder. If he can’t see that, he is unfit to serve the residents of Philadelphia.  

You can read the rest of the op-ed via the below link:

Michael Nutter: Larry Krasner owes an apology to the 521 families of Philly’s homicide victims | Opinion (inquirer.com) 

My Philadelphia Weekly Crime Beat on Mayor Nutter will come out on Thursday, December 23^rd.

Ralph Cipriano: Philly D.A. Krasner Ditches Usual Protocol To Indict Police Inspector

Ralph Cipriano at www.bigtrial.net offers a piece on the Philadelphia DA’s rush to justice by charging Philadelphia Police Staff Inspector Joseph Bologna (seen in the above photo) with assaulting a protestor.

There was rioting in the streets. Looters ran amok. Criminals were blowing up ATMs and setting arson fires all over town.

But while Philadelphia lay in ruins,  District Attorney Larry Krasner's top priority was to indict a cop for allegedly attacking a demonstrator.

The normal protocol for any officer accused of misconduct is to wait for the Police Department's Internal Affairs Bureau to complete an investigation, and then forward the results of that investigation to the D.A.'s charging unit. So the D.A. can make a decision on whether to charge the cop with a crime.

But when it came to the case of staff Inspector Joseph Bologna, accused of striking a Temple University student with his nightstick during a demonstration, Krasner dispensed with the usual protocol. It famously took Krasner's office five weeks to get around to charging all three accused killers of Corporal James O'Connor. But when it came to Inspector Bologna, Krasner immediately pounced.

A day after videos of alleged brutality hit the Inquirer and YouTube, Krasner on Friday announced his intention to charge Bologna with felony aggravated assault. This was supposedly after a quickie investigation done by Sgt. Jerry Rocks, interim head of the D.A.'s detectives, who could not immediately be reached for comment.

Bologna, 54, chief of operations for the department's patrol bureau, was taken off the street Thursday night, hours after videos of alleged police brutality hit the media. Bologna was ordered to turn himself in on Monday to face charges of aggravated assault for allegedly using his nightstick against attacking demonstrators.

While the Inquirer referred to Bologna in a headline as a "notorious Philly cop" who had a "checkered and charged past," other cops who know him had a different take.

"A cop's cop," said one. "A real leader" said another.

One of the department's "most decorated and respected police leaders," said FOP President John McNesby. "Inspector Bologna's dedication to our city for over 30 years is unmatched."

But D.A. Larry Krasner saw a rogue cop in need of speedy justice. 

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

https://www.bigtrial.net/2020/06/krasner-ditches-protocol-to-nail-police.html#more 

Ralph Cipriano: Is Uncle Larry (Philly's DA) Giving Looters A Pass?

Ralph Cipriano at BigTrial.net offers a piece on Philadelphia DA Larry Krasner's actions regarding the looters and other criminals arrested by Philadelphia Police for burning, looting and vandalizing during the recent riots in the city.

Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw has announced that the cops  made 429 arrests over three days of rioting, looting and arson fires.

But over at the District Attorney's office, several sources say, the Great Emancipator, D.A. Larry Krasner has been busy doing what he does best, liberating criminals.

According to sources, many suspects that the cops arrested for burglary or criminal trespass over the weekend have gotten a free pass from the D.A.'s charging unit because of a technicality -- that the cops did not obtain an official "ownership non-permission," or "ONP" as it's known in cop jargon, from store owners.

What's ONP? It means that when the cops, who had days off canceled and were working long shifts in the middle of a riot, apprehended a suspect inside a burgled store, or caught the suspect red-handed carrying out loot, they also had to obtain from the store owner an ONP. Why? To certify that the burglar didn't have official permission to enter the store. So the D.A. could charge the suspect with a crime.

It supposedly didn't matter to Uncle Larry if there was video of the crime, or that the cops had personally witnessed the rioters or looters in action. The D.A. was also said to be releasing suspects "ROR," based on their own recognizance, without having to post cash bail.

Those actions shouldn't surprise anybody. Krasner has long opposed cash bail. He also has a documented history of representing protesters accused of breaking the law on behalf of all sorts of radical causes, such as freeing convicted cop killer Mumia Abu-Jamal, or rabble-rousing on behalf of Black Lives Matter and Antifa.

In case anybody missed the point, Sonan Vachhani, one of Krasner's assistant D.A.'s who works in the charging unit, posted on Instagram a message on Saturday night, while the city was under siege, that said, "FUCK THE COPS." 

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link: 

https://www.bigtrial.net/2020/06/is-uncle-larry-giving-looters-pass_22.html#more 

Statement Of U.S. Attorney William M. McSwain In Response To Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner’s Excuses About The Murder Of Sergeant James O’Connor: Krasner Fails To Offer Any Explanation For Ignoring The Many Serious Parole Violations By Hassan Elliott

  
The U.S. Attorney’s Office Eastern District of Pennsylvania released the below statement: 

On March 16, 2020, I issued a statement detailing the reasons why the pro-violent defendant policies of Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner led directly to the murder of Philadelphia Police Officer James O’Connor.  More specifically, I explained how it was inexcusable: (a) that Krasner made no attempt to detain Elliott after he directly violated his parole by being arrested for cocaine possession, and (b) that Krasner voluntarily withdrew the cocaine case against Elliott, a known gang-banger wanted for murder. 

We now have some additional facts:

1.      Officer O’Connor has been posthumously promoted from Corporal to Sergeant, and his handcuffs were used to formally arrest Elliott.  I hope this brings his family some comfort. 

2.      Elliott himself is alleged to have fired the bullets that killed Sergeant O’Connor when he was attempting to serve a warrant for a murder that Elliott had allegedly committed previously.  Elliott allegedly lay in ambush behind a closed door and fired over a dozen bullets from an assault rifle as Sergeant O’Connor prepared to enter the residence. 

3.      Three other dangerous felons were with Elliott in the room that he was shooting from, where a staggering 10 firearms were recovered following Sergeant O’Connor’s murder. 

4.      In a March 17 press release full of omissions, inaccuracies and outright lies, Krasner has made plain that his pro-violent defendant policies are responsible for Sergeant O’Connor’s murder. 

The most notable aspect of Krasner’s press release is that he makes no attempt to address the fact that his office ignored Elliott’s many serious parole violations, which allowed him to stay on the street and resulted in Sergeant O’Connor’s murder.  In particular, as I explained in my March 16 statement, Elliott’s arrest for cocaine possession in January 2019 was a direct violation of his parole on a firearms conviction from 2018 and therefore should have landed him back in prison. 

Despite many opportunities and avenues to detain Elliott after his cocaine arrest, the District Attorney’s Office did nothing.  It did not ask for a detainer and it did not ask for high bail – in fact, it did not ask for any bail at all, as Elliott was released on his own recognizance.  Krasner allowed this known gang-banger – who had been identified by the Philadelphia Police Department as an Operation Pinpoint target offender, making him one of the worst violent offenders in the City – to walk freely on the streets.  And why?  Because for Krasner, the name of the game is decarceration:  he wants violent offenders out of prison, not in it.

 To make matters worse, as I explained in my March 16 statement, Krasner voluntarily withdrew the cocaine case against Elliott – further rewarding him for his criminal behavior and ensuring that he would remain on the streets.  My statement already anticipated and debunked all the lies that Krasner was likely to serve up regarding the withdrawal.  He went ahead and made them, anyway, living up to my low expectations.

Here are the details:

1.      First, Krasner asserts that the cocaine case was “fatally flawed because the police actions . . . violate the Fourth Amendment and will result in the suppression of the evidence.”  But he provides no explanation of how this case supposedly involved an illegal search or seizure.  He just says that the Fourth Amendment is violated and expects everyone unthinkingly to nod their heads in agreement.  The reality is that this was an open and shut case:  Elliott disobeyed lawful commands from the officers, led them on a dangerous foot pursuit, reeked of marijuana and was caught red-handed with multiple packets of cocaine in his pockets.   

2.      Second, Krasner claims that a potential problem with the credibility of one of the officers involved in the drug case warranted the withdrawal.  As I already explained in my previous statement, this potential problem was irrelevant because the primary officer who recovered the cocaine in Elliott’s pockets had no credibility problems and easily could have testified to all aspects of the case.  The other officer was not needed at trial.  Krasner has no answer for this.  Instead, he prefers to seize upon an irrelevant issue as an excuse to keep a murderous gang-banger on the street. 

3.      Third, Krasner is flat-out lying about his supposed reason for the withdrawal.  As I explained in my previous statement, the possible credibility problem with the one officer had nothing to do with the District Attorney’s Office’s withdrawal of the drug case.  That is why the transcript of the court hearing from March 27, 2019 – when the case was withdrawn – says nothing about it, nor does the court docket sheet.  As if any additional proof than that were needed, I have confirmed that the District Attorney’s Office is still sending court notices to this particular officer for active cases for next week and even into May.  In other words, the office has been continually working with this officer since the time of the withdrawal and sees no problem with using him in court.  You can’t have it both ways.  You can’t say you withdrew a drug case against a murderous gang-banger because you can’t work with a particular officer and then continue to send that officer numerous court notices for the next 12 months.  Krasner is lying, pure and simple.  His office withdrew the cocaine case against Elliott and let him roam the streets because Krasner doesn’t care about drug possession cases – regardless of what dangerous drugs or violent offenders are involved.  He considers them an impediment to his radical, decarceration agenda.  And now Sergeant O’Connor is dead because of it.
 
Krasner’s March 17 press release concludes with a final insult:  he claims to join the City in “mourning” the loss of Sergeant O’Connor.  It would be hard to imagine emptier words. 
 
Krasner’s radical ideology has brought this City nothing but increased crime, violence, shootings, murder, misery and disrespect for law enforcement.  And it is only going to get worse, unless the decent people of the City decide that they have had enough.  Let us honor Sergeant O’Connor’s memory by rejecting the ideology that took him from his family and from us.  That is the only way to prevent the next tragedy that no family deserves to suffer.

Statement Of U.S. Attorney William M. McSwain Regarding The Murder Of Philadelphia Police Corporal James O’Connor: The Murder Was The Direct Result Of Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner’s Pro-Violent Defendant Policies

William McSwain (seen in the below photo), the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, released the blow statement:

PHILADELPHIA – Last Friday, Philadelphia Police Corporal and SWAT team member, James O’Connor (seen in the bottom photo), a proud 23-year veteran of the Department from a family of police officers, was gunned down in the City’s Frankford section while trying to arrest Hassan Elliott, who was wanted for murder.  Elliott was on the street for one reason:  because of District Attorney Krasner’s pro-violent defendant policies.  Those policies – which include permissive bail conditions for violent offenders, failing to pursue serious probation and parole violations by violent criminals, offering lenient plea deals for violent offenses, and outright withdrawing cases against violent felons – put dangerous criminals like Elliott on the street.

All Philadelphians have been living with the negative, and often tragic, consequences of these policies for the 2+ years that the City has had to endure the Krasner regime.  But now those consequences could not be clearer.  Corporal O’Connor’s widow, his children, his brothers and sisters in law enforcement, and the entire City deserve to know why he died.

Here are the facts:

Hassan Elliott is a 21 year-old man from the Frankford section of Northeast Philadelphia.  He is known by law enforcement because of his longtime involvement with a violent gang called “1700” that blights the area of 1700 Brill Street and 1700 Scattergood Street.  This gang is alleged to be responsible for many shootings in the area and is brazen about their access to firearms.  For a taste of what this gang is all about, visit YouTube and look at the video entitled “Frankford Purge,” which depicts Elliott at the 1:29 mark, partially masked, brandishing a firearm.[1]

On June 8, 2017, Elliott was arrested on firearms charges, stemming from an incident in which he threatened a neighborhood resident with a gun.  On January 24, 2018, he entered into a negotiated plea:  Krasner’s office offered, and Elliott accepted, a below-guidelines sentence of 9 to 23 months’ incarceration, followed by 3 years of reporting probation.  Elliott was paroled on January 25, 2018, the day after his plea; he spent a total of 7 months and 16 days incarcerated for this offense.

Following his release, the Philadelphia Probation and Parole Department categorized Elliott as a “high risk” offender, and placed him under the supervision of the Anti-Violence High Risk Unit.  Protocol in this unit requires weekly visits and regular urinalyses.  Elliott violated his parole almost immediately by failing numerous drug tests, and also by repeatedly failing to report to his parole officer.  Eventually, the court scheduled a violation hearing for February 6, 2019.

Prior to that hearing, however, on January 29, 2019, Elliott was arrested and charged with possession of cocaine.  After a foot pursuit by police, 15 packets of cocaine were found in Elliott’s pockets.  This arrest was in direct violation of Elliott’s parole, but the District Attorney’s Office did not pursue a detainer against him or make any attempt to have Elliott taken into custody for this serious violation.  The office allowed Elliott to be released on his own recognizance – no bail was set.  This is stunning, considering that Elliott was on parole for his 2018 firearms conviction.  Here, there was an arrest and multiple parole violations and the Krasner regime did nothing.   

In February 2019, soon after his cocaine arrest, the Philadelphia Police Department identified Elliott as an “Operation Pinpoint” target offender.  Operation Pinpoint is a data-driven crime fighting strategy that targets the worst violent offenders in the City.  Even with Elliott now identified as one of the City’s worst violent offenders, Krasner’s office still did nothing in response to Elliott’s violation of his parole through his cocaine arrest.

On March 1, 2019, Elliott attended a pre-trial status listing for his cocaine case, where he received and signed a subpoena for the trial, which was scheduled for March 27, 2019.  It turns out that March 1 was a busy day for Elliott:  after leaving his pre-trial status listing, he allegedly murdered Tyree Tyrone on the 5300 block of Duffield Street.  Elliott and another man, both armed with handguns, approached Tyrone, who was sitting in his car, and allegedly opened fire at close range.  Video showed Elliott fleeing the scene and his fingerprints were found on one of the alleged murder weapons.

On March 26, 2019, the District Attorney’s Office procured a warrant for Elliott’s arrest for the Tyrone murder.  The next day, March 27, Elliott was scheduled to go on trial in the cocaine case.

On that day, March 27, which was the first trial listing in the case, Elliott failed to appear.  Despite his absence, and the outstanding murder warrant, the District Attorney’s Office withdrew the cocaine case against Elliott, citing prosecutorial discretion.  Elliott then remained at-large until the murder of Corporal O’Connor. 

These facts paint a damning picture of a prosecutor’s office that prioritizes “decarceration” of violent offenders over public safety. 

First, it is inexcusable that the District Attorney’s Office made no attempt to take Elliott into custody after his cocaine arrest.  Had he been detained after his January 29, 2019 arrest – which was a direct violation of his parole on the earlier gun conviction – he certainly would have been in prison on March 1, 2019, when he allegedly murdered Tyree Tyrone.  And if that were the case, Corporal O’Connor would not have been trying to arrest Elliott for that murder last Friday.  Instead, Corporal O’Connor would be alive today, as would Mr. Tyrone.

Krasner’s office had many opportunities and avenues to detain Elliott after his drug arrest, but failed to utilize any of them.  The District Attorney’s Office can always contact probation and ask that a detainer be lodged based on a new arrest, or the District Attorney’s Office could have petitioned Elliott’s supervising judge and requested that a detainer be issued.  The office did neither.  And even if all that had failed, the office could have requested high bail to ensure that Elliott was held pending trial on his new drug case.  Again, the office did nothing. 

The District Attorney’s Office had an additional opportunity to ask that Elliott be held on February 6, 2019.  On that date, Elliott was listed for a violation of parole hearing based on the new cocaine arrest, as well as Elliott’s issues with repeated drug use and his repeated failure to report to his parole officer.  But the docket states that the “detainer [was] to remain lifted” – meaning that no detainer had been or would be lodged – and therefore the violation hearing was continued pending the resolution of the cocaine case.  Yet another opportunity wasted. 

Second, it is inexcusable that Krasner’s office dropped the cocaine case against Elliott.  No responsible prosecutor’s office would ever voluntarily withdraw a case against a violent defendant who doesn’t show up for his first trial date.  And here, the defendant had been identified by the Philadelphia Police Department as one of the worst violent offenders in the City.  He was a gang-banger wanted for murder. 

Moreover, the drug case against Elliott was strong:  he had been caught red-handed with multiple packets of cocaine in his pockets.  A conviction in the drug case would have surely resulted in prison time, as it would have been a direct violation of his parole for the earlier firearms conviction.

Just as importantly, the drug case should not have been dropped because it could have – and should have – been used as a means to get Elliott into custody and off the street on the murder warrant.  If Elliott had shown up for court, he would have been arrested for murder.  He didn’t know that there was an existing murder warrant, so there was certainly a chance that he would eventually show up for the drug trial if the case had not been withdrawn (he had, in fact, already shown up for it once, on March 1).  But that possibility was eliminated when Krasner’s office eagerly withdrew the case.  Instead, Corporal O’Connor and his fellow SWAT officers were left to try to hunt Elliott down, with tragic consequences.

How could any rational human being possibly decide to withdraw the cocaine case against Elliott in these circumstances?  Krasner might try to say that his office had to drop the case because one of the police officers involved in it could not testify (due to a potential problem with this officer’s credibility in a separate, unrelated case that the U.S. Attorney’s Office investigated and declined to prosecute).  If Krasner tries to deflect blame and says this, it is a lie. 

That issue had nothing to do with Krasner’s office dropping Elliott’s drug case, which is why the assigned Assistant District Attorney said nothing about it in court on March 27 when withdrawing the case.  Moreover, even if Krasner had been aware of the possible credibility problem when his office dropped the drug case, that issue was irrelevant because the primary officer who had recovered the drugs in Elliott’s pockets had no credibility problems and easily could have testified to all aspects of the case.  The other officer was not needed at trial.

The bottom line is that there is no excuse for dropping the cocaine case against Elliott.  The case was dropped for the same reason that Krasner’s office ignored the many opportunities to purse the serious parole violation in the first place – because this District Attorney’s priorities always lie with violent offenders, consequences be damned.

This destructive ideology has earned Krasner the enmity of the Philadelphia Police Department.  The Department’s disdain was on full display at Temple Hospital on Friday morning, where officers formed a line to block Krasner’s entrance into the hospital when he tried to visit Corporal O’Connor and his family, who wanted nothing to do with him.

Krasner has much to answer for at this moment in our City’s history.  He should be asked tough questions and not allowed to fall back on his lazy, irrelevant and all-purpose reply to any legitimate criticism that I level against his policies – that the U.S. Attorney is a Trump appointee.  This is not about the President.  And it is not about me.  It is about two entirely preventable tragedies that have claimed the life of a Philadelphia Police Officer and another young life.

Krasner has infected the District Attorney’s Office with a sickness that has deadly consequences for the entire City.  Enough is enough.  This madness must stop.

Ralph Cipriano: Philadelphia Mayor, Police Pleaded For Help In Opioid Crisis, But D.A. Said Hell No

Veteran journalist and author Ralph Cipriano offers a piece on his website Bigtrial.net about a 2018 meeting between Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney (seen above on the right) police officials and Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner (seen above on the left), in which the DA refused to help the police deal with the opioid crisis in the city. 

It was standing room only in the mayor's conference room at City Hall. On Oct. 17, 2018 Mayor Jim Kenney had gathered some 20 top police officials, including the police commissioner, to meet with a half-dozen top officials from the District Attorney's office, led by the D.A. himself, Larry Krasner.

The mayor had convened the meeting to discuss how the D.A.'s office might cooperate with the cops and a newly created city-wide task force in dealing with the opioid crisis in Kensington. The concerns were that crime was on the rise, including human trafficking, and that addicts were dying in record numbers.

But Krasner wanted no part of any anti-drug task force. In response to pleas from the mayor and top police officials, Krasner gave what was described as a lecture. The federal government, he said, was to blame for bringing drugs into the country. The war on drugs was a colossal failure. And the bottom line was the top law enforcement official in the city wasn't going to lift a finger to help in any opioid crisis. The D.A. subsequently ended the 90-minute meeting by telling the mayor and the assembled police officials, hey we're done here.

"I was stunned," recalled one official at the meeting. "He [Krasner] basically disrespected the mayor and every other person in the room."

On hand in the mayor's conference that day were then Police Commissioner Richard Ross, deputy police commissioners, district captains, chief inspectors and lieutenants, as well as the city's then First Deputy Managing Director, Brian Abernathy, and First Assistant District Attorney Robert Listenbee.

What the mayor was trying to do was to get D.A. Krasner to consider changing some of his policies that in the view of the cops, were only enabling more crime and exacerbating the opioid crisis. Some specific incidents were discussed. Such as a crossing guard who was escorting students and suddenly found herself in the middle of an angry dispute between rival drug dealers vying for the same corner.

The cops were called, they made arrests, but the district attorney's office let the suspects go, and declined to prosecute anybody. 

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

www.bigtrial.net/2020/03/mayor-police-pleaded-for-help-with.html#more  

Prosecutor Versus Prosecutor In Philadelphia: My Washington Times Piece On The Trump-Appointed U.S. Attorney's Feud With Liberal Philly DA

The Washington Times published my piece on the feud between William McSwain (seen in the above photo), the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of PA, and Larry Krasner (seen in the below photo) the Philadelphia DA.

In our criminal justice system, a prosecutor represents the government and a defense attorney represents the accused, but in Philadelphia there is a prosecutor versus prosecutor scenario.

Following the tragic shooting of two children, which I covered here, William McSwain, the President Trump-appointed U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, released a blistering statement that assigned blame for the shootings on the pro-defendant policies of Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner.

Mr. Krasner, who was elected DA thanks in part to a huge George Soros donation, was previously a civil rights attorney who sued the Philadelphia Police Department 75 times and represented anti-police groups like ACT UP and Black Lives Matter pro-bono. He was opposed vehemently by Philadelphia police officers during the election.

On Nov. 4, Mr. McSwain stated that Philadelphians were shocked and outraged by the shootings of 11-month-old Yazeem Jenkins, who was shot four times on Oct. 19 in the Hunting Park area of Philadelphia while in a car with his father and stepmother, and 2-year-old Nikolette Rivera, who was shot in the head and killed the following day while in her mother’s arms in her living room in the Kensington area. Yazeem Jenkins remains in critical condition at Children’s Hospital.

“The community is united in its condemnation of these heinous acts –- but we must be honest about what enabled them to happen,” read the U.S. attorney’s statement. “It is the misguided policies of Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner that led to these avoidable and heartbreaking tragedies. No amount of excuses or deflection can change this fact.”

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/nov/11/trump-appointed-us-attorney-william-mcswain-feuds-/ 

Philly D.A. Got Stiffed The Night Six Cops Were Shot

Veteran journalist Ralph Cipriano offers a piece at BigTrial.net on the cold shoulder Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner received from the cops on the night of the standoff when six police officers were wounded.

During the nonstop media coverage of the shooting of six Philly cops, one public official was never out of range of the TV cameras -- District Attorney Larry Krasner.

He was there on camera with the mayor, he was there on camera with the police commissioner, he was there on camera talking with cops on the street. Which is kind of amazing considering that Progressive Larry is pretty much uniformly despised by the men and women in blue. The local chapter of the FOP has even paid for billboards advertising for a new D.A.

But Krasner has chutzpah, and loves the limelight. So on Thursday night, while the bullets were flying, Krasner even tried to visit the six wounded officers at the two hospitals were they were being treated, with little success.

"When he arrived at Temple [University Hospital] I informed him that he was not welcome," FOP President John McNesby wrote in an email about Krasner. "The officers did not wish to see him."

Three wounded officers were treated at Temple and released. The other three wounded officers were treated at Einstein Medical Center, and also released.

Krasner also tried to visit the wounded officers at Einstein.

"I wasn't there," McNesby said. "One [wounded officer] denied him access. The other two were caught off guard and blew him off with brief answers."

"He was there for the cameras," McNesby said dismissively about Krasner.

A spokesman for Krasner did not return a request for comment. When asked at a press conference whether he was barred from visiting the wounded officers at the hospital, Krasner denied it.

McNesby also was outspoken about the upcoming prosecution of the suspect, Maurice Hill, 36, a career criminal with a dozen arrests on his rap sheet, including six convictions for illegal possession of guns, drug dealing and aggravated assault.

"I hope the U.S. Attorney takes the case," McNesby said.

He was referring to U.S. Attorney William McSwain's promise at a press conference that his office would provide "adult supervision" for Krasner, and that the feds were closely monitoring Progressive Larry's handling of the case. 

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://www.bigtrial.net/2019/08/da-got-stiffed-night-six-cops-were-shot.html

George Soros-Backed Progressive New Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner Off On Wrong Foot

Veteran Philadelphia reporter Ralph Cipriano offers a piece at bigtrial.net on the actions of elected, but not yet sworn in, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, a far leftist elected with massive cash donations generated by George Soros and Philadelphia’s dominant Democratic Party machine.

Attention Philadelphia: your newly-elected District Attorney, Progressive Larry Krasner, is already getting started on his new job, but it may not be a good thing.

According to a Nov. 29th mass email sent out to hundreds of employees in the D.A.'s office, Krasner sought and was granted permission by interim D.A. Kelley Hodge to have his transition team review the personnel files of those hundreds of employees, presumably to help decide who's going and who's staying in a  Krasner administration. The review, according to the mass email, was supposed to be conducted last week, but one union official, FOP President John McNesby, said he did not believe that any of the reviews had actually been done yet.

That may be because of an ongoing ethical problem. Krasner, a longtime civil rights lawyer who's sued the city's police department 75 times, and provided pro-bono representation for the likes of ACT UP, Black Lives Matter, and Occupy Philly, isn't officially the D.A. yet, and he won't be until he's sworn in on Jan. 2nd.

Krasner, who could not be reached for comment, apparently has tasked a lawyer from the firm that he is now of counsel to, Patricia Pierce of Greenblatt, Pierce, Funt & Flores, to help review those personnel files at the D.A.'s office. Krasner also has been seen visiting the D.A.'s office at Penn Square a few times, along with members of his transition team, who supposedly have been given office space by the interim D.A. The reaction among some employees at the D.A.'s office has been paranoia.

"People were freaking out," said one source familiar with the process. "I think everybody's worried about being fired."

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://www.bigtrial.net/2017/12/progressive-new-da-larry-krasner-off-on.html#more