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One of the most political U.S. Attorneys in the county is holding a press conference five days before Election Day to announce indictments related to unrest in Philadelphia, a frequent target of the Trump administration in a critical swing state.
McSwain, who has made several appearances on Tucker Carlson’s program, is in an ongoing war of words with Philadelphia’s elected district attorney. Last year, he issued an inflammatory statement slamming the DA after a suspect shot several Philly cops: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/larry-krasner-william-mcswain-philadelphia_n_5d55afffe4b056fafd08e07a
Plenty of politically-appointed U.S. Attorneys use their position as a stepping stone to elected office, but you’d be hard pressed to find someone who has been as obvious about it as Bill McSwain. https://www.phillymag.com/news/2020/09/26/us-attorney-bill-mcswain-donald-trump/
Dude used federal taxpayer dollars to put up billboards with his name and face on them along commuter corridors all across the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. https://www.inquirer.com/politics/clout/us-attorney-bill-mcswain-philly-da-larry-krasner-fraternal-order-police-governor-tom-wolf-scott-wagner-20200724.html
He also ran television ads ostensibly aimed at potential gunmen, even though the ads pretty clearly had a different audience in mind:
"U.S. Attorney William McSwain... invoked the memory of President Abraham Lincoln to compare Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney and District Attorney Larry Krasner to slaveholders who sparked the Civil War and Southern segregationists who opposed civil rights." https://www.inquirer.com/politics/clout/william-mcswain-jim-kenney-larry-krasner-20200212.html
This indictment, just unsealed this morning, appears to be what U.S. Attorney William McSwain plans to announce today. Three defendants charged in connection with arson of a Philadelphia police car and “civil disorder." https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/7277860-Matchett.html
The federal hooks for the arson charges are that (a) Philadelphia has received federal funding and (b) the cop car was used in interstate commerce.
Here’s much more on the legislative history of the rarely-used civil disorder statute: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/anti-rioting-act-civil-disorder-law-doj-barr-trump-consitutional_n_5f6a012cc5b655acbc701ca2
Here’s much more on the legislative history of the rarely-used civil disorder statute: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/anti-rioting-act-civil-disorder-law-doj-barr-trump-consitutional_n_5f6a012cc5b655acbc701ca2
The indictment was returned Oct. 20. The alleged conduct dates back to May 30, just after the death of George Floyd.
Anthony Smith is a teacher and prominent Philadelphia activist. https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/7277860/Matchett.pdf
Anthony Smith is a teacher and prominent Philadelphia activist. https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/7277860/Matchett.pdf
