Acts 24:1-9 Tertullus argues the prosecution case

Acts 24:1 The Jewish leaders figured that at this point they would go back to plan A, eschewing duplicity and treachery, and try legal arguments. Having failed before with religious arguments, they brought a lawyer with them to argue their case before Felix. We have to presume that this lawyer would do a much better job of making legal arguments that the Romans would respond to.

Act 24:2-9 After the usual obsequious pandering to Felix's ego, Tertullus brings the charges. First, that Paul is the source of all the unrest that occurred, not only in Jerusalem but throughout the world (!), and second that he had tried to desecrate the Temple when they arrested him (!). He called Paul a real pest (loimos), pestilence, like a plague. It is clear that many of Paul's experiences recorded in many places in the book of Acts had resulted in riots or unrest (most notably in Ephesus, but also other places). Tertullus' argument seems to have been that regardless of the fact that it was the Jews' (or Gentiles in Ephesus) hyper-reaction to the preaching of the gospel that brought this unrest, it was Paul's fault for preaching the gospel in the first place. Of course, the real source of the unrest was spiritual kingdoms in conflict, but neither Tertullus nor Felix was going to operate on that plane. Tertullus also went on to badmouth the Roman chiliarch who had rescued Paul from the mob, which was perhaps not the wisest course of action. He did not mention that the soldier's actions were prompted by the attempt by the mob to kill Paul on the spot - twice in two days - without even completing any kind of hearing of the charges.