Four senior supervisors in the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division resigned after their unit was excluded from the federal investigation into the fatal shooting of a Minnesota woman by a U.S. immigration officer. Sources say the exclusion, offers of early retirement and frustration with shifting division priorities under the Trump administration prompted the departures. A DOJ official said the lawyers had applied for early retirement and given notice before the shooting. The resignations underscore ongoing turmoil within the department.
Four Senior DOJ Civil Rights Supervisors Resign After Being Sidestepped in Minnesota Shooting Probe
FILE PHOTO: The Department of Justice (DOJ) building in Washington, D.C., U.S., November 28, 2025. REUTERS/Nathan Howard/File Photo
By Andrew Goudsward and Mike Spector
WASHINGTON, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Four senior supervisors in the U.S. Justice Department's Civil Rights Division resigned in recent days, sources and officials said, a decision driven in part by the division's exclusion from a federal inquiry into the fatal shooting of a Minnesota woman by a U.S. immigration officer.
The four attorneys served as supervisors in the division's criminal section, which traditionally leads federal investigations into law-enforcement uses of force. According to two people familiar with the matter, Harmeet Dhillon — the Civil Rights Division head appointed by President Donald Trump — informed the unit last week that it would not take part in the Minnesota probe. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because the matter is sensitive.
Sources said being sidelined from the investigation was only one factor behind the departures. The lawyers were reportedly offered early retirement under the Trump administration and had become increasingly disillusioned with a reshaping of the division's priorities that they viewed as more closely aligned with the White House.
A Justice Department official confirmed the departures but emphasized that the lawyers had notified the department of their intent to leave the Civil Rights Division and had requested to participate in an early retirement program before the Minnesota shooting occurred.
The resignations add to broader signs of upheaval inside the Justice Department during the Trump administration, which has moved to remove or discipline numerous career officials and has pursued investigations involving figures the administration views as political opponents.
Reporting Note: The departures were first reported by MS NOW. (Reporting by Andrew Goudsward; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama.)
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