Latest news with #ZariaMcKeever
Daily Mail
07-08-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
America's wokest DA gives self-pitying interview suggesting she was shamed into standing down
A Minnesota County Attorney surprised many this week by announcing she will not seek re-election and suggesting she was 'shamed' into stepping down. Mary Moriarty, 61, a former chief public defender who became Hennepin County's first openly gay County Attorney in 2022, confirmed she will not run again in 2026, hinting that relentless criticism heavily influenced her decision. 'The stories that generally come out are not what the office is doing, or why,' Moriarty told the Minnesota Star Tribune in a candid interview. 'It's been, "I'm controversial and I'm doing this thing"… It has been hard on the office and certainly hard on my family, me, all of that.' Moriarty has faced criticism over several high-profile decisions throughout her tenure, including offering plea deals to teenagers involved in the murder of Zaria McKeever and charging Minnesota state trooper Ryan Londregan with second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of Ricky Cobb. However, the murder charges against Londregan were later dropped following recommendations from outside counsel, the Star Tribune reported. Her tenure also drew federal scrutiny when the U.S. Department of Justice launched an investigation into her office for suspected civil rights violations after she implemented a policy directing prosecutors to consider racial identity during key charging and plea deal decisions. The move, defended by Moriarty as data-driven, drew bipartisan concern. Criticism has come from both Republicans and Democrats, often grouping her with other progressive prosecutors nationwide. When asked if the unwanted attention influenced her decision to step down, Moriarty described herself as 'one of the most stubborn people on the face of the earth.' Still, she admitted the sustained attacks 'felt personal' and argued the media overlooked the effectiveness of her data-driven approach. 'The things that people feel free to say and write, yeah, that's hurtful,' she said. 'But they have never been able to talk [about] or criticize our data points at all.' Labeled 'controversial' throughout her tenure, Moriarty said stepping aside will help shift the spotlight away from her and back onto the office's work. 'I think it has been a real disservice to our community and to our office,' she said. Moriarty ran on a platform of progressive criminal justice reform and won by 16 points. 'When I campaigned there were all kinds of attacks on me, but I won by 16 points,' she said. 'That was because I talked about a new way of doing things in the system that were actually more equitable, they were more trauma-informed, they were more about what actually keeps us safe. I firmly believe voters will again elect somebody who has those values and intends to do the actual work. I feel comfortable with that.' Despite the controversies, Moriarty maintains her policies are making a measurable difference, citing a decline in carjackings and auto thefts in Minneapolis following the launch of a youth-focused intervention initiative. Her unexpected announcement is set to change local political circles, where Hennepin County attorneys traditionally serve long terms. Her predecessor Mike Freeman served in the role for 24 years, and Amy Klobuchar served there for eight years before pivoting to the U.S. Senate. Following Moriarty's resignation announcement, Hennepin County Commissioner and Board Chair Irene Fernando expressed support for her colleague. 'County Attorney Mary Moriarty has been a tireless fighter for justice in an increasingly unjust world. I've been grateful for her partnership to date,' Fernando said. 'I'm certain that our partnership will continue as we work in our respective positions to ensure better outcomes for residents through the remainder of her term. I'm grateful for the Attorney's leadership and tenacity. There is still a lot we will accomplish together in the next 18 months,' the commissioner added. Looking ahead, Moriarty said she is considering teaching and continuing her podcast, 'We Don't Have to Choose,' which explores criminal justice issues. 'I think I can influence in different ways when I'm done,' she said.
CBS News
07-08-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty announces she won't run for reelection in 2026
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty announced Wednesday she will not be running for reelection next year. Moriarty says she will focus on "creating enduring change in the system" during the final months of her administration. "We've become accustomed to elected officials who don't deliver results and end up more invested in clinging to power than doing the work of the people. That is not me," Moriarty said. "As I have weighed whether I wanted to spend the last year and a half of my term focused primarily on campaigning or continuing to transform this office, the choice became clear. I want to focus on running the office, rather than running for office." As Hennepin County attorney, Moriarty established the Conviction Integrity Unit to review past cases for mistakes and unjustified convictions, supporting the exoneration of two men wrongfully convicted of murder, Marvin Haynes and Edgar Barrientos-Quintana. At the start of the year, Moriarty's office began accepting applications for expungement in youth criminal offense cases, allowing individuals under the age of 18 to apply for expungement at no cost through the Help Seal My Record portal. However, Moriarty's tenure as county attorney has not been without controversy. In her first couple of months on the job, she offered a controversial plea deal to a 15-year-old accused of killing Zaria McKeever in 2022. Moriarty's decision was criticized by not just the family of the murder victim, but Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, the state's largest police association and some community leaders. In response, Gov. Tim Walz became the first governor in decades to reassign a case from a county attorney when he transferred the murder case from Moriarty to Ellison. The Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association last year filed a formal complaint against Moriarty, alleging she acted unethically in prosecuting a state trooper who shot and killed a driver during a traffic stop. Her office charged Ryan Londregan with second-degree unintentional murder, first-degree assault and second-degree manslaughter in January 2023. In June 2023, the charges were dropped after Moriarty said her office learned new information about Londregan's planned testimony and state patrol training that would "make it impossible" to prove the case against him. In May, the U.S. Department of Justice announced its intent to open a racial discrimination investigation into the Hennepin County Attorney's Office for a new policy that would take an individual's race into consideration when making plea deals. The attorney's office announced the new policy change at the end of April via memo. In the memo, Moriarty's office said that "proposed resolutions should consider the person charged as a whole person, including their racial identity and age." A spokesperson for the Hennepin County Attorney's Office said in a statement they are trying to address longstanding racial disparities. Moriarty was elected Hennepin County attorney in a 16-point margin landslide in 2022, and previously served as the county's chief public defender. She ran a campaign promising transparency and criminal justice reforms that she hopes would diminish racial disparities within the system.
