run afoul of

/ɹˈʌn ɐfˈaʊl ɒv/

/ɹˈʌn ɐfˈaʊl ʌv/

[phrase]

to run afoul of

[PHRASE]

to disobey the rules or laws that ultimately leads to one facing the consequences or getting punished

Examples

1. I focus on House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who should have used the Marjorie Taylor Greene moment as a leadership moment to do what a leader is supposed to do and stand up for the values of the party and the caucus, and to push aside those who run afoul of that.

2. That's one narrow window that we've gleaned into how these forces are put together, that not only is there some evidence that the Russian military and security services recruit among the graduates of the country’s most prestigious and advanced technology institutes and computer science programs, but also reach into the world of the criminal underground, pulling out hackers who have run afoul of the law and are given the choice of avoiding jail time and going to work for the state.

3. Because I, you know, again, I don't know why I was so happy to run afoul of the Baltimore police, but I did.

4. Williamson seems to specialize in playing police officers and military men, although he did run afoul of the law when he played Baby-O in the cult favorite Con Air.