Prosecutors
Who left Minnesota US attorney’s office, and what does it mean for agency’s work?
Joseph H. Thompson, center, one of six federal prosecutors who recently left the Minnesota U.S. attorney’s office, was the lead prosecutor in a Medicaid fraud case, which ended with 58 people being convicted of stealing $300 million from government child nutrition programs.
Following the U.S. Department of Justice’s plan to investigate the spouse of a 37-year-old Minneapolis woman shot and killed by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent, six prosecutors left the U.S. attorney’s office in Minnesota. And some say their departures may cause significant issues.
“There’s no substitute for the human capital in that office,” Mark Osler, a professor at the University of St. Thomas School of Law and a former federal prosecutor, told Minnesota Public Radio.
He specifically mentioned former First Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson, one of the six who resigned following the shooting death of Renee Good.
“We’re losing not just knowledge, the kind of thing that’s on a transcript, but also a trained prosecutor’s impression of how strong a particular witness is for example, what their relationships are with others, the things that are in Joe Thompson’s head that no one else knows,” Osler said.
Thompson, who was the acting U.S. attorney for the District of Minnesota from June to October 2025, was the lead prosecutor in a Medicaid fraud case, which ended with 58 people being convicted of stealing $300 million from government child nutrition programs.
Among others who left are Tom Calhoun-Lopez, who last year helped secure murder and racketeering convictions of Minneapolis gang members, and Melinda Williams, who oversaw the office’s criminal division.
Good and her spouse, Becca Good, came across ICE agents Jan. 7 after dropping their child off at school. The couple, with their dog in the car, stopped to support neighbors, according to a statement from Becca Good.
“Renee was a Christian who knew that all religions teach the same essential truth: We are here to love each other, care for each other and keep each other safe and whole,” Becca Good said, according to an earlier Minnesota Public Radio article.
Good was shot and killed by ICE agent Jonathan Ross, USA Today reports.
The DOJ has said there is no basis to investigate Ross. The agency said it was investigating the couple for ties to groups that have been protesting ICE agents’ conduct, the New York Times reports.
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