Following the decision not to pursue a civil rights investigation into the fatal shooting of a Minneapolis woman by a federal immigration agent, at least six career prosecutors, primarily supervisors in the Civil Rights Division’s criminal section, announced their departure. The Justice Department shifted the investigation to focus on an assault on a federal officer rather than a civil rights violation, despite the prosecutors’ offering to investigate the shooting. This change in direction, coupled with broader frustrations within the division, influenced their decision to retire, including a prior incident where the division intervened in the sentencing of a former officer. The departures, which include the section’s chief, are part of a larger trend of personnel losses in the Civil Rights Division due to changes in mission and handling of cases.
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Four leaders of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, including the section chief, resigned in protest over the handling of an ICE officer’s fatal shooting of a motorist in Minneapolis. These departures stemmed from Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon’s decision not to investigate the shooting, despite the division’s typical role in such cases involving law enforcement use of force. Sources indicate that this decision, coupled with other concerns about division leadership, led to the resignations, marking a significant mass departure within the department. The FBI has taken over the investigation, while Democrats accuse the Trump administration of covering up the details of the shooting.
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The Trump administration’s actions have severely depleted the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, with over 60% of its workforce gone since January due to firings and resignations. Despite the dwindling resources, the DOJ is actively seeking staff reassignments to address vacancies, particularly in areas related to education, employment, and voting. However, the division’s priorities have shifted to align with the administration’s agenda, focusing on issues such as DEI investigations, voter database accuracy, and perceived voting fraud, while seemingly stepping back from traditional civil rights protections. This loss of experienced litigators may hinder the DOJ’s ability to pursue its ideological lawfare efforts, which could potentially be viewed as a positive outcome.
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The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division is experiencing a mass exodus of approximately 70% of its lawyers, totaling around 250 attorneys, since President Trump’s inauguration. This dramatic shift stems from the administration’s redirection of the division’s focus from its traditional mission of combating discrimination to enforcing Trump’s executive orders, including those targeting perceived “radical indoctrination” in schools and “gender ideology extremism.” The changes, overseen by the new division head Harmeet Dhillon, have led to the dropping of numerous cases and a widespread feeling among remaining staff that the division is being weaponized against the very populations it was created to protect. This unprecedented level of departures contrasts sharply with the first Trump administration, where such a mass exodus did not occur.
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John Q. Hosedrinker