JUST IN: Far-Left D.A. Seeks To Bring State Charges Against January 6 Prisoners
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner is exploring ways he can bring state charges against Pennsylvania residents who were pardoned by President Donald Trump for attending the January 6 Capitol protests.
CNN’s Marshall Cohen reported that Krasner is exploring the possibility of bringing charges against Pennsylvania residents in an X post on Tuesday night. While Cohen noted that the Soros-backed district attorney’s plans would likely face significant legal hurdles, such as double jeopardy, Krasner told him that “”you can have a state prosecution for conduct that was not fully encompassed in the federal prosecution.”
In addition to double jeopardy, Krasner’s plan will certainly face a number of legal challenges if he does indeed bring charges against pardoned January 6 defendants. Past attempts to bring state charges against individual, including former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort, who was pardoned after he was charged as a result of the bogus Russian collusion probe, were unsuccessful due to constitutional protections against double jeopardy.
Krasner has indicated that his office is scouring over federal charging documents in an attempt to find prosecutable conduct that may not have been covered in the D.C.-based January 6 prosecutions. He specifically mentioned looking into cases that involved “assaults on officers” and “collaboration with far-right extremist groups such as the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys,” according to a report from Inkl.com.
The far left district attorney referenced a number of Pennsylvania laws that could potentially be used in prosecuting Trump supporters over a minor riot from four years ago, including statutes related to the misuse of technology for criminal activities, state conspiracy laws, and election-related offenses.
Krasner sits for an interview during his initial run for Philadelphia D.A. in 2017
Photo: Michael Candelori
In a statement, Krasner vowed to bring “accountability” for those charged during the protests, adding that “accountability” is essential for President Trump’s “co-conspirators.”
For Krasner, the hardline stance on the January 6 protests differs dramatically from his response to the Black Lives Matter riots in 2020, which saw dozens of buildings and vehicles burned while Philadelphia Police officers were repeatedly assaulted during weeks of continued violence. Philly Crime Update noted that Krasner withdrew 80 percent of commercial burglary charges brought against rioters during the George Floyd riots, as well as those brought in the Walter Wallace riots in October 2020.
Of the 2,000 rioters arrested in 2020, 95 percent of those cases were dropped by Krasner’s office, despite the fact that 64 percent of those charged were repeat offenders.
Krasner is vowing to prosecute January 6 protesters just days after he received a formidable Democratic Party primary challenge from former Philadelphia Judge Pat Dugan. While flanked by labor leaders, Dugan announced his candidacy last week and promised to crack down on low level crime that has been ignored by Krasner’s office. In 2024, Krasner’s office changed a policy so that thefts under $500 are no longer treated as lower-level offenses.
“Wawas are closing. They’re closing in Center City,” Dugan said in reference to regional convenience store Wawa, which made the decision to close most Philadelphia due to the crime rate. “We can have all the politically correct reasons for why it’s happening and all that. But the reality of it is it’s because they couldn’t control the retail theft.”