Latest news with #KARE
The Hill
06-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
DOJ investigating Minnesota prosecutor over race policy
The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Monday it was investigating a prosecutor in Minnesota over 'race-based prosecutorial decision making.' The DOJ's Civil Rights Division said it was investigating Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty, a Democrat, after she recently adopted a policy that required prosecutors to consider 'racial identity' during their prosecutorial decision making. 'The investigation announced today will involve a comprehensive review of all relevant Hennepin County Attorney's Offices policies and practices that may involve illegal consideration of race,' the DOJ said in a statement. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon shared online that on Saturday, the department launched a 'racial discrimination pattern and practice investigation' into the new policy, which instructs prosecutors to consider a defendant's race during plea deals. 'Lady Justice is blindfolded for a reason,' Dhillon said in a post Sunday on X. He shared that Attorney General Pam Bondi and the DOJ will investigate and 'take action wherever necessary' to identify government practices that go against the country's 'civil rights norms.' The Minnesota policy took effect on April 28, CNN and its affiliate KARE reported. KARE previously reported that the Hennepin County Attorney's Office policy instructed resolutions to be based on individualized analyses. The policy notes that while racial identity and age are 'not appropriate grounds for departures,' the resolutions should consider a 'whole person,' including age and racial identity. In a statement, Bondi said she firmly believes in the 'paramount importance of a colorblind criminal justice system.' 'This Department of Justice will avail itself of every tool at its disposal to protect all Americans from illegal [Diversity, equity and inclusion] discrimination,' Bondi said. According to the Hennepin County Attorney's Office website, Moriarty was elected in 2022 and previously served as the Hennepin County Chief Public Defender for six years.
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
DOJ investigating a Minnesota county attorney's policy to consider race in plea deals
The Department of Justice is investigating a Minnesota county attorney's policy that appears to suggest a defendant's race should be considered during plea deals. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon posted a letter on X Saturday informing the Hennepin County Attorney's Office that the department had launched a 'racial discrimination pattern and practice investigation' into the policy change. 'Lady Justice is blindfolded for a reason. Under the leadership of @AGPamBondi and her team, @TheJusticeDept lawyers will investigate and take action wherever necessary to identify government practices that may run afoul of our civil rights norms,' Dhillon posted Sunday evening. The policy change took effect April 28, CNN affiliate KARE reported. The DOJ investigation comes as the Trump administration takes a dramatically different approach to race and civil rights cases. Last week, for example, cabinet secretaries focused on their efforts to purge diversity efforts from government. And the DOJ Civil Rights Division – whose special litigation section will oversee the Minnesota investigation – has been expected to be used to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives under the Trump administration. Under Hennepin County Attorney's Office 'Negotiations Policy for Cases Involving Adult Defendants,' which KARE obtained, resolutions should be based on individualized analyses. 'While racial identity and age are not appropriate grounds for departures, proposed resolutions should consider the person charged as a whole person, including their racial identity and age,' the document reads. 'While these factors should not be controlling, they should be part of the overall analysis. Racial disparities harm our community, lead to distrust, and have a negative impact on community safety. Prosecutors should be identifying and addressing racial disparities at decision points, as appropriate,' it says. The DOJ's letter to Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty says it is investigating 'whether the Hennepin County Attorney's Office (HCAO) is engaged in a pattern of practice of depriving persons of rights, privileges, or immunities secured or protected by the Constitution or laws of the United States.' The investigation is based on the policy change 'directing prosecutors to consider racial identity,' but would also review all the county attorney's office's policies and practices 'that may involve the illegal consideration of race in prosecutorial decision-making,' it says. The letter is dated May 2 and signed by Dhillon. County attorney's office spokesperson Daniel Borgertpoepping told KARE that the office is aware of the DOJ letter but had not received it. 'Our office will cooperate with any resulting investigation and we're fully confident our policy complies with the law,' he said. CNN has reached out to the Hennepin County Attorney's Office for comment. The DOJ Civil Rights Division was created in the 1950s to lead the DOJ's enforcement of anti-discrimination laws. Dhillon last month said that more than 100 of the division's 340 attorneys had accepted an offer to federal workers that allows them to resign and be paid through September. She told conservative commentator Glenn Beck: 'En masse, dozens and now over 100 attorneys decided that they'd rather not do what their job requires them to do.' Dhillon went on to say that the division's job 'is to enforce the federal civil rights laws, not woke ideology.'
CNN
05-05-2025
- Politics
- CNN
DOJ investigating a Minnesota county attorney's policy to consider race in plea deals
The Department of Justice is investigating a Minnesota county attorney's policy that appears to suggest a defendant's race should be considered during plea deals. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon posted a letter on X Saturday informing the Hennepin County Attorney's Office that the department had launched a 'racial discrimination pattern and practice investigation' into the policy change. 'Lady Justice is blindfolded for a reason. Under the leadership of @AGPamBondi and her team, @TheJusticeDept lawyers will investigate and take action wherever necessary to identify government practices that may run afoul of our civil rights norms,' Dhillon posted Sunday evening. The policy change took effect April 28, CNN affiliate KARE reported. The DOJ investigation comes as the Trump administration takes a dramatically different approach to race and civil rights cases. Last week, for example, cabinet secretaries focused on their efforts to purge diversity efforts from government. And the DOJ Civil Rights Division – whose special litigation section will oversee the Minnesota investigation – has been expected to be used to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives under the Trump administration. Under Hennepin County Attorney's Office 'Negotiations Policy for Cases Involving Adult Defendants,' which KARE obtained, resolutions should be based on individualized analyses. 'While racial identity and age are not appropriate grounds for departures, proposed resolutions should consider the person charged as a whole person, including their racial identity and age,' the document reads. 'While these factors should not be controlling, they should be part of the overall analysis. Racial disparities harm our community, lead to distrust, and have a negative impact on community safety. Prosecutors should be identifying and addressing racial disparities at decision points, as appropriate,' it says. The DOJ's letter to Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty says it is investigating 'whether the Hennepin County Attorney's Office (HCAO) is engaged in a pattern of practice of depriving persons of rights, privileges, or immunities secured or protected by the Constitution or laws of the United States.' The investigation is based on the policy change 'directing prosecutors to consider racial identity,' but would also review all the county attorney's office's policies and practices 'that may involve the illegal consideration of race in prosecutorial decision-making,' it says. The letter is dated May 2 and signed by Dhillon. County attorney's office spokesperson Daniel Borgertpoepping told KARE that the office is aware of the DOJ letter but had not received it. 'Our office will cooperate with any resulting investigation and we're fully confident our policy complies with the law,' he said. CNN has reached out to the Hennepin County Attorney's Office for comment. The DOJ Civil Rights Division was created in the 1950s to lead the DOJ's enforcement of anti-discrimination laws. Dhillon last month said that more than 100 of the division's 340 attorneys had accepted an offer to federal workers that allows them to resign and be paid through September. She told conservative commentator Glenn Beck: 'En masse, dozens and now over 100 attorneys decided that they'd rather not do what their job requires them to do.' Dhillon went on to say that the division's job 'is to enforce the federal civil rights laws, not woke ideology.'
CNN
05-05-2025
- Politics
- CNN
DOJ investigating a Minnesota county attorney's policy to consider race in plea deals
The Department of Justice is investigating a Minnesota county attorney's policy that appears to suggest a defendant's race should be considered during plea deals. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon posted a letter on X Saturday informing the Hennepin County Attorney's Office that the department had launched a 'racial discrimination pattern and practice investigation' into the policy change. 'Lady Justice is blindfolded for a reason. Under the leadership of @AGPamBondi and her team, @TheJusticeDept lawyers will investigate and take action wherever necessary to identify government practices that may run afoul of our civil rights norms,' Dhillon posted Sunday evening. The policy change took effect April 28, CNN affiliate KARE reported. The DOJ investigation comes as the Trump administration takes a dramatically different approach to race and civil rights cases. Last week, for example, cabinet secretaries focused on their efforts to purge diversity efforts from government. And the DOJ Civil Rights Division – whose special litigation section will oversee the Minnesota investigation – has been expected to be used to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives under the Trump administration. Under Hennepin County Attorney's Office 'Negotiations Policy for Cases Involving Adult Defendants,' which KARE obtained, resolutions should be based on individualized analyses. 'While racial identity and age are not appropriate grounds for departures, proposed resolutions should consider the person charged as a whole person, including their racial identity and age,' the document reads. 'While these factors should not be controlling, they should be part of the overall analysis. Racial disparities harm our community, lead to distrust, and have a negative impact on community safety. Prosecutors should be identifying and addressing racial disparities at decision points, as appropriate,' it says. The DOJ's letter to Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty says it is investigating 'whether the Hennepin County Attorney's Office (HCAO) is engaged in a pattern of practice of depriving persons of rights, privileges, or immunities secured or protected by the Constitution or laws of the United States.' The investigation is based on the policy change 'directing prosecutors to consider racial identity,' but would also review all the county attorney's office's policies and practices 'that may involve the illegal consideration of race in prosecutorial decision-making,' it says. The letter is dated May 2 and signed by Dhillon. County attorney's office spokesperson Daniel Borgertpoepping told KARE that the office is aware of the DOJ letter but had not received it. 'Our office will cooperate with any resulting investigation and we're fully confident our policy complies with the law,' he said. CNN has reached out to the Hennepin County Attorney's Office for comment. The DOJ Civil Rights Division was created in the 1950s to lead the DOJ's enforcement of anti-discrimination laws. Dhillon last month said that more than 100 of the division's 340 attorneys had accepted an offer to federal workers that allows them to resign and be paid through September. She told conservative commentator Glenn Beck: 'En masse, dozens and now over 100 attorneys decided that they'd rather not do what their job requires them to do.' Dhillon went on to say that the division's job 'is to enforce the federal civil rights laws, not woke ideology.'
NBC News
29-04-2025
- Climate
- NBC News
Severe storms with rain, hail and strong winds roar from Midwest to New England
Storms will wreak havoc from southern Texas to northern New York on Tuesday, bringing hazards of hail, strong winds and a few tornadoes. About 42 million people are at risk of severe storms on Tuesday. Thunderstorms continue to impact Oklahoma, with a severe thunderstorm watch in effect through 10 a.m. CT (11 a.m. ET). The extreme weather comes after a turbulent Monday, which saw nearly 150 storm reports, with the dominant hazard being massive hail. Storms in Minnesota on Monday left toppled trees and thousands without power after strong winds and hail swept through the state. In the southeastern city of Faribault, officials reported a barn and multiple silos were destroyed, NBC affiliate KARE of Minneapolis reported. Some areas reported hail as large as two inches wide in southwestern Minnesota. At one point, the Twin Cities had more than 7,000 without power, but that has since been restored. Cities to watch on Tuesday include Lubbock, Texas; Oklahoma City and Tulsa, Oklahoma; Nashville; Indianapolis; Louisville, Kentucky; Cincinnati, Columbus, and Cleveland, Ohio; Pittsburgh; and Buffalo and Watertown, New York. Tuesday's most significant storm impacts will be damaging hail up to two inches in diameter, wind gusts up to 75 mph possible and a few possible tornadoes from Springfield, Missouri, down to Lubbock, Texas. On Wednesday, 11 million people are at risk from central Texas to northern Arkansas. Dallas, Texas, Little Rock and Fayetteville, Arkansas, are all cities to watch. Flooding will also be a threat starting Tuesday, with 7 million people under flood watches from northern Texas to southern Missouri. Oklahoma City was under a flash flood warning earlier on Tuesday morning. Lawton and Moore, Oklahoma, are smaller cities that may experience some flooding after recent heavy rain. A moderate risk for flooding is in effect across the Plains, including Wichita Falls, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, and St. Louis, where flood issues are most likely to occur. A moderate risk for flooding is in effect on Wednesday for the Texas-Oklahoma border area through western Arkansas. One to three inches of rainfall per hour will be the primary factor contributing to flooding, and total rainfall amounts of five to eight inches are possible through Thursday morning.
