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Mary Moriarty presses ahead with reforms despite growing backlash
The County Attorney says she is moving away from punishment and focusing on issues that lead people to commit violence, but critics say she is soft on crime.
MINNEAPOLIS — Voters in Minnesota’s largest county elected Mary Moriarty as their top prosecutor after she promised to deliver change in a community where George Floyd was murdered and a nationwide reckoning on racism in the criminal justice system was born.
After Moriarty, a former public defender, became the Hennepin County Attorney in January 2023, she vowed to make police more accountable and change the culture of an office she believes had long overemphasized punishment without addressing the root causes of crime.
Her election came as the Minneapolis area was still reeling from the 2020 murder of Floyd by a police officer and the resulting protests and prosecutions of police. Moriarty’s two immediate predecessors had been in office for a combined 31 years, and her promises of dramatic changes had the backing of the state Democratic party, community leaders and voters hungry for a new approach.
But only 18 months after beginning her four-year term, Moriarty faces fierce backlash, even among some former supporters. Her critics have questioned her decisions to seek lighter sentences for violent crimes in some cases and to divert more people to programs rather than jail.
Moriarty has had public spats with the state’s Democratic governor, and in some cases, she has been caught between groups with divergent political views.
She bore heavy criticism from police officers, local officials and some progressive activists after she charged a white state trooper for the killing of a Black man last summer, only to later reverse course and drop the charges.
Leaders with the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association had waged a high-profile campaign urging Tim Walz, the state’s Democratic governor, to reassign the prosecution away from Moriarty. This month, the association filed an ethics complaint against Moriarty, alleging she knowingly made false statements about the case, a claim she has denied.
Even as Moriarty remains committed to her approach, she acknowledged that some of her initial support has dwindled.
“There have been times I’ve asked myself, is this the city where George Floyd was murdered? But at the same time, if I look historically, any time there’s been progress, there’s always backlash,” Moriarty said. “There’s nothing different about this than when people in the past have tried to change systems that have been in place for decades.”
Moriarty was elected among of a wave of progressive district attorneys who took office following the murder of Floyd and subsequent Black Lives Matter protests. In Oregon, voters in May replaced a progressive district attorney with a centrist candidate backed by police groups who vowed to be tough on crime in the Portland area amid frustrations over violence tied to homelessness and drug use. That same month in California’s Bay Area, Alameda County supervisors set a recall election for a district attorney who ran on a platform of offender rehabilitation and police accountability.
The crop of progressive prosecutors promised a more thoughtful approach to holding people accountable, but for many it has been a challenge that has left them vulnerable to complaints that they have endangered public safety.
Moriarty, a former chief public defender for Hennepin County, was elected over a former judge with nearly 58% of the vote.
Some of her former supporters now say her approach has gone too far. Matt Pelikan, a former Democratic candidate for attorney general who donated to Moriarty’s campaign, said the office under Moriarty has taken a permissive approach, resulting in some criminals getting released from custody, only to quickly reoffend.
“I supported Mary because I believed, and I still believe that the old formula wasn’t working,” Pelikan said. “But I think Mary has gone further and not abided by the goals of that office, which are safety and justice.”
Under Moriarty’s leadership, more cases have been subject to “diversion,” which often involves referring someone who has committed a crime to a program they must complete so they can avoid jail time.
Jared Mollenkof, who worked with Moriarty as a public defender, said she has made juvenile prosecutions fairer by restructuring the county’s approach to prosecuting juveniles, emphasizing alternatives to incarceration.
“I think that there has been a real refocusing to allow prosecutors to make offers that were previously unavailable to them, either due to office policy or just for monitoring perceptions of what was acceptable,” Mollenkof said.
In 2023, the number of youth cases diverted by the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office increased by 36% compared to 2022. For adult cases, that number increased by 81% in 2023 compared to 2022.
Moriarty’s office said initial data shows that those who have participated in diversion programs are less likely to recidivate than those cases that aren’t diverted. Critics say Moriarty has downplayed the concerns of crime victims and damaged public trust in her office.
Martha Holton Dimick, the former judge who Moriarty defeated in 2022, said Moriarty is making decisions based on gripes she developed as a career public defender battling with attorneys from the same office she now leads.
“I told people on the campaign trail that this was her revenge tour,” Dimick said.
In an interview, Mike Freeman, Moriarty’s predecessor, declined to speak in detail about Moriarty’s performance but said he thinks some of her juvenile justice initiatives had “gone too far” and that the office had lost a number of experienced attorneys since she was elected.
One of those attorneys is Gretchen Gray-Larson, who worked at the county attorney’s office for 33 years. She said she is against “draconian” drug laws and favors a progressive approach to prosecution. But last July, she decided to retire, in part, because she didn’t want to work for Moriarty. She said her colleagues who have stayed have been overwhelmed by the departures and a stifling atmosphere.
“People are afraid to talk,” Gray-Larson said. “The morale is horrible.”
According to internal staff figures obtained at the end of June, Larson is one of over 150 staffers to have left their positions with the office since the month Moriarty was elected. Overall employment at the office had risen by 21 staffers, although that figure includes administrative positions other than attorneys.
Now, Moriarty said she is delivering changes that have forced some prosecutors to interrogate uncomfortable truths about past failures.
“This is true of many prosecutors who were in office for decades, there is sometimes a difficulty in looking at your career and what you’ve done and acknowledging that you have done harm.”
Among Moriarty’s supporters, there is a sense that she has been kneecapped by entrenched leaders at the city and state levels.
Chaz Neal, 47, grew up in Minneapolis and, until a few months ago, resided in one of the city’s higher crime neighborhoods. Neal is Black, a political conservative and has a criminal record. Despite his right-leaning views, he supports Moriarty because of his experiences navigating the criminal justice system.
“I feel like if people look at her policies and read them, they will see that she is for the people,” Neal said.
Moriarty said she will run for reelection and plans to keep pursuing changes, regardless of any backlash.
“There are people, who have been critical, who are concerned about their own political ambitions and kind of pandering to whatever group they think will help them,” Moriarty said. “I have not done that.”
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Pumpkin display hopes to raise money for food shelf
Gary Peterson and his friends are collecting donations to help people in their community.
ST. LOUIS PARK, Minn. — A St. Louis Park pumpkin display is raising money for their local food shelf.
Gary Peterson started carving and painting three pumpkins over a decade ago. It’s now grown to over 100.
“I’ve heard people say they’ve come from Hutchinson,” he said.
Peterson along with two of his neighbors have spent the last 14 years growing their display, turning it into a neighborhood event.
“It’s been incredible, I just can’t believe how much this has expanded,” he said. “We did it just because we like to and then people were asking to give us money to cover the cost.”
The trio refused to take people’s money, but then one of them had an idea.
“My neighbor, Steve Leensvaart, just mentioned how about we just do it for the STEP program and the STEP program is our local food shelf in St. Louis Park,” he said.
So, they started to collect donations to help families in need. They’ve raised hundreds of dollars and donated hundreds of pounds of food over the last few years, carving for a cause.
“It is more gratifying every year,” Peterson said.
He estimated they have over 100 unique pumpkins in their yard. They’ve created the displays and come up with new family-friendly concepts for people to enjoy. Peterson said about 30 of their neighbors carved their own pumpkins to be put on display, and it’s been a big hit.
“It’s great. In the last couple of years, it’s turned into more of a neighborhood event,” said Sarah Durch.
“We love this Halloween display, we come every year to see it. We love that the whole community gets involved to craft and carve the pumpkins,” said Jami Gordon-Smith.
“The shading and the details are unbelievable,” said Elizabeth Hanson.
Hanson hopes to take her 2-year-old son trick or treating for the first time but is worried the cold temperatures might keep them indoors.
“We’re going trick or treating hopefully,” she said. “He’s going to be a firefighter, but we’re probably going to have sweatshirts maybe like two pairs of sweatpants underneath. We’re going to be bundled up.”
Gordon-Smith said her family will be out Halloween night no matter the weather.
“Halloween only comes once a year, so you really have to take advantage and enjoy the evening no matter what the weather brings,” she said. “Guess it’s not totally unheard of in Minnesota to have a cold Halloween, but we are going to try and modify and do a lot of layers underneath our costumes and then we might add some hats and maybe some warmer socks.”
Durch also isn’t surprised they’re in for another chilly night.
“Well, what would Halloween be without Minnesota cold? I feel like every time you plan a costume you have to plan for how you can make this work if it’s snowing,” she said.
Peterson said they will have a bonfire and some hot chocolate and cider on Halloween to keep trick-or-treaters warm while they look at their pumpkins.
Click here to learn where you can see the pumpkins and how you can donate.
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Search continues for Bemidji missing person
Jeremy Jourdain was 17 when he was last seen on Halloween 2016.
BEMIDJI, Minn. — The search for Jeremy Jourdain, who was last seen on Halloween in 2016, continues now eight years later.
Jourdain was last seen at a family member’s house in Bemidji, according to the U.S. Department of the Interior Indian Affairs. He left the residence near the 500 block of Wood Avenue after midnight and while people followed him, no one was able to find him.
Jourdain was 17 at the time.
Officials said he was wearing a blue and grey sweatshirt, and blue jeans when last seen. He is Native American and is described as 6 foot 5 and 175 pounds.
If you have any information on his whereabouts, you can contact the Bemidji Police Department at (218) 333-9111. Tips can also be sent to 1-833-560-2065, or you can email ojs_mmu@bia.gov.
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Asian-American voter turnout projected to rise despite barriers
The organizations say many Asian Americans are planning to vote despite lack of candidate outreach.
ST PAUL, Minn. — Most people have been contacted in some way shape or form by a campaign in the last few weeks. And if the polls are right and the race for president is a dead heat, every vote will matter.
That’s why this is a head scratcher:
According to a September 2024 voter survey by Asian American Pacific Islander Data, 27% of Asian-American voters said they hadn’t been contacted by either political party trying to get their vote. Last spring, earlier in the voting season, it was even more – 42%.
Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are the fastest growing racial or ethnic group nationwide.
Their voter participation levels are growing too, with 60% of eligible Asian-American voters turning out in 2020. And AAPI Data reports as many as 90% of Asian Americans they surveyed said they plan to vote this cycle.
“Candidates are not reaching out to Asian Americans, which is a huge mistake,” said ThaoMee Xiong, executive and networking director of the Coalition of Asian American Leaders.
She says even though there are more than 200,000 eligible Asian voters in Minnesota, the Asian vote is under-appreciated.
“Neither the Democratic or Republican parties have been reaching out in huge numbers,” Xiong said. “They’re sending general mailers to everyone but … they need it in their native language.”
That’s why CAAL is partnering with two more organizations to keep voter turnout high and reach anyone candidates or advocates missed.
Xor Xiong is from Asian American Organizing Project, which focuses on engaging metro-area teens and young adults.
“Many of our communities are still facing barriers to go to vote,” he said. “There’s been more times than I like to admit in terms of when I was having a conversation over the phones of voters being surprised that they can take time off to go and vote, or they can bring the kids to the polling locations, or they can even bring someone to translate for them.”
“In Ramsey County, because of the large Hmong American population there, the polls in Ramsey County are federally required to provide interpreters and translated materials,” ThaoMee added.
Their nonpartisan campaign, Get Out the Vote for Asian Minnesotans, aims to get people registered and well-informed.
“Throughout Covid, there was a lot of anti-hate around the AAPI community and we are still feeling the impact of that to this day,” said Amanda Xiong, a community organizer with a group known as CAPI USA. “Even if folks are afraid to go to the polls, due to that, we try our best to then educate them around absentee ballots, voting early.”
“And so yes, there is a huge increase in terms of voter turnout, but then why is it still 70% feel as though they don’t belong?”
In 2021, the FBI reported a 168% increase in anti-Asian hate crimes.
In Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn Center, the groups knocked on at least 700 doors in one session alone while keeping safety top of mind.
“We make sure that there’s a car following all the door knockers,” ThaoMee said. “We put everyone on text chain … and we are putting a lot of precautionary measures in place for the day of voting.”
After the election, the CAAL plans to conduct surveys and send the results to county election officials. They’ve done this before and say it led to policy changes this year at the legislature including measures to ensure people have easier access to interpreters.