Department of Justice isn't letting Kate Steinle's killer go scot free - here's what they did

The Department of Justice issued an arrest warrant for Jose Garcia Zarate, the illegal alien who was acquitted of the murder of Kate Steinle by a San Francisco jury Thursday. 

What are they charging him with?

Because of rules against double jeopardy, Zarate cannot be tried for the same crime twice, but the Department of Justice can arrest him for other charges.

The DOJ is amending previous charges in light of Zarate being convicted of felony possession of a firearm in the Steinle case. According to DOJ prosecutors, they believe they can prove that this in violation of probation ordered against Zarate in 2011 on one of the five occasions he entered in the country illegally.

An attempt to undermine "sanctuary city" policies

Since San Francisco is a sanctuary city, the arrest warrant from the Department of Justice should assure that local law enforcement authorities remand custody of Zarate to federal officials after his sentence for felony firearm possession.

ICE Deputy Director Tom Homan clarified their intentions in an interview with Fox News, saying "Let him spend some time in prison, when he's done there, we will deport him. No doubt about that."

Public outrage on Steinle verdict

The act could have been partly in response to public outrage over the jury verdict that found Zarate not guilty of manslaughter or murder charges in the case. Bill O'Reilly summed up much of the opinion when he demanded that Attorney General Jeff Sessions charge Zarate with "serious immigration violations."

Sessions' statement Thursday only blamed sanctuary city policies for the death of Steinle and didn't hint at any further action against Zarate.

Here's Fox News' video report on the new charges:

BREAKING NEWS: The Department of Justice filed an arrest warrant for Jose Inez Garcia Zarate, the illegal immigrant acquitted Thursday in Kate Steinle’s murder trial. https://t.co/U7ujooSxGv pic.twitter.com/fWqRbrlxBm

— FOX Business (@FoxBusiness) December 1, 2017