Tag: Keith Ellison

Minnesota AG says utilities mismanaged natural gas price spike in February

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The state’s gas utilities are seeking to recover $800 million for a huge February price run-up; AG says they shouldn’t be able to collect $380 million of that.  

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison’s office has concluded that the state’s utilities mismanaged natural gas procurement after a historic winter storm in the South, leading them to overbill their customers for $380 million in wholesale gas costs.

The office said Wednesday it is recommending the state Public Utilities Commission (PUC) allow utilities to recover only 53% of the roughly $800 million in costs they are trying to pass down to consumers, saying the companies could have reduced their wholesale gas bills during the run-up — but failed to do so.

“While Minnesota utilities did not cause Winter Storm Uri or the run-up in natural gas prices, they should have reacted forcefully to the pricing emergency and used every tool at their disposal to reduce costs,” Ellison said in a statement. Continue reading.

Minnesota AG’s office to prosecute case in Wright’s death

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MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced Friday that his office will lead the prosecution of a former suburban police officer who is charged with second-degree manslaughter in the death of Daunte Wright.

Former Brooklyn Center Officer Kim Potter, who is white, fatally shot Wright, a 20-year-old Black motorist, on April 11. The city’s police chief, who has since stepped down, had said he believed Potter meant to use her Taser instead of her handgun.

“Daunte Wright’s death was a tragedy. He should not have died on the day that he did. He should not have died the way that he did,” Ellison said in a statement. Continue reading.

Keith Ellison reshaping Minnesota Attorney General’s Office with eye on criminal justice

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His focus on criminal justice, police and hate crimes draws national attention. 

Derek Chauvin’s murder conviction represented for many a rare moment of justice in the nation’s long history of police brutality. It also underscored the dramatic transformation of the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office under Keith Ellison.

Long focused on consumer protection, the office is rapidly becoming a major player in criminal justice in the state — a shift that is attracting national attention.

“We definitely want to be there to direct more criminal prosecutions, and we need more people so we can meet more needs,” said Ellison, who is asking the Legislature for 11 new prosecutors to rebuild its criminal division this year. Continue reading.

Court System in U.S. Is No ‘Lapdog’ to Trump, Minnesota AG Says

President Donald Trump’s wild claim of a vast conspiracy to deprive him of a second term has created an unprecedented stress test on the U.S. election system and the courts, according to Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison. And so far, they’re passing, he said.

Lawsuits filed by Trump and his GOP allies have fizzled, while election officials — including Republicans — have stood by the results and rejected the president’s unsubstantiated claims of massive voter fraud, Ellison said an interview Friday, hours after the Minnesota Supreme Court dismissed a Republican-led suit that aimed to decertify President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in the state.

“This shows the courts are still an independent institution,” said Ellison, a Democrat who was elected in 2018. “One of the hallmarks of an authoritarian state is having no press freedom and the courts are lapdogs for whoever is in power. We can say that’s not true here.” Continue reading.

Tennessee company cancels plan to recruit armed guards for Minnesota polls

Attorney General Keith Ellison opened an investigation on Tuesday in response to job listings for ex-special forces members. 

The Tennessee-based company that advertised for ex-Special Forces members to serve as armed guards at Minnesota polling places on Nov. 3 has told the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office that it is rescinding its recruitment for the positions.

Attorney General Keith Ellison launched a probe into Atlas Aegis on Tuesday, the same day that a pair of local advocacy groups filed federal lawsuits in response to ads placed by the company seeking to hire armed guards for the “protection of election polls” in Minnesota.

In a settlement reached Friday, Atlas Aegis agreed that it will not provide security services in Minnesota around the time of the election — effectively through Jan. 1. The company also agreed to provide public notification that it was wrong to suggest that it was recruiting armed guards at Minnesota polling places, which would have violated the state’s election laws. Continue reading.

Attorney General Keith Ellison probes firm hiring armed guards for Minnesota polling sites

Rights groups sue to keep Atlas Aegis from sending ex-soldiers to watch polls.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison has launched an investigation into a Tennessee-based company that listed job postings seeking ex-soldiers to provide armed security at polling places in the state next month.

The probe, opened last week, includes a demand for information about who contracted for Atlas Aegis’ services, what the security guards’ exact roles would be, and what training they would have on the state’s voter protection laws.

Atlas Aegis, in a job advertisement that surfaced earlier this month, recruited for “security positions in Minnesota during the November Election and beyond to protect election polls, local businesses and residences from looting and destruction.” The listing noted that the jobs were exclusive to U.S. special operations forces veterans. Continue reading.

 

Minnesota AG joins lawsuit challenging rule curtailing environmental review

Minnesota is joining a coalition of 22 states, territories and local governments in a lawsuit that challenges a rule that scales back environmental review of federal actions under the National Environmental Policy Act, Attorney General Keith Ellison announced on Saturday.

According to a news release from Ellison’s office, the lawsuit alleges that the new final rule “abandons informed decision making” and limits the public’s ability to weigh in on actions that are likely to affect the environment, in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act and NEPA.

The Trump administration’s Council on Environmental Quality published the new final rule on July 16, and it is set to go into effect on Sept. 14. Continue reading.

Walz, Ellison, faith leaders call for unity in wake of attack on imam

Two teenagers, ages 16 and 13, are charged in assault near Bloomington mosque. 

Minnesota political and faith leaders gathered Friday afternoon at a Bloomington mosque to call for religious tolerance and unity in response to the attack on an imam as he walked to his nightly prayers.

“That caused huge waves of fear. The following day, half of the congregation did not show up,” said Mohamed Omar, executive director of Dar al-Farooq Islamic Center.

Gov. Tim Walz, Lt. Peggy Flanagan and Attorney General Keith Ellison were among those participating in a show of solidarity with the imam who was attacked, Mohamed Mukhtar. Continue reading.

Minnesota charges three more former officers in George Floyd case

Axios logoMinnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison on Wednesday elevated charges against the former officer seen kneeling on George Floyd’s neck to second-degree murder, and also charged the three other former officers who were present with aiding and abetting murder, according to court documents.

Why it matters: Members of Floyd’s family and protesters across the country have demanded charges against all four officers on scene during his death.

  • Derek Chauvin, the former officer seen kneeling on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes, was originally charged last week with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
  • The three other former officers charged on Wednesday are Tou Thao, Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Kueng. Continue reading.

Minnesota AG Keith Ellison to take over case in Floyd killing

In an unusual legal maneuver, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison will take the lead in the prosecution of the fired Minneapolis police officer charged with killing George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died last week in police custody.

Gov. Tim Walz said Sunday that he concluded Ellison needed to take over the case from the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office at the urging of Floyd’s family, community activists, and some members of the Minneapolis City Council seeking a vigorous prosecution of the officer, 44-year-old Derek Chauvin.

“This decision is one that I feel takes us in that direction and the step to start getting the justice for George Floyd,” Walz said Sunday. “When I spoke to the Floyd family they were very clear: They wanted the system to work for them. They wanted to believe that there was trust and they wanted to feel like the facts would be heard and justice would be served.” Continue reading.