District Attorney Larry Krasner Is Impeached in Philadelphia

Mr. Krasner took office in 2018 after he had proclaimed on the campaign trail that “policing and prosecution are both systemically racist.” He is a

George Soros

favorite and won re-election last year with nearly 70% of the vote.

The impeachment resolution that passed Wednesday accuses Mr. Krasner of seven offenses and argues that, under the progressive DA’s watch, Philadelphia has “descended into an unprecedented crisis of lawlessness.” The resolution notes that Philadelphia recorded 562 murders last year, “the most in the 340-year history of the city.”

As of Nov. 13, at least 2,068 people had been shot in Philadelphia so far this year, according to police data. “Murders and violence occur in every part of the city at every hour of the day,” the resolution says. It adds that “this crisis of crime and violence is a direct result” of Mr. Krasner’s “incompetence, ideological rigidity and refusal to perform the duties he swore to carry out when he became District Attorney.”

Among other policies, Mr. Krasner’s office no longer seeks cash bail for some 25 offenses including retail theft and some drug crimes. Even as crime has increased in Philadelphia, 70% of violent offenses were withdrawn or dismissed by Mr. Krasner’s office or the judiciary in 2021, up from 51% the year before he became district attorney. A House committee also reported last month that when handling gun crimes Mr. Krasner’s office decided not to prosecute in 18% of cases in 2019 and 21% of cases in 2020, “compared to the respective statewide averages of 8% and 10%.”

Other articles of impeachment claim that Mr. Krasner obstructed a House Select Committee investigation into crime in Philadelphia. They also say Mr. Krasner and his office have misled judges in some cases.

On Wednesday Mr. Krasner tweeted that “history will harshly judge this anti-democratic authoritarian effort to erase Philly’s votes—votes by Black, brown, and broke people in Philadelphia.” Yet poor and minority Philadelphians have been the most frequent victims of the crime surge.

The impeachment vote broke largely along party lines, and it would require two-thirds of the Senate for a conviction. That will be a heavy lift, but Wednesday’s impeachment puts the blame for Philadelphia’s criminal rampage exactly where it belongs.