A wave of high-profile resignations has struck the U.S. Department of Justice as several senior federal prosecutors in Washington, D.C., and Minneapolis left their posts amid intense internal turmoil surrounding the investigation into the fatal shooting of a Minneapolis woman by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer.

The departures reflect deepening dissatisfaction among career attorneys over the department’s handling of the case and shifting enforcement priorities under the current administration.

In Minneapolis, at least six federal prosecutors, including the First Assistant U.S. Attorney who oversaw major fraud prosecutions, tendered their resignations following disputes over the direction of the Minneapolis investigation.

Sources familiar with the matter said some of the resignations were prompted by tension over demands from Justice Department officials to pursue an investigation into the widow of Renee Nicole Good, the 37-year-old woman killed by an ICE agent during a protest.

Those departures included Joseph H. Thompson and several of his senior colleagues, who objected to the federal government’s refusal to involve state authorities in the probe and its focus on civil matters rather than the core use-of-force investigation.

Separately, multiple seasoned prosecutors from the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division also announced plans to step down, including long-serving leaders of the criminal section that typically leads federal civil rights enforcement.

These senior attorneys were informed that their unit would not be included in the initial federal inquiry, a decision that sources said contributed to their decisions to seek early retirement.

Their resignations strip the division of some of its most experienced litigators and raise questions about the future of key civil rights enforcement work within the department.

Department officials have maintained that many of the resignations were part of planned early retirement requests and deny that they were directly caused by the Minneapolis case, asserting that personnel changes had been discussed prior to the shooting.

The Civil Rights Division noted that attorneys had opted into retirement programs independent of the latest events.

At the same time, the Justice Department insisted there was no basis at present for a civil rights investigation into Good’s death.

Minnesota leaders, including Governor Tim Walz and U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, expressed concern that the departures could hamper public safety and undermine confidence in the justice system, urging that investigations remain free from political pressure.

Their remarks underscore broader debates over prosecutorial independence, the role of federal oversight in use-of-force cases, and the balance between federal and state jurisdiction in high-profile shootings.