Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office Forms Election Interference Task Force

Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner’s office is in the early stages of development “elite team” to address crimes related to interference in the 2024 elections, if one occurs.

Matthew Stiegler, Senior Counsel to the DA, has been asked to create, build, and lead a team tasked with identifying and prosecuting solemn crimes related to election interference.

The team will focus on research threats against elected officials and other actions aimed at intimidation and constituting an extension of the current actions of the District Attorney’s Office Elections Teamwhich focused mainly on everyday complaints arising at polling stations.

“Our efforts are absolutely nonpartisan,” Stiegler said. “We are committed to protecting the democratic rights and safety of every Philadelphian. We are significantly expanding our efforts in the face of growing threats to democracy nationwide.”

While the expanded team will likely not be a enduring fixture in the office, the group will continue to work until all reported interference offences are prosecuted.

The most significant incident of election interference in U.S. history was the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, fueled by former President Donald Trump’s false claims of election fraud. In the months leading up to that day, Philadelphia faced attempts to interfere in the 2020 election.

Two illegally armed men were arrested outside the Pennsylvania Convention Center after traveling from Virginia to Philadelphia to try to disrupt the vote-counting process. Secretary of State Al Schmidt, then a city commissioner, and his family began receiving threats after refusing to support Trump’s baseless claims of election fraud.

One message sent to Schmidt’s family members threatened to shoot them dead, as well as their children, Schmidt told a congressional committee investigating the January 6 attack.

Philadelphia is currently in “the best shape” for maintaining election integrity, said Lauren Cristella, president and CEO of the Committee of Seventy, a nonpartisan civic leadership organization, thanks to the experience of city commissioners and voters’ growing comfort with the city’s voting machines and mail-in voting process.

Philadelphia’s elections are unthreatening and secure, but the city’s vital role in choosing the next president increases the likelihood that someone will interfere with the results, Cristella added, noting that she doesn’t think there will be an exact repeat of the incidents in 2020.

“I think the rhetoric, the temperature, the stakes and the role that Philadelphia plays in deciding who is going to be the next president are so high that the focus naturally shifts here,” Cristella said.

The District Attorney’s Office’s Election Interference Crimes Unit will be expanded in the coming weeks, and the office expects continued efforts to educate the public about activities occurring during voting and counting.

Stiegler placed appeal join the team Tuesday morning, noting that the largest city in the battleground state needs some authority to resolve disputes.

“Let’s not kid ourselves,” Stiegler wrote. “We are in real danger of election interference by hate groups fighting against democracy. Help is not coming. To survive this, we must turn our alarm into action.”

During the November 2023 election, Krasner warned that anyone involved in election interference would be held criminally liable.

“We’ve got a pair of handcuffs, a jail cell, and a Philadelphia jury” Krasner said then,“The reason we haven’t had problems here is because the enemies of democracy wouldn’t dare.”

Cristella said it is vital for the District Attorney’s Office to educate the public about what constitutes the crime of election interference and how it will respond to such crimes.

“Nothing could be more important to our elections than ensuring that they are free, fair, safe and secure,” Cristella said. “Our law enforcement officers play an important role in that, as do our election officials and anyone else who, you would assume, has an important role to play.”

The District Attorney’s Office recently formed its current Election Task Force. during the primaries in AprilThe District Attorney’s Office directed voters to exploit the task force’s hotline to notify the team of any complaints about polling places or violations of the Pennsylvania Election Code.

Federal and Pennsylvania laws prohibit election officials and election workers from discriminating against voters and from colluding with others to deprive someone of the right to vote. It is also illegal to intimidate or coerce a person into voting or refraining from voting for a candidate or issue using various tactics, including force, violence, and infliction of injury, harm, harm, or loss.

Penalties for depriving or attempting to deprive someone of the right to vote include a fine of up to $5,000 or imprisonment for up to five years. Voter intimidationists can be subject to the same fine and up to two years in prison. Discriminatory or intimidating conduct can include violations of other federal or state laws that could result in additional criminal penalties.