Former prosecutor who resigned in protest is now poised to help lead Seattle

At midnight connected New Year's Day — the archetypal infinitesimal of 2026 — beingness volition alteration for lawyer Erika Evans for the 2nd clip successful 9 months.    

Evans volition statesman her word arsenic the elected metropolis lawyer of Seattle connected Jan. 1. Her run was a juggernaut – she won with astir two-thirds of the ballot connected Nov. 4. But her run was besides unexpected. 

Evans discontinue her presumption arsenic an lawyer successful the U.S. Department of Justice successful March, adjacent though she had erstwhile considered that presumption a "dream job."

Amid a broader purge wrong the agency, she opted to tally for nationalist office, alternatively than spell into backstage ineligible signifier oregon academia. 

Evans rolled to a superior triumph successful August and secured a larger borderline of triumph successful this month's wide election. As Seattle metropolis attorney, Evans volition correspond the metropolis successful litigation and civilian cases. She volition besides grip immoderate prosecutions of lower-level transgression offenses.

"What we request astatine a clip similar this is fighters and radical with grit and acquisition to combat what we are seeing," Evans told CBS News this weekend.  

Evans said the Trump administration's dismantling of the Justice Department's Civil Rights part was among her motivations for leaving her station astatine the national prosecutor's bureau successful the occidental territory of Washington this year, wherever she was handling civilian rights matters, hatred transgression cases and convulsive transgression cases.  

She said that soon aft Trump took office, the Justice Department enactment sent emails  "requiring that we study immoderate colleagues doing diverseness enactment successful the office. We had 10 to 14 days to study them oregon we would get successful occupation ourselves.  That was beauteous disgusting." She said she didn't consciousness harmless astatine the agency, successful portion due to the fact that she was the co-chair of a diversity effort.

Soon aft her departure successful March, Evans launched her run for the Seattle metropolis attorney's presumption and parlayed her vexation with the Trump medication into a constituent of her run message. In a run video, Evans pledged to situation Mr. Trump: "With your vote, I'll instrumentality connected Trump and request the assemblage information we deserve." 

Speaking to CBS News aft her victory, Evans discussed a bid of plans. She said she volition marque it a archetypal precedence to expedite the processing of DUI and home unit cases "to marque definite we're being bully stewards of nationalist safety."

Evans said she volition besides show for – and instrumentality ineligible enactment against – immoderate "federal overreach" into the metropolis by the Trump administration, which has already triggered ineligible battles with different U.S. cities this year, from Washington, D.C. to Portland to Los Angeles.

Evans is 1 of much than 5,000 Justice Department employees to quit, discontinue oregon look termination since January, according to a reappraisal by the Justice Connection group, which is simply a enactment enactment for ousted and erstwhile Justice Department workers.

Stacey Young, the Justice Connection laminitis and enforcement director, told CBS News that "federal prosecutors are profoundly committed to nationalist service, and much are pursuing that ngo done elected bureau erstwhile staying astatine the Justice Department becomes infeasible. We request radical crossed the governmental spectrum warring to uphold the regularisation of law, including astatine the section level."

Evans is the granddaughter of civilian rights fig Lee Evans, who was among the 1968 Olympics way stars who raised a fist successful the aerial during a medal presentation.