Larry Krasner

Larry Krasner (left) with Asa Khalif (Twitter Screenshot)

Larry Krasner is a socialist-backed lawyer serving as the 26th District Attorney of Philadelphia.

Monday Organizing Meeting

Monique Worrell, Pamela Price, Natalie Vowell, Larry Krasner, Eli Savit .

DA race

In Philadelphia, Larry Krasner, a self-described “completely unelectable” defense attorney with a history of suing the city’s police department and representing Black Lives Matter and Occupy activists pro bono, became the city’s top prosecutor. With a campaign spearheaded by former Bernie Sanders volunteers and pledges to end to cash bail, the death penalty, and mass incarceration, he won by a three-to-one ratio, thanks largely to the votes of the city’s communities of color. “This is what a movement looks like,” he told a crowd of supporters.

Endorsement

Larry Krasner was endorsed by Reclaim Philadelphia in 2022.

Hired Newsome

October 2019, underscoring the city’s increased focus on supporting workers, the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office has launched a unit to investigate and prosecute scofflaw employers.

The new office is part of a nascent trend among progressive state and local prosecutors who are putting a priority on crimes committed against workers. County prosecutors in Minnesota, Colorado, and California are going after employers who are fudging time sheets in order to save money on wages and who put workers in danger on the job.

In Philadelphia, District Attorney Larry Krasner, who pledged to change the prosecutor’s office, has hired labor attorney Danielle Newsome to run the unit. Newsome, 33, is a familiar face in the local labor movement: Previously a staff attorney at health-care union Health Professionals and Allied Employees, she recently stepped down from the board of Jobs with Justice, a workers’ rights organization, and from running the local Coalition of Labor Union Women.

Fighting the Death Penalty

Philly We Rise July 15 2019·

BREAKING: District Attorney Larry Krasner has asked the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania to declare the death penalty, as applied in PA, unconstitutional. The vast majority of people from Philadelphia on PA's death row are Black and poor. "It really is about poverty. It really is about race."

Larry Krasner and the Plain View Project

Emily Baker-White on The Plain View Project

Emily Baker-White discussed the Plain View Project on the Michael Smerconish Program. During the program, she mentioned Larry Krasner's interest in the project.

From a local report:

Krasner said the Facebook posts could lead to an expansion of his office’s so-called “do not call” list of police officers not asked to testify in court due to credibility issues. Other posts could fall under the Brady Rule, which requires prosecutors to notify defense attorneys of any evidence that could exonerate their clients.

“[Officers] are advocating for violating the rights of others, making jokes about lying in court, advocating illegal violence against people, or they’re declaring frankly outrageous bias against Muslims,” Krasner said. “We are going to have people who are going to look at this information and help us in incorporating it into … our list of officers with whom there are disclosures or who are not called to testify.”

Praise from Natalie Shure

In June 2019, Natalie Shure tweeted that "DAs like Larry Krasner in Philadelphia and Kim Foxx in Chicago have used their offices with explicit intent of reducing incarceration and more broadly, decriminalizing poverty." She additionally said:"Prosecutorial discretion - often reflecting the tough-on-crime political context in which such decisions were made - drove mass incarceration. Progressive DAs like Tiffany Caban can operate within a different ideological framework to help reverse it."

Larry Krasner endorsed by Asa Khalif

From Daniel Dale of The Star:

"Asa Khalif, the public face of Black Lives Matter Pennsylvania, is the kind of polarizing figure Americans seeking to become DA usually run away from or run against. But wherever Larry Krasner went out and campaigned, Khalif was at his side.

"The protester arrested on some 20 occasions had offered to play the role of character witness. The prosecutor-to-be had gratefully accepted.

"Khalif had never endorsed any political candidate before Krasner. But Krasner, a left-wing defence lawyer who has sued the Philadelphia police department 75 times, had represented him in a half-dozen court cases.

"More importantly, much of Krasner’s platform could have been written by Black Lives Matter itself."

[...]

"In addition to pledging specific justice reforms, Krasner’s platform included an explicit promise to “resist the Trump administration.” In Krasner, despondent progressives found someone they could believe in.

“In light of the pain of Trump’s presidency, particularly the pain felt in American cities and urban centres, people feel compelled to counterbalance that in a way that’s been something I don’t think I’ve ever seen in my lifetime,” said Shaun King, a journalist for the Intercept who is affiliated with the Black Lives Matter movement. “People are now being very clear on the progressive principles and ideals that they stand for.”

Krasner was backed by a diverse constellation of local and national progressive groups. He received more than $1.5 million from liberal billionaire George Soros. He also received more than 100 foot soldiers from grassroots group Reclaim Philadelphia.

Reclaim was founded last year by veterans of Sanders’s primary campaign who decided to turn their post-election attention to local problems. They became the strategists and labour behind a pro-Krasner door-knocking force that targeted black neighbourhoods.

“The Democratic Party is not really responsive here to the needs of citizens. Many of the same things you see at a national level you can see on the ground here. And people in some way can be galvanized more on local issues because they feel them, they see them right at their doorstep,” said Nikil Saval, a Reclaim Philadelphia co-founder.

Black Lives Matter, born in street protest and online protest to racism and police brutality, had always been focused on local issues. It had not always been interested in local elections. Over the past two years, however, its activists have shifted from shouting to campaigning. And they have won.

Socialists backing Larry Krasner

Mindy Isser November 5, 2017 ·

if you have even an hour to spare today (between 10 am and 7 pm), come to my house in point breeze to canvass for Larry Krasner for DA.

i will give you: a quick training, a turf packet, and a beer/glass of iced tea when you return.

there is so much possibility in this campaign and i really believe it’s important that we not just win, but win by a landslide.

AAU connection

Larry Krasner with Asian Americans United.

DSA support

Larry Krasner was supported by Democratic Socialists of America.

Socialist supporters

Zack Campbell was a Larry Krasner IE Field Director at Working Families Party.

Lev Hirschhorn was the Field Director for Reclaim Philadelphia's campaign to elect Larry Krasner in the May 2017 primary, and was the GOTV Director for the Krasner campaign in the general election.

Kelly Morton was South Philadelphia field organizer for the Larry Krasner campaign in November 2017.

Rick Krajewski was the original organizer for Reclaim Philadelphia's Mass Liberation campaign/Decarceration taskforce, before changing roles as the Coordinator for the Philadelphia Coalition for a Just District Attorney, which is working with the District Attorney’s Office for Larry Krasner.

Krasner team

LadenPele IL May 17, 2017:

Last night, as the results for Larry Krasner were coming in and it was becoming clear that we had won, the community coalition gathered towards the middle of the election party room.

Together, 215 People's Alliance, Reclaim Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Student Power Network, B.L.O.C. Party, and Neighborhood Networks knocked over 60,000 doors to talk to voters about Larry Krasner for DA and ending ending mass incarceration in Philadelphia.

It's a beautiful beautiful thing when a coalition can come together to try and do something big, like really big, and win like this.

I can't stop smiling about it.

I'm so so grateful to have been a part of this team even if only for the last couple weeks of the campaign. I learned so much from everyone involved and know that this is just the beginning of something really exciting in the city of Philadelphia

Huge thanks James Cersonsky for getting me involved and for all the work you did supporting this campaign along with the million other things you do for students all over the state.

Shout out to Lev Hirschhorn, Amanda McIllmurray, Nicolas Pastore, Ociele Hawkins, Arielle Klagsbrun, Bryan Mercer, Meghna Chandra and everyone from the coalition who poured their hearts into this campaign. I really learned so much from y'all and am excited to see what comes next.

And finally, to the best student team ever

Pennsylvania Student Power Network. Y'all are a part of history now. We knocked doors day after day for two weeks in Powelton Village and throughout the 24th ward. It was surreal when we reported back on election day, and most people we had talked to had already voted for Krasner or were planning on it. The commitment, passion, and hard work this team put in deserves more praise than I can muster with words. Amazing job Zaire Best, Avy Srinivasan, Tess Kerins, Jaid Munczinski, Shahmar Beasley, Nicky Dulepski, Becky Cave, Eli Cummin, and the whole team!

Now who are we going to elect next? I guess you'll just have to wait and see. 😉

I couldn't be more excited. — with Nicky Dulepski, Jaid Munczinski, Arielle Klagsbrun, Amanda McIllmurray, Ociele Hawkins, Lev Hirschhorn, Meghna Chandra, Andrea Putnam and Nicolas Pastore.

Krasner crew

Amanda McIllmurray May 4 2018:

With Kelly Morton, Lev Hirschhorn, Camille Sheron Turner, Bernie Sanders, Ron Whitehorne, Ryan Hancock, Hannah Jane Sassaman, Daniel Denvir and Larry Krasner.

John Meyerson connection

Larry Krasner with John Meyerson.

Criminal justice reform roundtable

U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders was live. May 4, 2018.

HAPPENING NOW: Criminal justice reform roundtable with Sen. Sanders, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, Premal Dharia, director of litigation at Civil Rights Corps, and Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, assistant professor of African-American Studies at Princeton University, live from Philadelphia.

The discussion is moderated by Daniel Denvir, host of The Dig, a podcast from Jacobin Magazine.

Caban connection

Caban for Queens June 21 ·

Larry Krasner for DA did it in Philadelphia. Rachael Rollins did it in Boston. And in four days, we can bring people-powered justice home to Queens.

Caban supporters and endorsers

The La Boom Nightclub in Woodside, Queens, was packed wall to wall with hundreds of supporters. People were chanting “Sí se Puede” and “Black and brown lives matter.” That was the scene at approximately 11:15 pm June 25 2019 when Tiffany Caban declared herself the winner in the Democratic primary for district attorney.

Tiffany Caban was a virtually unknown public defender until February 2019. Cabán built a grassroots campaign that brought in community organizations, such as Make The Road, and political groups, including the Working Families Party, Citizen Action, and the Democratic Socialists of America.

Cabán was endorsed by Larry Krasner, the District Attorney from Philadelphia who led the way in the movement for transformative justice. Her national endorsers included Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as well as Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.

Local endorsers included: NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer; NYS Senators Jessica Ramos, James Sanders, Julia Salazar, and Michael Gianaris; NYS Assemblymember Ron Kim; and NYC council members Jimmy Van Bramer and Antonio Reynoso.

Actress Susan Sarandon tweeted this morning; “@CabánForQueens victory over the ‘machine’ in Queens makes me proud to be from Jackson Heights and shows once again that a people’s movement can bring real change, real justice.”

R2K Legal Collective members and supporters

In the course of defending themselves against their own criminal charges, several RNC arrestees became core members of the R2K Legal Collective, personifying the DIY ethic of legal strategy by and for those most directly affected.

They included: Jacqueline Ambrosini, Caleb Arnold, Alexis Baden-Meyer, Bill Beckler, Christopher Day, Adam Eidinger, Jamie Graham, Jessica Mammarella, Dave Onion, Laura McTighe, Carlos Muilos, Danielle Redden, George Ripley, Kate Sorensen, Ethan Spier, Camilo Viveiros, and Chris White.

Movement attorneys were an important part of the R2K Legal Collective and took direction from their dissident clients while ardently defending them against political charges. They included: Paul Hetznecker, Larry Krasner, Paul Messing, David Rudovsky, and Lester Roy Zipris, as well as public defenders Bradley Bridge, Meg Flores, and Shawn Nolan. Some attorneys-such as King Downing from New Jersey, Anastasia Pardalis and Ron McGuire from New York-came regularly to Philadelphia to help defend protesters. Marina Sitrin and Bill Beckler, recent law school graduates at the time, temporarily relocated from New York and, along with others, helped redefine the relationship between defendant and attorney. They also helped to politicize the criminal cases and make that a key element of the legal strategy.

At the heart of the R2K Legal Collective was a group of dedicated activists who did not themselves face charges but fiercely supported RNC arrestees. They included: Jill Benowitz, Kristin Bricker, Amy Dalton, Julie Davids, Jody Dodd, Bull Gervasi, Tim Groves, Christian Hansen, Lee James, Katie Krauss, Amy Kwasnicki, Eric Laursen, Bronwyn Lepore, Elena Madison and Elliott Madison, Sara Marcus, Nicole Meyenberg, Rachel Neumann, Clarissa Rogers, April Rosenblum, Matthew Ruben, Curtis Rumrill, Marlene Santoyo, Mac Scott, April Smith, David Webber, Susan Whitaker, and Lesley Wood.

a lot of the comrades who were organizing these actions were really focused on dealing with anti-globalization." Barrow and other activists felt that the best way to connect struggles in the global south with the struggles in Philadelphia was to focus on the prison industrial complex (PIC), "because you couldn't talk about racism, white supremacy, capitalism, and not talk about PIC." Philadelphia activist Amadee Braxton agreed: "The political work that has most galvanized people organizing for racial justice has been the fight against the racist criminal in-justice system."