The Trump Justice Department is sending a clear message to anyone who targets the men and women in blue. On Thursday, federal prosecutors in Philadelphia announced a five-count indictment against Eric Lewis, 35, the man accused of ambushing police officers on Oct. 10 near 52nd and Arch streets.
Sgt. Shane Seiber, an Air Force veteran, husband and father of two, was killed in the attack. He was posthumously promoted, awarded the department’s Medal of Honor and Purple Heart, and laid to rest on Tuesday. Officer Hector Rodriguez III was shot about a dozen times. Prosecutors say Lewis used a ghost gun and a sawed-off shotgun, took Officer Rodriguez’s Glock, and opened fire on nine other officers.
Lewis is charged with Hobbs Act robbery, discharging a firearm during a crime of violence, being a felon in possession of a firearm, theft of a firearm and possession of a stolen firearm and ammunition. He faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years and up to life in federal prison.
“We are here for Sergeant Seiber and his family. We are here for Officer Rodriguez and his family,” U.S. Attorney David Metcalf of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania said, standing with Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel and the ATF. “We are here with one voice as both federal and state law enforcement agencies to deliver the unmistakable and important message that the American policeman is off limits.”
“Our entire society and security depends on the rule of law, and nobody is safe if a police officer is not safe,” Metcalf said. “An attack on a police officer is an attack on every citizen that they protect.” The case was investigated by the ATF and the Philadelphia Police Department.
Under President Trump, law and order is back, and those who attack the officers who keep our communities safe will face the full weight of federal justice.
