Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner condemned election “bullying” and intimidation during a Monday press conference, when he revealed his office is concerned about poll watchers bringing “bogus challenges” against voters.
The district attorney repeatedly warned would-be violators of election laws to, “F around and find out,” especially those who seek to “play militia,” insult or “mistreat” election workers and voters, or “threaten people,” “bully votes,” or to “erase votes.”
“We do have the cuffs, we do have the jail cells, we do have the Philly juries, and we do have the state prisons,” said Krasner. “You’re going to try any of that nonsense? We’re not playing, F around and find out.”
While Krasner said his office has no specific reports of the election interference he described, the district attorney said his office has “a concern” with the potential for “frivolous, bogus challenges” brought by poll watchers.
"F around and find out." Philly DA Larry Krasner shared a warning for anyone who planned on trying to intimidate voters on Election Day. Full story and video HERE: https://t.co/6CBgpDqfBT pic.twitter.com/uME7dQLifL
— NBC10 Philadelphia (@NBCPhiladelphia) November 4, 2024
The district attorney said there may be “bad faith” challenges and stated, “There is an election court, there are judges, they have orders, and those orders are going to say, in essence, get out of the polling place. Anybody who doesn’t get out? You’re getting arrested.”
Krasner did not name a specific organization but seemed to suggest that individuals may have planning challenges using the organizational messaging application Slack.
The press conference was held as Krasner’s civil lawsuit against Elon Musk’s America PAC concluded with the judge allowing the group’s $1 million giveaway to signers of a petition in favor of the U.S. Constitution to continue through Election Day.
That decision came despite Krasner testifying on Monday that the billionaire knowingly created an illegal lottery.
“They were scammed for their information,” Krasner claimed from the witness stand, claiming America PAC obtained personal information from the petition signatures without the knowledge of consent of the signers, before accusing Musk’s group of “indisputably violating” the commonwealth’s lottery laws, according to ABC 6 Action News.
Musk was not in court, but his attorneys reportedly acknowledged that the winners of the $1 million giveaway were not randomly selected and confirmed that the giveaway would end after the election.
While the judge allowed the America PAC giveaway to continue, Krasner reportedly floated the possibility of future criminal charges.
In his lawsuit against America PAC, the district attorney claimed the group created an “illegal lottery” that constitutes a public nuisance, giving his office the authority to end it immediately.
Krasner’s political campaign for district attorney was funded by Hungarian-American billionaire George Soros, and critics have argued the district attorney’s soft stance on crime led to a spread and increase of criminality in Philadelphia and the surrounding area.
He was successfully impeached by the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 2022, but the State Senate indefinitely suspended the trial against him last year.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Larry Krasner” by Larry Krasner.
