Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty, described by critics as one of America’s most progressive prosecutors, has drawn scrutiny after records showed more than $500,000 in taxpayer money was spent on her private security while she dismissed local concerns about crime as “fear mongering.”
Moriarty, 62, has received personal protection since November 2023, according to financial documents obtained by Alpha News.
The records show Hennepin County paid private security company Relative Intel $10,950 in 2023, $103,825 in 2024 and $183,875 in 2025 to protect the county attorney.
Moriarty has repeatedly argued that Minneapolis is safe. In December last year, she also rejected President Donald Trump’s claims that Somali gangs were terrorizing the city.
Her progressive approach to criminal prosecution has faced sharp criticism, particularly after she declined in June to charge a man accused of threatening and assaulting a neighbor.
Three months later, the man allegedly carried out a deadly mass shooting at his apartment complex while facing eviction proceedings.
Despite continuing to maintain that Minneapolis is safe, Moriarty’s security costs reached $214,573 during the current year alone, according to the records. The payments were made to Relative Intel.
That figure covered services only through August 28. It exceeded the county’s total spending for the previous year and was more than twice the amount paid in 2024.
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty, 62, has had private security protection since November 2023, according to financial records obtained by Alpha News
Moriarty declined in June to charge Carlton Johnson II, who was accused of assaulting a neighbor at his apartment complex. On September 2, he allegedly carried out a mass shooting at the building
Hennepin County confirmed the payments to Alpha News, saying it has “an agreement with Relative Intel, LLC to provide personal security services.”
A county spokesperson added: “This service is used by the County Attorney.”
The spokesperson said Hennepin County signed a $115,000 agreement with Relative Intel covering the period from October 2023 through December 2024.
Moriarty was elected Hennepin County attorney in 2022 and began her term in January 2023.
The county later signed a second contract with Relative Intel worth $500,000. That agreement runs from January 2025 through December 31 of this year, according to the spokesperson.
Hennepin County said it had spent $425,000 on Moriarty’s security under the two contracts between November 2023 and June 2026.
However, supplier payment records obtained by Alpha News and extending through August 28, 2026, reportedly put the total paid to Relative Intel at $513,223.
Attorney Chris Madel, a frequent critic of the Democrat, accused Moriarty of hypocrisy over the reported security expenditure.
Moriarty with her longtime partner, progressive activist and former Hopkins School Board member Jen Westmoreland
“Mary Moriarty spends her time telling Minneapolis residents not to worry about crime while spending $513,000 to make sure she doesn’t have to worry about it herself,” Madel, a Republican who left the GOP in January, told the outlet.
‘That’s not leadership. That’s hypocrisy with a security detail.’
He shared how other county officials have received ‘genuine death threats’ but are not afforded taxpayer funded security detail.
He added that it appears ‘crime is only a crisis’ when Moriarty has to ‘face it.’
Moriarty’s term as county attorney, which has been met with massive criticism over her handling of crime, ends on January 4, 2027.
Most recently, she has faced backlash over her decision not to file charges against Carlton Johnson II, the man who carried out a mass shooting at his Minneapolis apartment complex on September 2.
Johnson, 35, shot and killed two of his neighbors and left five more people injured during a mass shooting at the Loring Towers complex in downtown.
The gunman was killed by police officers.
Johnson shot and killed two of his neighbors and left five more people injured at the Loring Towers complex in downtown Minneapolis on September 2
Police descended on the complex within two minutes of Johnson opening fire
Court documents say Johnson was facing eviction and had threatened a fellow resident with a gun in the months leading up to the shooting.
Moriarty confirmed after the shooting that Minneapolis Police had investigated a June 25 encounter where Johnson had displayed a weapon but kept it in his waistband.
Police said he had a legal permit to carry the weapon, and Moriarty’s office decided not to file the charges because there was ‘insufficient evidence to prove a charge beyond a reasonable doubt.’
Moriarty’s office also declined to pursue an emergency order to remove Johnson´s weapon.
Court records also showed that at least one woman who had a child with Johnson filed a restraining order against him in 2023.
According to the complaint, Johnson threatened to kill her in expletive-laden text messages after she told police that he had sexually assaulted her two years earlier.
Interim Police Chief Bill Peterson, at the time of the mass shooting, defended the police response to Johnson’s record and said they only recently knew of many of the incidents.
Moriarty announced in August 2025 that she would not run for re-election
Moriarty, who is in a relationship with progressive activist Jen Westmoreland, announced in August 2025 that she would not run for re-election.
Her tenure has been plagued by scandal.
Last month she negotiated a lenient sentence for a double murderer.
She sought to prosecute police officers using the full force of the law but let a progressive public official off with a slap on the wrist after he keyed six Teslas to avenge Donald Trump’s 2024 election win.
Last year, Moriarty was probed by federal officials after she ordered her assistant prosecutors to factor in race when offering plea deals.
The slew of scandals saw Moriarty splurge another $150,000 of taxpayer cash to try and salvage her reputation.
