Josh Kruger, a progressive activist and reporter who defended the soft-on-crime policies of District Attorney of Philadelphia Larry Krasner, was murdered in his own home Monday morning. Responding to reports of a shooting around 1:30 a.m., police found Kruger, 39, with seven gunshot wounds to his chest and abdomen. He was declared deceased at 2:13 a.m.
Kruger described himself as a “he/him” on his X bio, as well as declaring his HIV positive status. He previously worked for the City of Philadelphia.
In a July essay for The Philadelphia Inquirer, Kruger criticized popular convenience store chain Wawa for citing “safety concerns” as the reason for a series of store closures in the city. The store closures, he argued, were driven by corporate greed and inaction by the Philadelphia police department rather than the Soros-backed District Attorney’s policy of not prosecuting “many low-level crimes like shoplifting.”
Critics on social media pushed back against Kruger, arguing District Attorney Larry Krasner had allowed crime to spiral out of control and ruin the city. Kruger dismissed the criticism in a post on X (formerly Twitter) saying, “…just because Larry Krasner keeps winning in landslides doesn’t mean Philly is a heap of cinders and ashes no matter how much people say. Like the rest of the country we are dealing with upticks in crime.”
Bro speak for your block mine isn't "ruined," the city isn't "ruined," and just because Larry Krasner keeps winning in landslides doesn't mean Philly is a heap of cinders and ashes no matter how much people say. Like the rest of the country we are dealing with upticks in crime. https://t.co/TeSFAdxLz7
— Josh Kruger (@JoshKrugerPHL) July 5, 2023
Philadelphia has been plagued by petty crime under District Attorney Krasner. The Pennsylvania state legislature attempted to impeach and remove Krasner from office in 2022 but their efforts were blocked by a ruling from the state’s Commonwealth Court. Last week the city suffered two days of riots and looting after a judge dismissed charges against a police officer accused of killing Eddie Irizarry.