Nine progressive prosecutors from across the country have formed a new coalition aimed at pursuing charges for federal agents who violate state laws.
Norfolk Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi and Portsmouth Commonwealth's Attorney Stephanie Morales are part of the group.
Fatehi said the group is called the Federation Against Federal Overreach (FAFO).
"We as local prosecutors have to stand up and say you have to obey our laws. If you break our laws, we will investigate you and if the evidence is there, we will indict you and we will prosecute you. It's important for public trust. It's important for public safety," Fatehi said.
They say with federal immigration enforcement agents in communities nationwide, they want to send a message.
"A federal agent could be charged with any kind of crime that a private citizen could have committed," Fatehi said.
The work of ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection is receiving increased scrutiny following the shooting deaths of ODU graduate Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.
In the days following Good's death, the Department of Homeland Security posted on social media, quoting White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller saying, "to all ICE officers you have federal immunity in the conduct of your duties."
Watch related coverage: Trump comments on Alex Pretti shooting
Fatehi says that doesn't mean they can violate the law.
"Just because you have a gun and a badge issued by a particular agency does not make you immune to prosecution for crimes under the Virginia code," Fatehi said.
He says ICE has been in Hampton Roads and notes his team looked into federal agents in October when a 24-year-old Honduran man was hit and killed on Interstate 264 in Norfolk while attempting to run across the highway to get away from agents.
"It's not whether I thought it was wrong or disgusting or inappropriate. It was whether it was a crime and it was not a crime under Virginia law," Fatehi said.
Vice President J.D. Vance has signaled he believes these types of investigations should be handled at the federal level, as they involve federal employees.
"When federal officers violate the law, that is typically something that federal officers would look into. We don't want these guys to have kangaroo courts. We want them to have real due process, real investigation," Vance said.
But Fatehi says he's prepared to take on a state case should it be warranted.
"We're prepared to walk the walk if the time ever comes," Fatehi said.
Morales says people are angry, and they have a reason to be.
"The federal government, through its actions, is signaling that when a person is shot and killed, there should be no investigation, no prosecution, and no accountability," Morales said in a statement.
Morales stated she is joining the project so her constituents, and the loved ones of those such as Keith Porter Jr. who was killed by an off-duty ICE agent, know the perpetrators will face accountability.
"This is not the first time we've seen federal overreaching, but it is outright jarring when the federal government refuses to investigate killings by government actors, which we saw in the Good case," Morales stated. "We cannot allow people in this country to think that's the position of American law enforcement. It is definitely not mine."
Along with several cities in Virginia, prosecutors from Dallas, Austin, Pima County in Arizona, and Philadelphia will comprise the coalition, the New York Times reports.
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