More departures at the US attorney's office in Minnesota, AP sources say
[February 04, 2026]
By ERIC TUCKER and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER
WASHINGTON
(AP) — A new wave of departures is rippling through the U.S. Attorney's
office in Minnesota, where additional federal prosecutors are leaving at
a time of mounting frustration with the Trump administration's
stepped-up immigration enforcement and the Justice Department's response
to fatal shootings of civilians by federal agents, two people familiar
with the matter said Tuesday. |
A woman attends a vigil for Alex Pretti who was fatally shot by a
federal agent, at the Minneapolis VA Hospital, where Pretti worked, on
Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Ryan Murphy) |
|
The latest departures are on top of a half-dozen attorneys who
left the office last month amid disagreements over the Justice
Department's response to the shooting of Renee Good by an
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer. At least one
supervisory agent in the FBI's Minneapolis office is known to
have resigned last month as well.
The Minnesota Star Tribune reported Monday evening that eight
lawyers have since departed the office or announced plans to do
so. A person familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of
anonymity to discuss non-public personnel moves, confirmed that
this number was correct and that more departures were likely.
Another person also confirmed a new wave of departures in the
office.
The office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The resignations reflect the turbulence that has roiled the
state over the last month or so as law enforcement officials
have clashed over how to respond to violent confrontations
during the heightened immigration enforcement. Minnesota
officials, for instance, raised alarm after federal officials
blocked state investigators from accessing evidence in the Good
shooting and declared that Minnesota has no jurisdiction to
investigate the killing. The Justice Department also declined to
open a civil rights investigation into her death.
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 last week
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.
“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,” Blanche said last Friday.
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