More departures follow dispute over federal shooting responses
A new wave of departures has rippled through the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Minnesota, AP sources said Tuesday, as additional federal prosecutors left the office amid frustration tied to the Trump administration’s intensified immigration enforcement and the Justice Department’s response to fatal shootings of civilians by federal agents.
The most recent departures build on earlier exits. AP reported that a half-dozen attorneys left last month, tied to disagreements over the Justice Department’s response to the killing of Renee Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer.
AP sources said the recent departures come as further turbulence has spread through law-enforcement ranks in Minnesota over how agencies should respond to violent confrontations during heightened immigration enforcement. The dispute has involved both federal officials and Minnesota state authorities, including questions about what evidence can be shared and which level of government has jurisdiction to investigate.
Minnesota officials, AP reported, raised alarm after federal authorities blocked state investigators from accessing evidence related to the Good shooting and declared that Minnesota has no jurisdiction to investigate the killing. AP also reported that the Justice Department declined to open a civil rights investigation into Good’s death.
In addition to the attorneys who departed, AP reported that at least one supervisory agent in the FBI’s Minneapolis office is known to have resigned last month.
The resignations reflect the broader clash over investigative authority and civil rights review in cases involving federal immigration enforcement. AP said the Minnesota Star Tribune reported Monday evening that eight lawyers had either departed the office or announced plans to do so, and that a person familiar with the matter confirmed the number and said more departures were likely.
AP also reported that the office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Against that backdrop, the Justice Department has moved to open a civil rights investigation into a separate fatal shooting. After Trump administration officials initially said the Department of Homeland Security would lead the investigation into the subsequent killing of Alex Pretti by Border Patrol officers, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche revealed that the Justice Department was opening a civil rights investigation aimed at determining whether the shooting of the intensive care nurse constituted a crime.
Blanche said last Friday: “We’re looking at everything that would shed light on what happened that day and in the days and weeks leading up to what happened,” according to AP.