Two weeks after an arrest warrant for Rep. Kevin Boyle, D-Philadelphia, was withdrawn, House Republicans are calling for Attorney General Michelle Henry to investigate Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner.
The warrant alleged Boyle violated a protection from abuse order.
It was withdrawn the night before the April 23 primary, which Boyle lost to another Democrat.
Now, Republicans want an investigation into possible election interference.
“The involvement by District Attorney Krasner and his office in the issuance and withdrawal of the arrest warrant issued for Rep. Boyle on the literal eve of a primary election in which he was a candidate for office raises serious questions,” Rep. Bryan Cutler, R-Lancaster, said.
Krasner’s office dismissed the effort as “political theater.”
The letter to Henry alleges that in the days following the issuance of the arrest warrant, a significant number of voters submitted their ballots based on incorrect information.
When announcing the warrant was revoked, Krasner said the reason was that a detective had “a piece missing.”
House Republicans have been opposed to Krasner, a Democrat, for some time now, introducing a resolution to impeach him last session.
That resolution, which passed 107-85, was introduced by Rep. Martina White.
White, a Philadelphia Republican, had harsh words for Krasner’s conduct in the Boyle investigation.
“A manhunt basically took place looking for this legislator for over a week. And then, just a big, ‘Whoops, nothing to see here everybody. We’re just gonna continue on and I’ll do an investigation,’ is what the district attorney said,” she said.
Boyle has had previous run-ins with the law. In 2021, he was charged with harassment and violating a protection from abuse order after showing up at his wife’s house.
After that arrest, then-Gov. Tom Wolf, also a Democrat, called for his resignation.
The April 16 arrest warrant sent shockwaves through the Capitol building over whether other Democrats should be allowed to vote on his behalf.
Boyle lost his primary bid to attorney Sean Dougherty.
House Democratic leadership declined to comment Tuesday.
Dustin Slaughter, a spokesperson for Krasner’s office, said the calls for an investigation were “merely another instance of political theater by enemies of democracy.”
“It’s ironic that many of those pushing for this investigation were also involved in disputing the 2020 election, as reported by the nonpartisan States United Democracy Center,” he said in a statement. “Representatives George Dunbar, Bryan Cutler, Martina White, Seth Grove, and Joshua Kail were among those who contested the election. Perhaps we should be investigating actual attempts to undermine the integrity of our democratic process and continuing attempts to silence Philadelphia voters instead.”
The attorney general’s office is reviewing the letter, Press Secretary Brett Hambright said.
