January 28, 2026
Thom Carroll/for PhillyVoice
Larry Krasner and eight other district attorneys have formed the legal coalition Fight Against Federal Overreach, or FAFO, in response to ICE killings in Minneapolis.
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner has joined forces with like-minded prosecutors to take federal officers who break state laws to court.
The newly formed coalition plans to share strategies and resources with local attorneys seeking to sue Trump administration officials "when they exceed their lawful authority." It's dubbed the Fight Against Federal Overreach — or FAFO, an acronym for the popular Krasner soundbite "f--- around and find out."
The group includes district attorneys from Texas, Virginia, Arizona and Minnesota, which has recently seen a surge of federal immigration officers. Those agents shot and killed two residents observing their activity, Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti, over the past three weeks.
"We all know what this moment is, and we all know that things are happening that should not be happening for which people must be accountable," Krasner said at a Wednesday news conference. "Despite the misinformation you have heard from the mouth of the vice president, we do have the ability to bring state criminal charges against federal officials, federal officers, and to prosecute those cases to conclusion."
Krasner was referring to JD Vance's claims that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent who shot Good had "absolute immunity." The attorneys involved with FAFO, as well as many other legal experts, have dismissed this argument as "absolutely ridiculous." Still, they acknowledge the difficulties of prosecuting a federal official.
Steve Descano, the commonwealth's attorney for Fairfax County, Virginia, knows this firsthand. During the news conference, Descano discussed his attempts to prosecute the U.S. Park Police officers who shot and killed Bijan Ghaisar, an unarmed 25-year-old accountant. The Virginia attorney general initially joined the case, but after the incumbent Mark Herring lost his reelection, his successor Jason Miyares dropped the case. Federal investigators later cleared the officers of any wrongdoing.
"The fact of the matter is these things are possible, though they are difficult," Descano said. "At the end of the day, what's most important is taking that bite when the law dictates that you do it, showing your community that you are going to stand up and treat people fairly and equally under the law, regardless of who they work for and what job they were doing."
FAFO is soliciting donations on its website to support a legal fund for these endeavors. Its founders say the money is necessary to hire specialized help, such as use of force experts and forensic investigators, that their localities might not be able to afford.
Coalition member Mary Moriarty, county attorney for Minnesota's Hennepin County, is already tapping the group's expertise in her legal battle with ICE. Moriarty, whose county includes Minneapolis, recently filed a suit with the Minnesota attorney general to prevent the destruction of evidence related to Pretti's killing.
FAFO prosecutors from other U.S. cities admitted they were worried about the Trump administration flooding their districts with federal agents next. By pooling resources, they said, they could be better prepared.
"Whoever is gonna come is gonna come, whether it's sooner, whether it's later," said Ramin Fatehi, the commonwealth's attorney for Norfolk, Virginia. "I'd rather that they know that they're coming at a hard target than a soft one."
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