Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner drew the ire of the Department of Homeland Security, as well as elected officials throughout the country, for his recent comments at an “ICE OUT” press conference about “hunting down” Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers similar to the way they “hunted down Nazis for decades.” It marks the second time Krasner compared ICE officers to Nazis in less than a month.
“This is a small bunch of wannabe Nazis, that’s what they are, in a country of 350 million,” Krasner said about ICE officers. “We outnumber them, and as long as we stick to our values, protect our rights, make it very clear that homicide is not OK just because you are a federal law officer, if we do that, this will end differently.”
“There will be accountability now, there will be accountability in the future, there will be accountability after Trump is out of office,” Krasner said. “If we have to hunt you down the way they hunted down Nazis for decades, we will find your identities, we will find you, we will achieve justice, and we will do so under the Constitution and the laws of the United States.”
The comments comparing ICE officers to Nazis and the claim that they will be “hunted down” were rebuked by Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. She called Krasner’s remarks “vile.”
“He is intentionally stoking the flames of hatred and division in this country for political gain,” said McLaughlin. “Calling law enforcement Nazis and encouraging violence and doxing of them is absolutely disgusting.”
“The violence and dehumanization of these men and women who are simply enforcing the law must stop,” she added.
McLaughlin’s sentiments were echoed by several elected officials, including some Democrats, such as Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA).
“That kind of rhetoric is unacceptable, it is abhorrent, and it is wrong,” Shapiro said. “Period. Hard stop. End of sentence.”
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“I think what we need, and I called for this in Pennsylvania, and I practiced this in Minnesota,” Shapiro said. “We need to bring down the rhetoric, bring down the temperature, and create calm in the community.”
Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) also rebuked Krasner, suggesting the district attorney needed to “lighten up.”
“He really ought to lighten up, Francis,” Fetterman said in reference to a famous line from the comedy Stripes. “Don’t call people and compare people to Nazis.”
“A lot of the tough talk coming out of his office, that’s just pandering to people,” Fetterman added.
