Attorney General William Barr condemned progressive prosecutors Monday, calling them “dangerous to public safety” and predicting that the result of the lenient policies they espouse will be an uptick in crime.
Such district attorneys are “demoralizing to law enforcement” and “spend their time undercutting the police, letting criminals off the hook, and refusing to enforce the law,” Barr said in remarks to the Fraternal Order of Police’s 64th National Biennial Conference in New Orleans.
“These anti-law enforcement [district attorneys] have tended to emerge in jurisdictions where the election is largely determined by the primary,” Barr said. “Frequently, these candidates ambush an incumbent D.A. in the primary with misleading campaigns and large infusions of money from outside groups.”
“Most disturbing is that some are refusing to prosecute cases of resisting police,” Barr continued. “Some are refusing to prosecute various theft cases or drug cases, even where the suspect is involved in distribution. And when they do deign to charge a criminal suspect, they are frequently seeking sentences that are pathetically lenient.”
“These cities are headed back to the days of revolving door justice,” the attorney general predicted. “The results will be predictable: More crime, more victims.”
Barr particularly sounded the alarm about increased immunity for individuals who assault police officers, saying he was “nauseated by the spectacle of prancing punks” pouring water onto NYPD officers several weeks ago. He promised to seek legislation that will facilitate a speedy death penalty for individuals who kill police officers as well as for mass shooters.
“Punishment must be swift and certain,” he said.