# Minnesota Attorney General *Statewide elected office of the State of Minnesota.* The **Minnesota Attorney General** heads the Office of Minnesota Attorney General. The office carries civil-rights enforcement responsibility for the State[^1] and maintains divisions that include an Antitrust Division.[^2] [[Keith Ellison]] has held the office since January 7, 2019, when he was sworn in as the 30th Attorney General.[^3] The office publishes its own history and roster of officeholders,[^4][^5] and the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library keeps a separate succession list.[^6] Since January 14, 2026, the State has been the defendant in [[United States v. State of Minnesota (0:26-cv-00273)]]. The [[United States Department of Justice]] filed the suit in the District of Minnesota under [[Title VII]] of the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]], and announced it in release No. 26-21, titled "United States Department of Justice Files Lawsuit Against Minnesota's 'Affirmative Action' Regime".[^7][^8] The statute at the center of the complaint, [[Minn. Stat. § 43A.191]], is defended by the Attorney General's office.[^9] When Ellison was sworn in, he named wage theft, drug prices and consumer protection as his priorities.[^3] The office's documented outputs since then include several matters. Its Medicaid Fraud Control Unit filed an eight-count felony complaint.[^10] It announced an $18.5 million settlement with NUWAY.[^11] It entered a 2023 assurance of discontinuance with [[Gateway STEM Academy]].[^12] A charitable-trust petition it filed in 2019 led to the removal of the [[Otto Bremer Trust]]'s trustee.[^13] ## History [[Orville Freeman]] lost the 1950 race for Attorney General and remained chair of the DFL.[^14] On May 5, 1960, Freeman, by then governor, appointed Walter Mondale Attorney General at age 32. Mondale won the office in his own right on November 6, 1962, with 60 percent of the vote.[^6][^15] Former Attorney General [[Warren Spannaus]] died in 2017 at 86.[^16] On February 12, 1985, the Attorney General issued a report on the Scott County investigations. The Legislative Reference Library holds that report together with a Commission report.[^17] Executive Order 85-10 was issued on March 25, 1985.[^18] [[Mike Hatch]] (DFL) was elected in 1998 and served from 1999 to 2007.[^4][^19] A U.S. House Oversight Committee hearing file dated September 10, 2019, carries a biography of [[Lori Swanson]] as Minnesota Attorney General.[^20] Keith Ellison was elected on November 6, 2018, defeating Doug Wardlow.[^21] He was sworn in on January 7, 2019, as the 30th Attorney General.[^3][^22] He graduated from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1990.[^23][^24] The office's biography page presents him as the sitting Attorney General.[^25] ## Enforcement record ### Police-shooting prosecutions On December 4, 2020, the office announced a joint review with Washington County of a police shooting, referred under Minn. Stat. § 8.01. Washington County's Scott Haldeman was appointed a Special Assistant Attorney General. County Attorney Pete Orput thanked the office for "helping us resolve these serious cases in a transparent and fair manner".[^26] A May 21, 2021 release described "an established protocol among five urban county attorneys", and quoted Orput: "I want to thank Attorney General Ellison personally".[^27] In that prosecution, the original charge, filed April 14, 2021, was second-degree manslaughter by culpable negligence. The office's September 2, 2021 release recorded that a first-degree manslaughter charge had been added.[^28] ### Medicaid fraud, settlements and charitable trusts The Medicaid Fraud Control Unit's criminal complaint in *State of Minnesota v. Salman Ahmed Elmi* alleges eight felony counts. Counts I–III are theft by swindle and Counts IV–VIII are theft by false representation, covering September 2024 to May 2026. The complaint lists claim totals for four entities: about $2.5 million for REVA Health (January 2024–February 2026), about $700,000 for REVA Autism, about $250,000 for Helpful Housing, and about $1.2 million for Homefelt (May 2023–February 2026).[^10] The record compiled here contains no disposition of the complaint. On June 26, 2025, the office announced the NUWAY settlement of $18.5 million.[^11] The office's *Assurance of Discontinuance with Gateway STEM Academy* (December 8, 2023) covers nearly $300,000. That total includes $173,602.65 and $117,255 paid to companies headed by two board members, transactions the office described as "not approved, much less discussed, by Gateway's board."[^12] [[In re Otto Bremer Trust (Attorney General petition)]] was filed in Ramsey County District Court in 2019 under the Supervision of Charitable Trusts and Trustees Act, Minn. Stat. §§ 501B.33–.45. The district court removed the trustee by order of April 29, 2022. The removal was affirmed in January 2023, and the [[Minnesota Supreme Court]] affirmed it in February 2024.[^13] ### Statements and communications On February 6, 2026, the office issued a statement supporting a class action against the DHS operation known as Operation PARRIS.[^29] In March 2026, the office published a communication on [[Feeding Our Future]]. According to the project's dossier notes, it records testimony given on February 3, 2026, by Minnesota Department of Education official Daron Korte. Korte testified that the threat of discrimination accusations under § 43A.191 was operationally decisive in the approval of contested sites.[^30][^9] ## Federal litigation over § 43A.191 DOJ release No. 26-21 (January 14, 2026) states that Attorney General Pamela Bondi certified the case as "a matter of general public importance." According to the release, that certification entitles the United States to "expedited review by a three-judge district court and direct appeal to the United States Supreme Court."[^7] The project's catalogue of U.S.-government "regime" usages (*[[How Minnesota Got Here]]*, note 40) finds Minnesota to be the only U.S. state so described. The catalogue sets that usage beside federal law's use of the term for governments the United States opposes, such as the [[Iraq Liberation Act]] of 1998 (Pub. L. 105-338) and its reference to "the regime headed by Saddam Hussein."[^32] The complaint, No. 0:26-cv-00273, rests on the text of the statute. It cites Minn. Stat. § 43A.191 eight times. Among those citations is subdivision 3(c), which requires an agency to explain its reason for hiring a non-affirmative candidate.[^8][^9] The record compiled here carries no ruling, and the case is pending. The suit follows *[[Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services]]*, 605 U.S. 303 (2025). In that case the Supreme Court held that Title VII's disparate-treatment provision "draws no distinctions between majority-group plaintiffs and minority-group plaintiffs". The Court also rejected the Sixth Circuit's heightened "background circumstances" rule for majority-group plaintiffs.[^31] In May 2025, DOJ's Office of the Deputy Attorney General launched a Civil Rights Fraud Initiative.[^33] The Revisor of Statutes keeps the enactment and amendment history of § 43A.191.[^9] The project's companion study *The Instrument No One Will Name* (June 18, 2026) reads that history by party: - The statute was created by a Republican governor's chapter and operationalized by a Democratic governor's rider. - It has been maintained through amendments, seven of which were signed by Republican governors. - It has stood since 1985 without an internal constitutional challenge until the DOJ filed suit. - The lone repeal bill, House File 5143, was introduced by seven members on May 13, 2026. It had no Senate companion and received no hearing or vote. The Revisor page supports the statute's text and history line. The party attributions and the bill history rest on the companion study.[^9] ## In the at-issue record The project's at-issue record (entry 020) states that the office of county attorney [[Michael Freeman]] handled four high-salience police-conduct matters during his second tenure. According to the entry, the office declined to charge in two, charged in two, and was removed by the trial judge in the largest. The state Attorney General then completed that case. The entry is anchored to a March 2025 presidential action on eliminating information silos.[^34] ## In the Minnesota record ### Who - Keith Ellison, Attorney General since January 7, 2019.[^3][^25] - Mike Hatch (DFL), Attorney General from 1999 to 2007.[^19] - Walter Mondale, appointed May 5, 1960, by Governor Orville Freeman.[^15] ### When - November 6, 2018: Ellison elected.[^21] - January 14, 2026: United States files No. 0:26-cv-00273.[^8] - April 29, 2022: Otto Bremer Trust trustee removed.[^13] ### How much - NUWAY settlement, June 26, 2025: $18.5 million.[^11] - Gateway STEM Academy assurance, December 8, 2023: nearly $300,000.[^12] ## See also - [[Minn. Stat. § 43A.191]] - [[United States v. State of Minnesota (0:26-cv-00273)]] - [[In re Otto Bremer Trust (Attorney General petition)]] - [[Assurance of Discontinuance with Gateway STEM Academy]] - [[At issue 020 - In the four highest-salience police-conduct matters of Michael]] ## Notes [^1]: Office of Minnesota Attorney General, *Homepage* — the office's civil-rights enforcement responsibility. https://www.ag.state.mn.us/ [^2]: Office of Minnesota Attorney General, *Divisions* — Antitrust Division. https://www.ag.state.mn.us/Office/Divisions.asp [^3]: Office of Minnesota Attorney General, *Attorney General biography* — Ellison sworn in as the 30th Attorney General on January 7, 2019; announced priorities. https://www.ag.state.mn.us/Office/AGBio.asp [^4]: Office of Minnesota Attorney General, *History of the Office* — official history and roster of successive attorneys general. https://www.ag.state.mn.us/Office/AGHistory.asp [^5]: Office of Minnesota Attorney General, *Office History* — history of the office. https://www.ag.state.mn.us/Office/History [^6]: Minnesota Legislative Reference Library, *Minnesota Attorneys General* — succession list. https://www.lrl.mn.gov/mngov/attygen [^7]: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs, *United States Department of Justice Files Lawsuit Against Minnesota's 'Affirmative Action' Regime*, No. 26-21 (Jan. 14, 2026) — title of the release; certification as a matter of general public importance. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/united-states-department-justice-files-lawsuit-against-minnesotas-affirmative-action-regime [^8]: U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, *Complaint, United States v. State of Minnesota*, No. 0:26-cv-00273 (D. Minn. filed Jan. 14, 2026) — Title VII action; eight citations of § 43A.191, including subd. 3(c). https://www.justice.gov/crt/media/1423361/dl [^9]: Minnesota Revisor of Statutes, *Minn. Stat. § 43A.191* — text and history line of the statute challenged in No. 0:26-cv-00273 and defended by the Attorney General's office. https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/43A.191 [^10]: Minnesota Attorney General's Office, Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, *State of Minnesota v. Salman Ahmed Elmi, criminal complaint* — eight felony counts; entity claim totals. https://www.ag.state.mn.us/Office/Communications/2026/docs/5749_Elmi_Complaint.pdf [^11]: Office of Minnesota Attorney General, *NUWAY settlement release* (June 26, 2025) — $18.5 million. https://www.ag.state.mn.us/Office/Communications/2025/06/26_NUWAY.asp [^12]: Office of Minnesota Attorney General, *Assurance of Discontinuance with Gateway STEM Academy* (Dec. 8, 2023) — nearly $300,000; $173,602.65 and $117,255 paid to board members' companies. https://www.ag.state.mn.us/Office/Communications/2023/12/08_GatewaySTEMAcademy.asp [^13]: Minnesota Revisor of Statutes, *Minn. Stat. § 501B.33* — instrument of the Attorney General's 2019 petition in *In re Otto Bremer Trust* (trustee removed April 29, 2022; affirmed January 2023 and February 2024). https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/501B.33 [^14]: Wikipedia, *Orville Freeman* — lost the 1950 Attorney General race; remained DFL chair. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orville_Freeman [^15]: Wikipedia, *Walter Mondale* — appointed May 5, 1960, at 32; elected November 6, 1962, with 60 percent. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Mondale [^16]: Star Tribune, *Former Minnesota Attorney General Warren Spannaus dies at 86* (2017) — obituary. https://obituaries.startribune.com/obituary/warren-spannaus-1090218167 [^17]: Minnesota Attorney General, *Report on the Scott County investigations* (Feb. 12, 1985), with Commission report, Legislative Reference Library. https://www.lrl.mn.gov/docs/pre2003/other/851568.pdf [^18]: State of Minnesota, *Executive Order 85-10* (Mar. 25, 1985), Legislative Reference Library. https://www.lrl.mn.gov/archive/execorders/85-10.pdf [^19]: Ballotpedia, *Mike Hatch* — Minnesota Attorney General, 1999–2007. https://ballotpedia.org/Mike_Hatch [^20]: U.S. House Committee on Oversight, *Biography of Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson* (Sept. 10, 2019). https://docs.house.gov/meetings/GO/GO28/20190910/109902/HHRG-116-GO28-Bio-SwansonL-20190910.pdf [^21]: Wikipedia, *Keith Ellison* — elected November 6, 2018, defeating Doug Wardlow. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_Ellison [^22]: Office of Minnesota Attorney General, *About Minnesota Attorneys General* — succession, 1979–2026. https://www.ag.state.mn.us/about-minnesota-attorneys-general [^23]: University of Minnesota Law School, *Keith Ellison* (profile) — UMN Law, 1990. https://law.umn.edu/profiles/keith-ellison [^24]: *Minnesota Law Magazine*, *Q&A: Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison '90*. https://minnesotalawmag.law.umn.edu/stories/ellison [^25]: Office of Minnesota Attorney General, *Biography* — Keith Ellison as sitting Attorney General. https://www.ag.state.mn.us/Office/Bio.asp [^26]: Office of Minnesota Attorney General, *Press release* (Dec. 4, 2020) — § 8.01 referral; joint review with Washington County; Haldeman appointment; Orput statement. https://www.ag.state.mn.us/Office/Communications/2020/12/04_PoliceShooting.asp [^27]: Office of Minnesota Attorney General, *Press release* (May 21, 2021) — protocol among five urban county attorneys; Orput statement. https://www.ag.state.mn.us/Office/Communications/2021/05/21_Potter.asp [^28]: Office of Minnesota Attorney General, *Press release* (Sept. 2, 2021) — original charge of April 14, 2021; first-degree manslaughter charge added. https://www.ag.state.mn.us/Office/Communications/2021/09/02_Potter.asp [^29]: Office of Minnesota Attorney General, *Statement on Operation PARRIS* (Feb. 6, 2026) — support for a class action. https://www.ag.state.mn.us/Office/Communications/2026/02/06_OperationPARRIS.asp [^30]: Office of Minnesota Attorney General, *Feeding Our Future communication* (Mar. 2026) — record of the February 3, 2026 testimony by an MDE official. https://www.ag.state.mn.us/Office/Communications/2026/03/FeedingOurFuture.asp [^31]: Supreme Court of the United States, *Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services*, 605 U.S. 303 (2025) — Title VII disparate-treatment holding. https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/23-1039_c0n2.pdf [^32]: U.S. Congress, *Iraq Liberation Act of 1998*, Pub. L. 105-338 — "the regime headed by Saddam Hussein"; the catalogue finding is the project's own. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-105publ338/pdf/PLAW-105publ338.pdf [^33]: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Deputy Attorney General, *Civil Rights Fraud Initiative* (May 2025). https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1400826/dl?inline= [^34]: The White House, *Stopping Waste, Fraud, and Abuse by Eliminating Information Silos* (Mar. 2025) — anchor of at-issue entry 020. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/stopping-waste-fraud-and-abuse-by-eliminating-information-silos/