Attorney General Douglas Moylan is defending his newly launched “AG Moylan Purge” billboard and social media campaign, calling it a necessary and evolving strategy to combat crime, deter repeat offenders and protect victims across Guam.

The campaign, announced Tuesday in a release from the Attorney General’s Office, features billboards and online “Purge Reels” highlighting what the office describes as 110 “Tributes” — including 78 individuals already deported and 32 pending deportations since Moylan took office on Jan. 2, 2023.

Moylan said the initiative represents the continuation of a prosecution and deterrence strategy he promised voters during the 2022 election.

“The objective is to make law-abiding U.S. citizens and non-U.S. citizens alike safer,” Moylan said in responses to Guam News. “Deterrence is behind every billboard.”

Campaign Design and Approval

Moylan confirmed he personally approved the final creative concept for the billboards and the “Purge Reels,” stating, “The buck stops with me.”

He described the imagery — including cartoon-style characters with prison markings, chains and luggage — as intentional tools designed to combine fear, peer pressure and even humor to change behavior.

“Laughter and comedy are one of the many tools that effect positive change,” he said. “Between hurting someone’s feelings and sitting with a loved one who must attend a funeral, I choose to hunt down, prosecute and deport the alien criminal.”

Criticism and Cultural Sensitivity

Several community members have raised concerns that the campaign’s imagery and language evoke racial and ethnic stereotypes or dehumanize non-citizens. Moylan rejected those claims, stating the campaign focuses on criminal conduct and citizenship status, not race.

“The group(s) who feel the AG Moylan Purge project isolates confuse race with political origin status,” he said.

Moylan said non-U.S. citizens and naturalized citizens were included in focus groups and campaign development and that internal legal and ethics reviews were conducted prior to the campaign’s release.

Use of Fear and the Term ‘Purge’

Moylan acknowledged that the campaign is intentionally designed to instill fear among criminals.

“To create fear and effectuate change,” he said, explaining why his office chose the term “Purge” and phrases such as “The Purge Is Here” and “Tributes.”

He said the goal is to deter future crimes, reduce repeat offending and prevent further victims.

Measuring Success

The attorney general said his office has already seen results, claiming that removing repeat offenders leads to an “exponential drop” in future crime.

He described the billboard strategy as “the cheapest and most effective” communication method available to his office, adding that design and strategy work were done in-house, with Graphic Center producing the billboards.

Future of the Campaign

While Moylan said the project is “fluid and evolving,” he made clear the campaign will continue unless a more effective strategy emerges.

“This path of public shame and outrage works,” he said. “Deterrence works.”