There is a serious public safety crisis in the US: Kathy Henderson
WARNING: Graphic Footage—D.C. Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Kathy Henderson says city residents experience fear taking the Metro and going shopping on 'America's Newsroom.'
As pundits continue to analyze the impact of the 2023 general election, the voters in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania and Loudoun County, Virginia sent an important message to a billionaire and others trying to influence races for district attorneys: the office is not for sale.
In Allegheny County, Stephen Zappala, the incumbent District Attorney and lifelong Democrat, was challenged in the primary by a candidate backed, in large part, by an organization funded by billionaire George Soros. This special interest money funneled by Soros to the challenger, a long-time public defender without prosecutorial experience, amounted to over $700,000 in the primary. With that money, the Soros-backed candidate was able to beat incumbent DA Zappala in the Democratic primary. Zappala did not give up but instead sought and received the Republican nomination in a largely Democratic jurisdiction.
After the primary, Soros flooded the challenger with even more special interest money. In the end, the Soros-backed organization spent almost $2 million in an attempt to elect a social justice prosecutor. This amount was a huge percentage of the funds spent by the challenger.
In Loudoun County, Soros-backed Commonwealth Attorney, Buta Biberaj lost to Republican Bob Anderson. She had risen to the top prosecutor position in 2019 after receiving nearly a million dollars from Soros. In the current race, with the help of Soros, she had raised over a million dollars compared to Anderson’s $70,000. Fortunately, the voters chose public safety over special interest spending, re-electing Zappala and sending Biberaj home.
FILE – Loudoun County Commonwealth’s Attorney Buta Biberaj at press conference (FOX 5)
The attempts to buy these elections and insert dangerous social justice prosecutors in Allegheny County and Loudoun County are not isolated incidents. In the last few years, Soros has spent millions of dollars around the country to elect so-called progressive prosecutors, and the results are not good for the American people.
CONTROVERSIAL GEORGE SOROS-BACKED VIRGINIA PROSECUTOR OUSTED FROM OFFICE AFTER FINAL VOTES COUNTED
The Soros record is one of increased crime and reduced public safety in communities where his candidates are elected, and in some instances even incompetence and corruption. These so-called progressives emerge in cities where Democrats have a monopoly on power and, with Soros money, they make it through the primary.
Many of these candidates have little or no experience as prosecutors and seek to use the office to push a radical social agenda. Just consider these examples of Soros-backed prosecutors.
* In San Francisco, DA Chesa Boudin was recalled by voters after crime increased to intolerable levels, with businesses leaving the city because if it.
* In Baltimore, State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby’s tenure saw significant increases in violent crime. Mosby herself was indicted and later convicted of perjury in federal court.
SOROS-BACKED PROSECUTOR MIRED IN SCANDAL RESIGNS FROM OFFICE
* In St. Louis, Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner was the subject of a proceeding to remove her from office filed by the Missouri Attorney General. She was accused of failing to do her duty and enrolling in a nursing program while in office. All this at a time when St. Louis’ crime rate increased significantly, including for murder. Gardner’s office was described by a St. Louis judge earlier this year as a "rudderless ship of chaos." Gardner thankfully resigned.
* In Chicago, State's Attorney Kim Foxx saw violent crime increase dramatically, making Chicago one of the most violent cities in the country.
* In Boston, DA Rachael Rollins directed that her office not prosecute whole categories of crimes, including those used to convict drug dealers. Rollins was later appointed U.S. Attorney and was confirmed in the Senate only after the vice president voted to break a tie vote. During her tenure as U.S. Attorney, the Justice Department Inspector General found that Rollins inappropriately tried to interfere in the election of her successor as DA, misusing her office to help the so-called "progressive" candidate. She was also found to have violated the Hatch Act which prohibits government officials from engaging in political activity. Rollins was forced to resign earlier this year.
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The list goes on. Some estimate that as many as 1 in 5 Americans live in jurisdictions controlled by Soros-backed prosecutors. Many of those communities have experienced an increase in crime while the prosecutors push their radical social justice agenda.
Billionaire and activist George Soros has spent millions backing radical progressive candidates for district attorney in elections around the country. (Photo by FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images)
Elections for district attorney have consequences, which include, not only increasing crime, but also lower economic development. Businesses flee high-crime areas, leaving the local communities without ready access to important services like food, when grocery stores move out, and medicine when pharmacies close. This negatively impacts the daily lives of Americans, particularly when prosecutors substitute a social justice agenda advocated by a billionaire and others, for their duty to enforce the law.
Ironically, Soros often targets incumbent Democrat DAs who are doing their job to faithfully enforce the criminal law and protect their communities.
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We can't let big money and special interests influence these important elections.
The DA's office is not for sale.
John C. Milhiser is a former US Attorney in Illinois, Jonathan W. Blodgett is the former Essex District Attorney in Massachusetts, Nancy G. Parr, Former Commonwealth’s Attorney in Chesapeake Virginia and former president of the National District Attorneys Association, Billy J. Williams is a former U.S. Attorney in Oregon.
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