WASHINGTON—The Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division says there is no merit to an MS Now report alleging that top DOJ officials quit their jobs over an alleged division decision not to investigate the fatal ICE shooting of Renee Good.
The report from the outlet formerly known as MSNBC alleged that at least four officials from the Civil Rights Division resigned “in protest over the administration’s handling” of Good’s death, citing “three people briefed on the departures.”
MS Now reported that their frustration was specifically with Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon for her decision not to investigate the incident, writing that the departures “represent the most significant mass resignation at the Justice Department since February.”
There’s a problem with this reporting, however: according to Dhillon and her staff, there has not been a single resignation over the incident.
“This is fake news,” Dhillon told The Daily Wire of the story. “No division employee quit.”
Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Three people applied for early retirement the day before the shooting, which occurred on January 7 in Minneapolis, Dhillon said. Those three people gave notice weeks before the shooting took place, and the fourth person mentioned in the story put in for retirement in early December, over a month before the shooting took place.
Two of the other people that the MS Now story references have not resigned and are currently at their desks working, The Daily Wire has learned. While they have “apparently told the press they intend to resign,” Dhillon said, “our office has not received notice of any resignations.”
“The media’s never-ending attempts to drum up drama and strife within the DOJ are exhausting,” Dhillon said. “My team and I will not let it distract us from our mission of protecting the civil rights of ALL Americans. We thank those employees retiring for their years of service to the Department and our nation.”
The FBI is investigating the January 7 incident, the ICE agent’s actions, and the networks of activist groups funding anti-ICE protesting as well as Good’s possible connections to such networks in Minnesota, a law enforcement source confirmed to The Daily Wire.
As for a possible DOJ Civil Rights Division investigation, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche says “there is currently no basis for a criminal civil rights investigation.” A DOJ official told The Daily Wire that ICE’s Office of Professional Responsibility is conducting its own investigation.
“As with any officer-involved shooting, each law enforcement agency has an internal investigation protocol, including DHS,” the DOJ official shared. “As such, ICE OPR has its own investigation underway. This runs parallel to any FBI investigation.”
Video footage from that day shows Good hitting an ICE agent with her car, whereupon he exclaims as he fires at her, fatally shooting her in her car. President Donald Trump’s administration has vehemently argued that the act was one of domestic terrorism against the ICE agent, who was previously dragged by a car as he attempted to carry out his orders.
MS Now did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Daily Wire.
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