A misuse of prosecutorial discretion

Our public prosecutors wield a great deal of influence over our criminal justice system. It’s one of the reasons why many, including me, have tried to sound the alarm about activists running for election in our many public prosecutorial positions. Once in office they can, and have, dramatically changed policies and used their significant levels of prosecutorial discretion to undermine justice and public safety.

Mary Moriarty was elected as the Hennepin County Attorney and took office in 2023, after serving years as the Hennepin County Public Defender. Since becoming the chief prosecutor, she has rarely gone more than a few months without making headlines for her troubling use of discretion. Her decisions to defer prosecutions in some cases, file reduced charges in others, or enter into troubling plea agreements with dangerous offenders has angered many, including many victims.

If she served in one of the state’s more peaceful and less populated counties it would be one thing, but it becomes a concern to all Minnesotan’s when she serves in the state’s most populated county which registers one in every five crimes committed in the state. Her decisions impact all Minnesotans.

The most recent example

Moriarty’s latest headline-grabbing venture was reported yesterday, when her office announced it would be deferring criminal charges against Dylan Bryan Adams, 33, of Minneapolis. Adams, a “Program Consultant” with the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS), was caught on camera intentionally “keying” six Tesla vehicles in the downtown Minneapolis area where he lives. The damage happened during separate incidents over approximately six weeks and the total damage he caused totaled $20,000.

The Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) obviously put a fair amount of work into the case and had submitted their investigation to Moriarty’s office for felony damage to property charges. Following Moriarty’s decision to decline charges and defer prosecution in exchange for a diversion program, MPD Chief Brian O’Hara was clearly disappointed and issued a pointed statement critical of Moriarty.

“The Minneapolis Police Department did its job. It identified and investigated a crime trend, identified and arrested a suspect, and presented a case file to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office for consideration of charges. This case impacted at least six victims and totaled over $20,000 in damages. Any frustration related to the charging decision of the Hennepin County Attorney should be directed solely at her office. Our investigators are always frustrated when the cases they poured their hearts into are declined. In my experience, the victims in these cases often feel the same.”

Diversion is an acceptable process for many first-time criminal offenders accused of a regrettable and isolated damage-to-property incident. But Adams’s six offenses occurred over several weeks and were obviously carried out with politically motivated bias. They also added up to over $20,000 in property damage – far exceeding $5,000 threshold in the Hennepin County Diversion Program’s own guidelines. Deferring criminal charges against Adams just wrong. It sends the wrong message at the wrong time to others inclined to carry out similar acts.

It’s also inconceivable that Moriarty would not have charged someone vandalizing property based on biases against left-leaning victims. As such, the whole outcome is unwarranted and represents a stain on prosecutorial discretion.

The bigger (and uglier) picture

The damage to these Teslas was part of a nationwide left-wing movement aimed at financially harming the owner of Tesla, Elon Musk, who has taken on the role of leading the Department of Government Efficiency, DOGE, in the Trump Administration. The movement has been responsible for nearly a dozen arson incidents at Tesla dealerships and countless acts of damage to privately owned Tesla vehicles — often scratching or carving obscenities or swastikas into the cars. 

The movement has taken on an “ends justify the means” mentality that is really troubling, as it extends far past the willingness to damage the property of someone who has differing political views.

A recent poll indicated that 57% of “left of center” Americans felt it was “partially acceptable” to destroy a Tesla dealership. 

The depth of the hatred and justification for violence on the left becomes even more troubling in the fact that nearly the same percentage (55%) of “left of center” Americans felt it would be “somewhat justified” to murder Elon Musk, and 48% felt it would be somewhat justified to murder President Trump. 

These are not insignificant percentages, and we should be alarmed by the assassination culture that has taken root and become mainstream on the left.