Recently we joined together to file an ethics complaint against Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty, the first such step ever against the chief prosecutor of Minnesota’s largest county.
It is no secret that we think Moriarty is an extremist who is wrong about nearly everything and who demonstrates daily that she is unfit for office. In Jim’s race for Minnesota Attorney General, he was open that, should Moriarty be elected, as Attorney General he would break with longstanding tradition and take cases away from her as needed to deal with the violent crime in the state.
We expected the worst from Moriarty. She has delivered it over and over again. She has demonstrated a consistent sympathy for violent criminals and a regular hostility toward law enforcement. She is one of the new breed of district attorneys and attorneys general throughout the United States—most of whom are funded by billionaire George Soros—who believe that violent criminals need counseling rather than prison, and who see every cop as a racist sadist intent upon harming their fellow citizens. Each day Minnesotans are seeing the consequences of that indefensible philosophy play out in our state.
But our complaint against Moriarty isn’t about our belief that she has no business being the chief Hennepin County prosecutor. Rather, it centers on her handling of the prosecution of Minnesota State Patrol Trooper Ryan Londregan, where we believe that she violated her ethical obligations as an attorney in the state. She must be held accountable.
On July 31, 2023, Trooper Londregan was involved in a fatal incident with Ricky Cobb II during a traffic stop. The troopers had probable cause to arrest Cobb, who was wanted in connection with a felony-level violation of an Order for Protection. Cobb’s refusal to comply with lawful directives escalated the situation, ultimately leading to Trooper Londregan firing his weapon when Cobb decided to flee with Londregan’s partner hanging out of his car and reaching for Londregan’s gun.
Despite the clear evidence supporting Trooper Londregan’s actions, Moriarty pursued charges of murder, manslaughter, and first-degree assault.
This decision was not based on a thorough and impartial review of the facts. Instead, Moriarty ignored the analysis of her own use-of-force expert, Jeffrey Noble, who privately told her that Londregan’s use of force was reasonable given the circumstances. Despite Moriarty beforehand saying that Noble’s input would be critical, Moriarty ultimately disregarded his expert opinion when it did not align with Moriarty’s goal of prosecuting a cop.
Moriarty’s office not only sidelined Noble but also disseminated misleading and false information to the public. Her press releases and public statements accused Londregan of disregarding his training and violating Minnesota State Patrol policies, despite having no evidence to support these claims, and in fact submitting filings acknowledging Londregan followed his training.
Further compounding this unethical conduct, Moriarty’s office provided selective and misleading excerpts from interviews and training materials in the criminal complaint. This included misrepresentations from the Minnesota State Patrol’s use-of-force trainer, Jason Halvorson, whose full statements contradicted the claims made by Moriarty’s office. Halvorson, along with other trainers, confirmed that Londregan acted in accordance with his training and swore under oath that Moriarty’s criminal complaint “lied by omission.”
The unethical actions of Moriarty’s office did not end with the filing of charges. Throughout the pretrial period, Moriarty and her deputies made numerous extrajudicial statements designed to influence public perception and prejudice the case against Londregan. These statements, which included allegations of misconduct unsupported by evidence, were disseminated widely through press releases, press conferences, and social media.
Moriarty then said she needed to engage four attorneys from a high-priced Washington, D.C. law firm to assume the responsibility to prosecute Trooper Londregan. The recent invoices, however, show that over 10 attorneys and paralegals billed to the file, culminating in taxpayers paying over a half-million dollars for her personal, fanatical gambit.
Fundamentally, Mary Moriarty was intent upon successfully prosecuting a cop, no matter the facts and no matter the law, and she made numerous extrajudicial statements, several of which were false, with the intent to prejudice a jury and undermine Trooper Londregan’s right to a fair trial.
Mary Moriarty has made a point of discussing how police in Minnesota are not above the law. Lawyers in Minnesota, including Moriarty, are also not above the law. Moriarty must be held accountable for her conduct, and we are proud to have taken the first steps in ensuring that she is.
Jim Schultz was the Republican nominee for Minnesota Attorney General in 2022. Brian Peters is the Executive Director of the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not represent an official position of Alpha News.
Jim Schultz
Jim Schultz is the President of the Minnesota Private Business Council and was the 2022 Republican nominee for Attorney General.
Brian Peters
Brian Peters is the Executive Director of the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association.
