Four senior lawyers in the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division have resigned. Their resignations followed a directive from the division’s leadership. This directive instructed the unit, which usually deals with federal use-of-force investigations, not to get involved in the inquiry into the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good by a U.S. immigration officer in Minneapolis, according to reports from Reuters.
The resignations came from the Criminal Section, which investigates and prosecutes certain federal civil rights violations, including cases of alleged unlawful force by law enforcement. Reuters reported that those resigning included the section chief, the principal deputy chief, the deputy chief, and an acting deputy chief.
Sources cited by Reuters indicated that the decision to leave the Criminal Section out of the Minnesota case played a role in the resignations, along with other frustrations within the division. The Trump administration has been shifting the office’s priorities and offering early retirement packages.
A Justice Department official told Reuters that the leaders of the Criminal Section had provided notice and wanted to take part in the department’s early retirement program. They stated that this decision was made before the Minnesota shooting. “Any suggestion to the contrary is false,” the official said.
Good died on Jan. 7 after an ICE agent fired his weapon during an enforcement action in Minneapolis. The Trump administration and the Department of Homeland Security described the shooting as self-defense. However, Minnesota officials have questioned this account and called for access to evidence.
The FBI is primarily responsible for the investigation. The Guardian reported that the federal inquiry is looking into Good’s possible ties to activist groups. Meanwhile, state and local officials have said they were excluded from parts of the evidence-gathering process.
The resignations add to staffing challenges within the Civil Rights Division led by Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon, who was appointed by President Donald Trump. The Washington Post reported that the exits leave the Criminal Section without some of its most experienced leaders at a time when the division is already experiencing high turnover.
Reuters, citing sources, noted further dissatisfaction within the division. The administration is focusing on initiatives such as election-related enforcement and challenges to certain diversity programs, while career lawyers feel that traditional civil rights work has slowed.
Dhillon has publicly stated that the division’s mission includes enforcing federal voting laws and maintaining accurate voter rolls, among other priorities.
The Justice Department has not provided a detailed public explanation for why the Criminal Section did not participate in the Minnesota shooting inquiry. Reuters reported that Dhillon instructed the section not to engage in the case.
These personnel changes come amid increased public scrutiny of DHS operations in Minnesota. CBS News reported that the Trump administration deployed around 2,000 federal immigration and investigative agents to the Minneapolis-St. Paul area as part of a broader crackdown. Good’s death sparked protests and political backlash.
The departures in the Civil Rights Division follow other recent disruptions in DOJ components that handle sensitive cases. Reuters and the Washington Post characterized these resignations as part of a wider trend of departures by career officials during Trump’s second term, as the administration reorganizes enforcement priorities and senior personnel.
