New Manhattan U.S. Attorney Vows Community, Civil Rights Focus

Damian Williams, the newly installed top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, pledged to ramp up prosecutions of gun violence, white-collar crime and launch a new unit dedicated to criminal prosecution of civil rights violations.

“When it comes to protecting the people of this district, it’s an all-hands on deck moment,” he said at a public swearing-in ceremony in Harlem on Friday.

Williams, the first Black person to be named Manhattan U.S. attorney, rose through the office’s ranks and made his name as a securities fraud prosecutor, winning convictions and extracting guilty pleas from hedge fund managers and even a U.S. ...