On Jan. 7, a federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent, identified by the media as Jonathan Ross, shot and killed Renee Nicole Good in her car in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The FBI is investigating the shooting, but despite an initial promise of collaboration, it subsequently informed state officials that it would not work with them. As a result, Hennepin County prosecutor Mary Moriarty and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison have launched their own investigation. State criminal investigations and prosecutions of federal officials are unusual. And criminal charges against law enforcement officials at any level present unique legal and factual challenges. But as illustrated by Minnesota’s successful prosecution of Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd, law enforcement officers can be held accountable for crimes they commit. And long-standing historical precedent establishes that states can bring charges against federal officials under certain circumstances. Whether Minnesota ultimately prosecutes Ross remains to be seen, and state officials’ decisions will depend on careful legal and evidentiary analysis. Without predicting outcomes, however, it’s worth both clarifying the state of the law—especially in the face of false claims from the Trump administration—and identifying some of the key issues Minnesota prosecutors will have to consider.
Minnesota Can Prosecute Jonathan Ross—But It May Not Be Easy | Lawfare
