PHILADELPHIA — A group of locally elected prosecutors from across the country announced Tuesday that they are forming a national coalition designed to support state-level prosecutions of federal law enforcement officers who violate state criminal laws, a move that reflects escalating tensions between local justice officials and the federal government over the conduct of immigration and other federal enforcement operations.
The coalition, known as the Project for the Fight Against Federal Overreach, or F.A.F.O., was unveiled during a press availability led by Larry Krasner, the Philadelphia district attorney, alongside prosecutors from Minnesota, Texas, Virginia, Arizona and other states. Participants said the effort is intended to reinforce constitutional limits on federal power by ensuring that federal officers are not shielded from accountability when their actions allegedly violate state law.
“This is an organization for local prosecutors who take their oath seriously, including their oath to preserve the Constitution and the laws of the United States,” Krasner said. “There is a moral oath that prosecutors have, and that is the oath to seek justice.”
Krasner said local prosecutors have clear authority to bring state criminal charges against federal officials, including federal law enforcement officers, when those officials allegedly commit crimes within a state’s jurisdiction. “Despite the misinformation you have heard,” he said, “we do have the ability to bring state criminal charges against federal officials, federal officers, and to prosecute those cases to conclusion.”
The coalition includes Mary Moriarty of Minneapolis; Jose Garza of Austin, Texas; Steve Descano of Fairfax County, Virginia; Parisa Dehghani-Tafti of Arlington County and the city of Falls Church, Virginia; Stephanie Morales of Portsmouth, Virginia; Ramin Fatehi of Norfolk, Virginia; John Creuzot of Dallas; and Laura Conover of Pima County, Arizona.
Several speakers framed the coalition as a response to what they described as increasingly aggressive federal enforcement tactics, including the use of force during protests and immigration operations. Descano, the Commonwealth’s attorney for Fairfax County, said federal agents were being deployed “with the explicit guarantee that they have full immunity to do whatever it is that they want.”
“That chaos you’re seeing on the streets — the beatings, the abductions, the killings of everyday Americans just like you and me — these are the natural consequences of a federal government that thinks they’re above the law and the rest of us are below it,” Descano said. He added, “If you break state law, you’ll have to answer to state authorities. There is no federal pardon power that can help you escape answering for your crimes.”
Conover, whose jurisdiction includes the U.S.-Mexico border, described the impact she said federal actions have had on her community in southern Arizona. “Over half of my community is living in crippling fear — fear to go to school, fear to go to work, fear to just live,” she said. She told residents that while she urges peaceful protest, federal officers who violate state law would be prosecuted. “I don’t care what you are wearing or what agency you claim,” Conover said. “If you break state law and you cause us harm, I will do everything in my power to bring you into court and to hold you to account.”
Dehghani-Tafti described a series of encounters she said exemplified what she characterized as unchecked federal authority. “They’re sending the message: We can take over your neighborhoods and occupy your streets whenever we want,” she said. “We’re here to tell you it doesn’t work that way. It’s not right. It’s undemocratic. It’s un-American.”
Garza, the Travis County district attorney, said the coalition was formed in response to what he described as repeated acts of federal violence. “Federal officials who engage in unlawful acts in this county will be prosecuted and held accountable by this community,” he said. “We’re going to work together to make sure that federal officers uphold the law in our states and in our cities.”
Fatehi, the Commonwealth’s attorney for Norfolk, Virginia, said the burden placed on local prosecutors by alleged federal misconduct was profound. “When people are gunned down in Minneapolis, when they’re beaten in Portland, that makes our jobs harder,” he said. “Every time that they violate their oaths, it makes our jobs harder.”
Creuzot, the Dallas County district attorney, said he had never before seen federal law enforcement used in the way he described during the press conference. “Never in my life and never in my 43 years of practicing law have I seen federal law enforcement weaponized against American citizens or otherwise peaceful individuals,” he said.
Organizers said the coalition will coordinate legal strategies, provide public updates on enforcement efforts and offer mutual support to prosecutors who pursue cases involving alleged misconduct by federal officers. Participants said they plan to reconvene in early February to continue strategy discussions and expand outreach.
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