"A Criminal in Chief": Philadelphia Officials Show What Resistance Actually Looks Like
A sheriff called Trump "the criminal in the White House." A DA promised to jail ICE agents. The media moved on.
While others stenograph, grift, or chase the next distraction—this is the news that matters and how it’s connected.
On Thursday, two days after ICE agent Jonathan Ross killed Renee Good in Minneapolis, two Philadelphia officials held a press conference. What they said should be the biggest story in America.
It isn’t.
What They Said
Sheriff Rochelle Bilal—the first Black woman elected Philadelphia Sheriff, a former police officer—stood at that podium and called ICE agents “made-up fake wannabe law enforcement.”1 She said no professional wears a mask, no professional shoots at moving vehicles, no professional stands in front of a car.
Then she said this: “The criminal in the White House will not be able to keep you from going to jail.”
DA Larry Krasner was even more direct. “We have a criminal in chief in the White House, just so we are real clear, and that’s not just my opinion—that’s the opinion of a jury that found him guilty of 34 felonies.”2 He called Trump’s self-defense narrative “a lasagna of lies.” He said ICE agents are “being ordered around by a bunch of thugs like Pete Hegseth... a bunch of play Nazis.”
Then he made a promise: “If any law enforcement agent, any ICE agent, is going to come to Philly to commit crimes then you can get the F out of here. Because if you do that here, I will charge you with those crimes. You will be arrested. You will stand trial. You will be convicted... and you will do your time.”
And then the key point—the one that matters legally: “Donald Trump cannot pardon you for a state court conviction.”
Why It Matters
Let’s be honest about law enforcement’s record. Decades of abuses. Mass incarceration. Qualified immunity shielding bad actors. The institution has earned its critics.
But that’s exactly why this moment matters.
When law enforcement officials—people who’ve spent careers inside that system—stand up and say this is not law enforcement, this is fascism—that carries weight. When a DA with a track record of prosecuting police misconduct says he’ll do the same to federal agents who commit crimes in his jurisdiction—that’s not posturing. His office sentenced two officers for perjury the day before this press conference.²
You don’t have to agree with everything these officials have done. You don’t have to endorse their entire records. Focus on what’s being said and who’s saying it: elected officials, sworn to uphold the law, telling federal agents they will be prosecuted for breaking it.
This is what resistance looks like when it stops being symbolic and starts being structural.
The Blackout
A sitting sheriff called the President “a criminal.” A DA compared federal agents to “play Nazis” and promised prosecutions. This happened Thursday.
Coverage? One CNN segment. Local Philadelphia news. Fox—to attack them. HuffPost and Newsweek buried it in minor coverage.
No front-page treatment in major nationals. No Sunday show appearances. No Democratic leadership amplification. No primetime cable news deep-dives.
1.6 million people watched one viral clip on X.3 The media apparatus that’s supposed to inform Americans about threats to democracy? They moved on. They’re still moving on.
This is how resistance gets suffocated—not by suppression, but by indifference.
The Pattern
We’ve been mapping this administration against the fascism syndrome—ten indicators that a democracy is backsliding into fascism. What happened in Minneapolis and Philadelphia shows:
Normalization of political violence: An ICE agent killed a protester. The administration’s response was to call her a terrorist and the killing “self-defense.”
Weaponized justice: The shooter faces no federal charges. Critics calling it murder face threats of sedition charges. “Law and order” runs one direction.
Erosion of due process: Masked agents, no body cameras, immediate lethal force. These aren’t the procedures of accountable law enforcement.
Krasner drew the January 6 connection explicitly: the killing happened one day after the anniversary of an insurrection Trump pardoned. The through-line isn’t subtle.
The Model
Philadelphia isn’t waiting for permission. They’re not asking the Justice Department to act. They’re using the power they have—state prosecutorial authority that federal pardons can’t touch.
The question isn’t whether Philadelphia can pull this off alone. It’s why their voices echo alone in a nationwide silence.
Every DA in America has this power. Every state AG. Every sheriff. Demand they use it.
“Silence will not protect us from people who trade in violence to achieve their fascist goals,” Krasner said. “Our voices will.”
If you want to understand how we got here—and what comes next—start here:
Philadelphia Inquirer, “‘You don’t want this smoke:’ Philadelphia Sheriff Rochelle Bilal goes viral after warning ICE agents“, Philadelphia Inquirer, January 10, 2026.
Coverage of Sheriff Bilal’s viral press conference with DA Krasner responding to the Renee Good killing. Documents her statements calling ICE “made-up fake wannabe law enforcement” and her warning that “the criminal in the White House will not be able to keep you from going to jail.”
Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office (statement by Larry Krasner), “Press Conference: Response to Minneapolis ICE Shooting“, Facebook Live via PhilaDAO, January 9, 2026.
Full video of DA Krasner’s remarks at the joint press conference. Contains his “criminal in chief” statement, his promise to prosecute ICE agents who commit crimes in Philadelphia, his characterization of Trump’s narrative as “a lasagna of lies,” and his reference to agents as “play Nazis” being directed by “thugs like Pete Hegseth.”
CNN, “Philadelphia sheriff goes viral after warning ICE agents“, CNN, January 9, 2026.
CNN segment covering the viral spread of Sheriff Bilal’s remarks. Notes the 1.6 million views on social media and documents ICE Director Todd Lyons’s response daring her to attempt arrests.
One does not mess with Philly, the cradle of our civilization. It's been a tuf town since the days of Frank Rizzo. They never lose that spirit.
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