Alvin Leonard Bragg Jr., born October 21, 1973, is an American politician and lawyer serving as the New York County District Attorney (covering Manhattan) since January 2022, making him the first African American elected to that office. A lifelong resident of Harlem, New York, Bragg has built a career focused on prosecution, civil rights, and criminal justice reform. He previously served as Chief Deputy Attorney General of New York under Letitia James, Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York, and as a federal prosecutor handling cases including gun, drug, and gang violence, as well as civil rights matters. Bragg also worked as a civil rights lawyer, law professor at New York Law School, and co-director of its Racial Justice Project. After earning his undergraduate degree from Harvard College and Juris Doctor from Columbia Law School, Bragg clerked for U.S. District Judge Robert P. Patterson Jr. in the Southern District of New York and practiced at the white-collar firm Morvillo Abramowitz Grand Iason & Anello. Elected in 2021, his tenure has included overseeing the Antiquities Trafficking Unit investigating looted art and high-profile cases, notably securing the 2024 conviction of former U.S. President Donald Trump on 34 felony counts related to hush money payments—the first such conviction of a former president by a district attorney. Bragg emphasizes 'one standard of justice for all' and has faced political scrutiny over his progressive policies on bail reform and prosecution priorities.