The MAGA-indoctrinated Supreme Court just dropped pro-police ruling that expands local law enforcement's ability to criminally penalize migrants at the border. Unfortunately this ruling is not an isolated consequence of the continual wildfire of MAGA ideology that has infected our courts, our statehouses, and both chambers of Congress. Even at a local level, over the past few weeks, big blue liberal strongholds like San Francisco, Washington DC, and New York have moved "tough on crime" proposals that have been proven to be ineffective at preventing crime and keeping communities safe. This damning anti-public safety policy trend from the Supreme Court to local City Councils can be traced back to a familiar opponent of criminal legal reform and Democrats in general - former President Donald Trump. Now Trump is asking the Supreme Court for absolute immunity for criminal prosecution for his attempt to overturn the 2020 election.
In a recent appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), Trump asserted that President Joe Biden had overseen a surge in “bloodshed, chaos, and violent crime.” Trump, and his far-right allies, have launched this fear-mongering rhetoric into every corner of the GOP’s political strategy, from the White House to local prosecutor races. This “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) messaging on crime and safety has given some unfortunate life to a movement aimed at blocking progressive criminal legal reform, at the great expense of real community safety.
Trump and his conservative pawns have made it their mission to upend any lawful attempts at changing the oppressive nature of our criminal legal systems. And this election year the Republican Party and sadly some moderate Democrats have seemingly been won over by his rhetoric on criminal justice. There has been a marked increase in attacks against criminal justice reform, and particularly against prosecutors who were elected on reformist platforms. Before Governor Ron DeSantis dropped out of the Republican presidential race earlier this year, he made a promise to crack down on reform-minded prosecutors a pillar of his campaign. Worse, some moderate Democrats have co-signed this messaging and, despite evidence to the contrary, started to blame reform-minded prosecutors and their policies for crime.
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The rise of the MAGAttorney movement— a term for the increase in attacks against reform-minded prosecutors and their policies— can be traced back to the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. Heritage had close ties with the MAGA wing of Republicans, reportedly “stocking Trump’s government” with its staff. In 2018, when justice reform advocates scored high-profile wins by electing reform-minded prosecutors like Larry Krasner in Philadelphia and Rachael Rollins in Boston, Heritage fought back. The organization launched an intense disinformation campaign against reformers, falsely claiming that they were “creating chaos in American cities.” Heritage also coined terms like “woke prosecutors” and employed antisemitic tropes like “Soros-funded” to delegitimize them.
Following the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor in the summer of 2020, support for criminal justice and policing reform spiked, and the movement became more closely aligned with progressives and the Democratic Party. Amidst a growing perception that crime had spiked during and after COVID-19, Republicans seized the moment and blamed reform-minded prosecutors and their policies. None of these accusations were based in fact, but irresponsible voices in the media and in politics began to echo these explanations. Soon, there were widespread attempts to roll back reforms amidst a sense that changes had “gone too far.” In Georgia, state lawmakers passed legislation designed to discipline and remove reform-minded prosecutors. In Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis suspended State Attorney Andrew Warren and State Attorney Monique Worrell. In California, Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price is facing a recall fueled by special interest groups inspired by the recall of San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin in 2022.
In a bid to address voters’ concerns about public safety, many Democrats have capitulated to parroting the MAGAttorney movement talking points. In California, Democratic Representative Eric Swalwell is fueling the recall attempt against Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price by blaming increased crime on her policies. In Minnesota, Democratic Governor Tim Walz is contemplating removing Mary Moriarty as lead prosecutor in a police killing case at the instigation of the Minnesota House Republicans and a police association. Prosecutors like Ivan Bates in Baltimore City and Brooke Jenkins in San Francisco, who unseated their reform-minded predecessors on a tough-on-crime platform, regularly employ MAGA talking points and tactics. Bates, for example, has touted harsher outcomes for minor offenses as a solution to crime and Jenkins recently announced that her office would be pursuing murder charges for fentanyl dealers, following the lead of conservative prosecutors in California. It is perplexing that Democrats are ceding ground to the Republican party on crime, when the leader of the tough-on-crime movement, Donald Trump, faces four indictments and ninety-one criminal charges. It can also be counterproductive, as Democratic New York Mayor Eric Adams proved when he was blamed for Democrat losses in his state because of his fear-mongering on crime.
To be clear, everyone deserves to feel safe, and there are steps that elected officials should be taking to improve public safety. However, these Republicans are not interested in real solutions. They want to dog-whistle about crime to their base, and bring back the racist policies of the 1990s to keep Black people locked up and beaten down. Anyone who truly cares about public safety and the rule of law must reject the MAGAttorney platform, and put forward their own solutions. Only then can we have true justice.
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