At least four senior Justice Department officials have resigned in protest of how the Trump administration has handled the fatal shooting of a woman in Minneapolis by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer.
Three sources briefed on the departures told MS NOW that top leaders in the Civil Rights Division’s criminal section left their posts to signal frustration after Harmeet Dhillon, the assistant attorney general for civil rights, decided against opening an investigation into the death of 37-year-old Renee Good.
Kristen Clarke, who led the Civil Rights Division during the Biden administration, said reviewing law enforcement conduct in cases like this is a core responsibility of the unit.
“Investigating officials to determine if they broke the law, defied policy, failed to de-escalate, and resorted to deadly force without basis is one of the Civil Rights Division’s most solemn duties,” Clarke said. “Prosecutors of the Civil Rights Division have, for decades, been the nation’s leading experts in this work.”
The resignations mark the most significant group departure from the Justice Department since February, shortly after President Donald Trump returned to the White House. Those leaving reportedly include the civil rights section chief, the principal deputy chief, a deputy chief, and an acting deputy chief.
Earlier this year, five leaders and supervisors in the department’s Public Integrity Section resigned rather than follow a Trump appointee’s directive to drop a bribery case involving then–New York City mayor Eric Adams.
MS NOW reported that the Minneapolis shooting was not the only issue driving the civil rights leaders’ decision to step down. One source briefed on their thinking said some officials were also troubled by other recent choices made by division leadership.
According to the report, one of Dhillon’s deputies informed the criminal section last week that it would not investigate whether the ICE officer improperly used deadly force. Around the same time, Dhillon reposted an X message from a prosecutor warning demonstrators not to ram immigration officers with vehicles—an allegation Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and other officials have said Good attempted.
But video evidence reportedly shows the woman’s wheels were turned away from the officer when he fired three shots into her vehicle.
