Four Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives from Minnesota are calling for the U.S. House Judiciary Committee to investigate charges the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office has brought against Ryan Londregan.
Londregan is a Minnesota state trooper currently facing felony charges for a July 2023 incident in which the law enforcement officer shot and killed Ricky Cobb.
Cobb, a convicted felon, attempted to flee law enforcement in a vehicle while another state trooper was half-inside, half-outside the vehicle. In response, Londregan shot Cobb as his fellow state trooper was dragged for a short distance by Cobb’s vehicle.
In January, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty officially charged Trooper Londregan with three felonies, including second-degree unintentional murder.
However, the Hennepin County Attorney’s decision to bring charges against Londregan has been met with significant criticism from police officers, law enforcement organizations, and elected officials.
As such, Reps. Tom Emmer, Pete Stauber, Michelle Fischbach, and Brad Finstad, authored a letter in which they asked the House Judiciary Committee chairman and ranking member to “investigate the charges that have been brought against Minnesota State Trooper Ryan Londregan.”
The group wrote “it has now come to light that the prosecution’s own use-of-force expert told the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office that Trooper Londregan was justified in using force before they filed their charges.”
In their letter regarding the Londregan case, the Minnesota Republicans also said “five of the six witnesses to the grand jury have now released public declarations that they believe Trooper Londregan acted lawfully and in accordance with his training. These witnesses include the two other troopers who were present at the scene of the incident, as well as State Patrol use of force trainers.”
“The developments of this case are concerning and point to a deliberate attempt to use the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office to target members of the law enforcement community. We believe that this is a flagrant example of a problem that your committee has been committed to exposing this Congress: the weaponization of government,” added the four federal lawmakers.
Emmer, Stauber, Fischbach, and Finstad concluded their letter by again requesting that the committee look into the matter further.
Luke Sprinkel
Luke Sprinkel previously worked as a Legislative Assistant at the Minnesota House of Representatives. He grew up as a Missionary Kid (MK) living in England, Thailand, Tanzania, and the Middle East. Luke graduated from Regent University in 2018.
