The exclusion of the Civil Rights Division from the investigation into Renee Good’s shooting by an ICE officer signifies a notable shift from how previous administrations have handled similar incidents.
MINNEAPOLIS — According to a senior official, the Justice Department currently sees no grounds to initiate a criminal civil rights investigation into the death of a woman in Minneapolis, allegedly shot by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer.
This move to sideline the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division from investigating Renee Good’s death diverges significantly from the approach of past administrations, which typically launched quick investigations into law enforcement-related civilian deaths to assess potential civil rights violations.
While the FBI continues its investigation, sources familiar with the situation, who requested anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the discussions, revealed that Civil Rights Division attorneys were informed last week of their exclusion from the current investigative process.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche stated on Tuesday that “there is currently no basis for a criminal civil rights investigation.” His statement, which was first shared by CNN, did not provide further details on how the department determined that an investigation was unnecessary.
Federal authorities assert that the officer’s actions were in self-defense, claiming the driver of the Honda was conducting “an act of domestic terrorism” by moving the vehicle towards the officer.
Also this week, roughly half a dozen federal prosecutors in Minnesota resigned and several supervisors in the criminal section of the Civil Rights Division in Washington gave notice of their departures amid turmoil over the federal probe, according to people familiar with the matter.
Among the departures in Minnesota is First Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson, who had been leading the sprawling investigation and prosecution of fraud schemes in the state, two other people said. At least four other prosecutors in the Minnesota U.S. attorney’s office joined Thompson in resigning amid a period of tension in the office, the people said. The people spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters.
They are the latest in an exodus of career Justice Department attorneys who have resigned or been forced out over concerns over political pressure or shifting priorities under the Trump administration. Hundreds of Justice Department lawyers have been fired or have left voluntarily over the last year.
Minnesota Democratic lawmakers criticized the departures, with Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, calling the resignations “a loss for our state and for public safety” and warning that prosecutions should not be driven by politics. Gov. Tim Walz said the departures raised concerns about political pressure on career Justice Department officials.
The resignations of the lawyers in the Civil Rights Division’s criminal section, including its chief, were announced to staff on Monday, days after lawyers were told the section would not be involved in the probe. The Justice Department on Tuesday said those prosecutors had requested to participate in an early retirement program “well before the events in Minnesota,” and added that “any suggestion to the contrary is false.”
Founded nearly 70 years ago, the Civil Rights Division has a long history of investigating shootings by law enforcement even though prosecutors typically need to clear a high bar to mount a criminal prosecution.
In prior administrations, the division has moved quickly to open and publicly announce such investigations, not only to reflect federal jurisdiction over potential civil rights violations but also in hopes of soothing community angst that sometimes accompanies shootings involving law enforcement.
“The level of grief, tension and anxiety on the ground in Minnesota is not surprising,” said Kristen Clarke, who led the Civil Rights Division under the Biden administration. “And historically the federal government has played an important role by being a neutral and impartial agency committing its resources to conducting a full and fair investigation, and the public loses out when that doesn’t happen,” she said.
In Minneapolis, for instance, the Justice Department during the first Trump administration opened a civil rights investigation into the 2020 death of George Floyd at the hands of city police officers that resulted in criminal charges. The Minneapolis Police Department was separately scrutinized by the Biden administration for potential systemic civil rights violations through what’s known as a “pattern or practice” investigation, a type of police reform inquiry that is out of favor in the current Trump administration Justice Department.
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