Speaking in a powerful announcement on Friday, September 5, US Attorney for DC Judge Jeanine Pirro announced that two arrests had been made in the case of the conservative Congressional intern who was murdered in DC in what is suspected to have been a random, crime-related killing rather than a targeted assassination. She said that such crime will not be tolerated anymore.
As background, in an utterly tragic and senseless loss of life, Eric Tarpinian-Jachym, a 21-year-old UMass Amherst senior working as an intern for Rep. Ron Estes (R-KS), was fatally shot in Washington, D.C., on July 1, 2025. Police indicated at the time that he was an unintended victim of a drive-by shooting.
Speaking during her Friday press conference, Pirro began by saying that crime of the sort that led to Eric’s death won’t be tolerated anymore. She said, “Every day in America we lose innocent victims to violent criminals who seek to impose their violence on others. There is no timing. There is no warning. It’s like a thunderbolt out of the sky and suddenly they are gone from us and their families and friends and their community are left to suffer and wonder why. This is not only illegal, it is immoral, it is unacceptable, and we’re not going to tolerate it.”
Continuing, she briefly recounted Eric’s death, saying, “Today I stand here to address specifically the tragic event that has shaken DC, the senseless fatal shooting of a 21-year-old intern by the name of Eric Tarpinian Jackam, who was fatally shot in Northwest DC far too soon on June 30th of 2025. He was shot and killed at 10:28 at night. He was hit 4 times.”
A bit later, after noting that murders ike those in this case are why Trump is cracking down on crime in DC, Pirro explained that the Metropolitan Police have made two arrests and are seeking a third suspect in the case, saying, “Right now 2 individuals have been arrested. And this is a critical step toward justice, but our work is not done. As we continue to seek a third suspect in this case.”
She then named them and explained what charges they face, saying, “Charges have been filed against two individuals, a 17-year-old juvenile by the name of Jalen Lucas. He’s a juvenile now charged in adult court. Another 17-year-old, Kelvin Thomas Jr., another juvenile being charged in adult court. Both of them charged with murder while armed under the DC Code 22-2101, which is murder in the first degree.”
Pirro went on to note that teenagers will no longer be given a free hand to murder by woke, soft-on-crime prosecutors, as she is going to ensure they face retribution and justice for what they have done. She said, “Now these juveniles have prior violent juvenile records in the family court. This is why, from day one when I came here, I knew that we were missing a whole segment of criminals . . . in our nation’s capital because the DC Council thinks that these kids need to be protected. They don’t need to be protected. They need to be made accountable, and we need to be protected.”
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Further, Pirro noted that criminals as young as 14 need to face the full force of the law, saying, “I am advocating and have advocated for jurisdiction over juveniles 14, 15, 16, and 17. They need to be brought into the criminal court so that we can prosecute them because if we do, we can prevent the murder that happened here.”
Watch her here:
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video