How a defendant in Minnesota went free because of Justice Department turmoil

Federal prosecutors in Minneapolis have been gutted by a wave of career officials resigning or retiring over objections to Trump administration directives, resulting in 12-time convicted felon Cory Allen McKay walking free from methamphetamine trafficking charges that could have locked him up for 25 years. McKay, with a three-decade record of violent crime including strangling a pregnant woman and firing a shotgun under a person's chin, was scheduled to stand trial next month on charges related to a 2024 arrest when FedEx employees discovered nearly 10 pounds of highly pure meth addressed to him. Instead, he walked free after the prosecutor on his case retired, with McKay's lawyer expressing surprise at the abrupt dismissal that occurred before she was even notified. The Trump administration maintains its aggressive immigration enforcement in Minnesota has improved public safety, but the mass exodus of experienced prosecutors has left the U.S. Attorney's Office severely weakened, forcing remaining staff to dismiss cases, avoid filing new charges, and seek plea agreements and delays. Minnesota has been particularly hard hit by these departures, with the number of assistant U.S. attorneys falling from more than 40 before Trump's return to office to fewer than two dozen, according to a former federal prosecutor. The resignations accelerated after Trump appointees intervened to block a joint state-federal investigation into the fatal shooting of Renee Good by ICE officer Jonathan Ross, and after prosecutors objected to directives diverting resources to immigration cases and repeated violations of court orders by ICE that angered judges. 'The result will be a diminished ability to target dangerous fraudsters, sexual predators, violent gangs and drug traffickers,' warned John Marti, a Minneapolis lawyer and former prosecutor, as local officials worry the office will be temporarily unable to bring charges against some of Minnesota's most serious offenders. McKay isn't the only beneficiary of the turmoil—the office has also dismissed cases against a man arrested with 7,600 fentanyl pills and 15 pounds of cocaine, and another charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine after police found three pounds of the drug in his vehicle.