DEMANDING ACCOUNTABILITY IN THE STATES FOR CRIMINAL CONDUCT BY TRUMP AND HIS ALLIES

The U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) should be an independent institution, capable of investigating and prosecuting violations of federal criminal law in an impartial manner. It no longer is. It has been co-opted by Trump to serve his interests and not the interests of our country. Trump and his senior officials have fired non-partisan career civil servants who investigated and prosecuted Trump and his allies, and they have fired government officials tasked with government and corporate oversight across multiple government agencies, including the DOJ and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).  The DOJ is now led by officials loyal to Trump rather than to the laws they are charged to uphold. DOJ employees—those who have not been fired—are keenly aware of the cost of disloyalty to Trump, and that loyalty will require turning a blind eye to criminal acts by the Trump Administration.

It therefore is more important than ever that state and local prosecutors exercise their own sound judgment in investigating and prosecuting crimes that occur in their jurisdictions.

The Supreme Court’s ruling in Trump v. United States does not remove the authority of state and local prosecutors here. That decision only grants immunity to a President for official acts. Kidnapping, extortion, and coercion are not official acts. The fact that Trump abused the power of his office to commit these offenses does not convert them into official acts, nor immunize him from prosecution.

Free Speech For People is leading a campaign calling on state and local prosecutors in multiple states across the country to open criminal investigations into President Trump, senior Trump officials, and ICE agents for conspiring to unlawfully arrest, detain, assault, and terrorize residents, including U.S. citizens, in their states. FSFP has issued a series of detailed letters to state attorneys general and district attorneys urging them to carry out their duties to enforce state criminal laws against Trump and co-conspirators for crimes they have committed in their respective states. As the letters highlight, there is no federal immunity for Trump or other officials for committing such crimes. State and local prosecutors should not stand by while federal agents commit crimes in their jurisdictions, particularly those that visit violence on their residents and undermine the security and safety of their communities.

 ADD YOUR NAME: Investigate the Unlawful Kidnapping of Rümeysa Öztürk

ADD YOUR NAME: Investigate the Unlawful Kidnapping of Kilmar Armando Ábrego García

Officials in several jurisdictions have created tools, linked below, for residents to report abuses by federal agents. Only in the starred jurisdictions has the relevant prosecutor stated they will consider initiating criminal prosecutions based on the evidence they receive.