Federal prosecutors in Minnesota are resigning over pressure to investigate the widow of a woman fatally shot by an ICE agent.
The Justice Department pushed the Minnesota U.S. Attorney’s Office to open an investigation into Becca Good, widow of Renee Macklin Good, who was killed by ICE agent Jonathan Ross after allegedly attempting to run him over. That pressure triggered a wave of resignations from senior federal prosecutors in the state.
Joe Thompson is the most senior official stepping down. He has served as an assistant U.S. attorney for 17 years, starting in Chicago before returning to his home state of Minnesota in 2014. Other prosecutors involved in the resignations asked not to be named, saying they are not authorized to speak to the press.
Thompson was no ordinary prosecutor. He led what is known as the Feeding Our Future case, charging 78 people with stealing hundreds of millions of dollars from taxpayer-funded child nutrition programs. Fifty-eight have been convicted. The case later expanded into a broader Medicaid fraud investigation. Just last month, Thompson stated that scammers had taken an estimated $9 billion from taxpayers, calling it not the work of a handful of bad actors but “staggering industrial-scale fraud.
As originally reported, NPR reporter Matt Sepic broke down the details on air, noting that the convicted ringleader in the food fraud case is white, while most other defendants are Somali American. Nearly all are U.S. citizens. Sepic reported that the Trump administration has been using the fraud cases as a basis for expanded immigration enforcement in Minnesota.
Two other officials are also leaving. Harry Jacobs, a fraud prosecutor, is resigning, as is Melinda Williams, the head of the criminal division. Thompson declined to explain his decision publicly.
The proposed investigation into Becca Good, according to Sepic’s sources, centers on her possible ties to activist groups. Sepic noted that such associations are protected activity under the First Amendment. The Trump administration has maintained that agent Ross acted in self-defense when he shot and killed Renee Macklin Good. Sepic reported that video evidence contradicts the claim that she presented a threat.
Reaction was swift. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey posted on social media calling the departing prosecutors heroes. He described those pushing to investigate Renee Good’s widow as “monsters” and said the Trump administration had set back fraud-fighting efforts by forcing out these prosecutors.
U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat and former prosecutor, praised Thompson’s record and said that Good’s family deserved justice, not political attacks. She accused the Justice Department of politicizing the investigation into the shooting.
Attorney General Todd Blanche responded to the resignations with a statement saying there is currently no basis for a criminal civil rights investigation. The Justice Department also said ICE has its own internal investigation running alongside any FBI inquiry. However, one of Sepic’s sources disputes that claim, saying no such ICE investigation exists.