Members of the National Guard stationed outside Union Station in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 18, 2025. (Photo by Jane Norman/States Newsroom)
Since being sworn in for a second term, President Donald Trump has deployed National Guard troops to Los Angeles and Washington D.C., and more are on their way to Memphis, Tennessee, as part of what he said is an effort to restore law and order.
In recent weeks, Gov. Josh Shapiro has faced questions about how Pennsylvania would respond if the president turned his attention to Philadelphia.
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner has been outspoken on the issue. His office held three public events last week to provide advice for what citizens should do, while also sharply criticizing the president’s approach.
“We are here because all over the city are people who do not want an invasion,” Krasner, a Democrat, said at Tuesday night’s event at Salt & Light Church in southwest Philadelphia.
SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
The events were billed as the “Be the Light and Bring the Light” town halls, taking place on three straight nights in different neighborhoods in Philadelphia. Each event ended with Krasner responding to some of the questions submitted via card by audience members.
Krasner said that Trump’s claims of crime being out of control in several big cities, like Philadelphia, were off base. He said he believes there is a different reason.
“This is entirely and specifically an effort to make it normal to have the military in cities, in my opinion, it is entirely and specifically to legitimize more military action later,” Krasner said at Thursday evening’s event at Mother Bethel AME Church in Society Hill.
He told those in attendance, however, that they are not powerless and what they could do to ensure Trump would “leave Philadelphia alone.”
“Get your phone, get your camera, carry it with you. If there are things that you find inappropriate, disturbing, upsetting, whether it’s ICE activity tomorrow or its National Guard, paramilitary, military invasion later: Get the phones up, get that out on social media,” he said. “The fact is, with a million sets of eyes, there’s a whole lot of stuff some people would like to do that’s not gonna get done. And if what they do is a crime, let me see it.”
Krasner said his office would be able to determine if the activity by those in law enforcement from those videos is legal or not legal and would respond appropriately and prosecute them.
He said he believes that public pushback can deter Trump from deciding to send the National Guard to cities like Philadelphia. He cited the president’s recent threat to deploy the guard to Chicago, but ultimately decided against it.
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner speaking during the “Be the Light and Bring the Light” event. (John Cole/Capital-Star)
Kate Shaw, a constitutional law scholar and professor at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, joined Krasner for the fireside chat on Tuesday.
Shaw cited the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 as proof that the president does not have the authority to deploy the National Guard domestically. She also noted that a federal judge in California ruled that Trump’s decision to send the National Guard and U.S. Marines to Los Angeles in response to immigration protests violated federal law.
“But the bottom line is, it says you can’t send the military in to do civilian peacekeeping,” Krasner said. “The military is for wars. The military is for the enemy. The military is not for us. That’s not what it is, and that has been the law since the Civil War era.”
Philadelphia City Councilmember Jamie Gauthier was the only member of the council to deliver remarks at any of the three events.
“President Trump is trampling over the Constitution and invading cities under the pretext of safety,” Gauthier said. “But tanks rolling down 52nd Street don’t make us safe.”
“Real safety comes from trust between the community and law enforcement,” she added. “It comes from neighbors looking out for each other and from police officers rooted in their communities who are trained as guardians, not to hunt down and kill the enemy.”
Danielle Shaw’s 23-year old daughter was shot and killed in Philadelphia in 2018. She said that she doesn’t believe sending in the National Guard would help combat crime in the city.
“We don’t need the National Guard,” Shaw said. “We need our community. We need our grassroots groups. We need our police department. We need our police department, we need our detectives, we need our lawyers, we don’t need the National Guard.”
Pushback from attendees
Krasner was direct in his criticism of Trump over the three days. During that time, he referred to the president as a wanna-be dictator, a racist, evil, and someone who would like to be king.
“Is the question, will the Pennsylvania legislature and its MAGA members be stupid? Because the answer is, “Yeah,” Krasner said. “I mean, fascist gonna be fascist.”
“These people don’t believe in equality at all. They don’t believe in racial equality. They don’t believe in gender equality. They’re absolutely just as hateful toward women as they are on the issue of race, ” Krasner added. “These are people who agree with Adolf Hitler when he said that equality is a quote ‘degenerate notion,’ unquote.”
Frank Scales, who lives in South Philadelphia, rose to his feet to push back on Krasner’s comments and stated that the district attorney was demonizing Republicans and Trump, and that rhetoric led to the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Frank Scales speaking to reporters outside of the Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner’s “Be the Light and Bring the Light” event. (John Cole/Capital-Star)
The motives of Kirk’s alleged shooter remain unclear, although NBC News reported on Saturday that so far “there is no evidence connecting the suspect with any left-wing groups,” and that “every indication so far is that this was one guy who did one really bad thing because he found Kirk’s ideology personally offensive.”
The Associated Press reports he may have been “radicalized” online.
“There is free speech and then there is an effort to stop free speech and what is happening here is the usual right wing effort to silence people who are trying to organize to preserve civil rights,” Krasner responded. “I think the death of Charlie Kirk was awful. I will never justify the murder of another human being.”
Scales left during the second panel discussion and spoke with media members, outside of the church. He said he didn’t plan to challenge Krasner, but called the event a “publicity stunt” when he realized that audience members couldn’t directly ask questions.
Following the event, Krasner told reporters that the use of the word fascist and comparisons to Hilter were “100% necessary” in a time like this, noting his family’s history of military service during World War II.
“It is absolutely necessary to recognize the times we are in to not be appeasers, to not stand by, to not let people take over everything that I believe in and that the city believes in,” Krasner said. “We believe in equality. We believe in freedom. We believe in safety. They don’t believe in any of those things at all. Other people may want to say that Mr. Hitler has a nice mustache. I don’t think so.”
Scales said he supports the National Guard being deployed to Philadelphia, noting that the police department is currently short of the amount of officers they need to have.
“We need dialogue,” Scales said. “So, if Krasner disagrees with Trump, he should say that in good faith, not demonize and call him a fascist. He’s pulling the wool over people’s eyes.”
He is also a founder of Surge Philly, a group that says its mission is to take back Philadelphia by “exposing liberal bias, gut-punching big government, and unleashing free markets.”
In the final moments of Thursday evening’s event, another attendee voiced her displeasure with Krasner.
Judy Robinson said that prevention was key for combating crime in the city.
“I’m in the 22nd District where murder and mayhem is out of control,” she said.
Robinson said that children “are being given guns like crack,” and that she isn’t worried about the National Guard or Donald Trump, but is instead concerned about what can be done to combat crime in her local community. She said she wants the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to help address the matter.
SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
ICE also on the minds of Philadelphians
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations was also a topic brought up on several occasions throughout the three-day stretch, with it being a more prominent focus at the event at the Grace Baptist Church of Germantown last Wednesday evening.
“We are specifically protected from federal officials trying to force local officials to enforce their law,” Krasner said. “Frankly, I’d much rather be catching people for homicide than running around catching hardworking kitchen workers who are undocumented.”
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner speaking during the “Be the Light and Bring the Light” event. (John Cole/Capital-Star)
“So that I’m clear with you, if somebody comes here and they murder two people, and there’s an interest in deporting them, I’m fine with that, after they finish their sentence. That’s ok with me,” Krasner said. “I am, personally, very much against going after people who are hardworking, who are supporting their families, who are fundamentally law abiding.”
Philadelphia Sheriff Rochelle Bilal was on hand to explain what her office does, while also fielding a few questions.
“The sheriff’s office does not cooperate with ICE,” she said.
Bilal explained that ICE has an agreement with her office that, among other things, says the agency has to have a valid warrant and cannot come inside the courthouse to arrest anyone.
On the final night, Krasner said the turnout over the three nights had shown him that similar meetings should be held in different parts of the city in the future.