In recent weeks, Gov. Josh Shapiro has faced questions<\/a> about how Pennsylvania would respond if the president turned his attention to Philadelphia.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s approach.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are here because all over the city are people who do not want an invasion,\u201d Krasner, a Democrat, said at Tuesday night\u2019s event at Salt & Light Church in southwest Philadelphia.<\/p>\n SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE<\/a><\/p>\n The events were billed as the \u201cBe the Light and Bring the Light\u201d 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.<\/p>\n Krasner said that Trump\u2019s claims of crime being out of control in several big cities, like Philadelphia, were off base<\/a>. He said he believes there is a different reason.<\/p>\n \u201cThis 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,\u201d Krasner said at Thursday evening\u2019s event at Mother Bethel AME Church in Society Hill.<\/p>\n He told those in attendance, however, that they are not powerless and what they could do to ensure Trump would \u201cleave Philadelphia alone.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGet your phone, get your camera, carry it with you. If there are things that you find inappropriate, disturbing, upsetting, whether it\u2019s ICE activity tomorrow or its National Guard, paramilitary, military invasion later: Get the phones up, get that out on social media,\u201d he said. \u201cThe fact is, with a million sets of eyes, there\u2019s a whole lot of stuff some people would like to do that\u2019s not gonna get done. And if what they do is a crime, let me see it.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s recent threat to deploy the guard to Chicago, but ultimately decided against it<\/a>.<\/p>\n Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner speaking during the \u201cBe the Light and Bring the Light\u201d event. (John Cole\/Capital-Star)<\/p>\n Kate Shaw<\/a>, a constitutional law scholar and professor at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, joined Krasner for the fireside chat on Tuesday.<\/p>\n 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<\/a> ruled that Trump\u2019s decision to send the National Guard and U.S. Marines to Los Angeles in response to immigration protests violated federal law.<\/p>\n \u201cBut the bottom line is, it says you can\u2019t send the military in to do civilian peacekeeping,\u201d Krasner said. \u201cThe military is for wars. The military is for the enemy. The military is not for us. That\u2019s not what it is, and that has been the law since the Civil War era.\u201d<\/p>\n Philadelphia City Councilmember Jamie Gauthier<\/a> was the only member of the council to deliver remarks at any of the three events.<\/p>\n \u201cPresident Trump is trampling over the Constitution and invading cities under the pretext of safety,\u201d Gauthier said. \u201cBut tanks rolling down 52nd Street don\u2019t make us safe.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cReal safety comes from trust between the community and law enforcement,\u201d she added. \u201cIt 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Danielle Shaw\u2019s 23-year old daughter was shot and killed<\/a> in Philadelphia in 2018. She said that she doesn\u2019t believe sending in the National Guard would help combat crime in the city.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t need the National Guard,\u201d Shaw said. \u201cWe 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\u2019t need the National Guard.\u201d<\/p>\n Pushback from attendees<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cIs the question, will the Pennsylvania legislature and its MAGA members be stupid? Because the answer is, \u201cYeah,\u201d Krasner said. \u201cI mean, fascist gonna be fascist.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThese people don\u2019t believe in equality at all. They don\u2019t believe in racial equality. They don\u2019t believe in gender equality. They\u2019re absolutely just as hateful toward women as they are on the issue of race, \u201d Krasner added. \u201cThese are people who agree with Adolf Hitler when he said that equality is a quote \u2018degenerate notion,\u2019 unquote.\u201d<\/p>\n Frank Scales, who lives in South Philadelphia, rose to his feet to push back on Krasner\u2019s comments and stated that the district attorney was demonizing Republicans and Trump, and that rhetoric led to the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.<\/p>\n Frank Scales speaking to reporters outside of the Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner\u2019s \u201cBe the Light and Bring the Light\u201d event. (John Cole\/Capital-Star)<\/p>\n The motives<\/a> of Kirk\u2019s alleged shooter remain unclear, although NBC News<\/a> reported on Saturday that so far \u201cthere is no evidence connecting the suspect with any left-wing groups,\u201d and that \u201cevery indication so far is that this was one guy who did one really bad thing because he found Kirk\u2019s ideology personally offensive.\u201d<\/p>\n The Associated Press<\/a> reports he may have been \u201cradicalized\u201d online.<\/p>\n \u201cThere 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,\u201d Krasner responded. \u201cI think the death of Charlie Kirk was awful. I will never justify the murder of another human being.\u201d<\/p>\n Scales left during the second panel discussion and spoke with media members, outside of the church. He said he didn\u2019t plan to challenge Krasner, but called the event a \u201cpublicity stunt\u201d when he realized that audience members couldn\u2019t directly ask questions.<\/p>\n Following the event, Krasner told reporters that the use of the word fascist and comparisons to Hilter were \u201c100% necessary\u201d in a time like this, noting his family\u2019s history of military service during World War II.<\/p>\n \u201cIt 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,\u201d Krasner said. \u201cWe believe in equality. We believe in freedom. We believe in safety. They don\u2019t believe in any of those things at all. Other people may want to say that Mr. Hitler has a nice mustache. I don\u2019t think so.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need dialogue,\u201d Scales said. \u201cSo, if Krasner disagrees with Trump, he should say that in good faith, not demonize and call him a fascist. He\u2019s pulling the wool over people\u2019s eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n He is also a founder of Surge Philly<\/a>, a group that says its mission is to take back Philadelphia by \u201cexposing liberal bias, gut-punching big government, and unleashing free markets.\u201d<\/p>\n In the final moments of Thursday evening\u2019s event, another attendee voiced her displeasure with Krasner.<\/p>\n Judy Robinson said that prevention was key for combating crime in the city.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m in the 22nd District where murder and mayhem is out of control,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Robinson said that children \u201care being given guns like crack,\u201d and that she isn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n![\"Philadelphia](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/8959c4644b4dea18227477a564be75db.jpeg\"\/)
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