Federal judge temporarily pauses proceedings on Minneapolis consent decree at request of DOJ

A federal judge has agreed to temporarily pause proceedings on a consent decree between Minneapolis and the federal government after attorneys for the U.S. Department of Justice asked to put the case on hold.

Two weeks before President Donald Trump took office, the city and DOJ agreed to a settlement outlining sweeping reforms to the Minneapolis Police Department. The consent decree was the outcome of a two-year DOJ investigation following the murder of George Floyd that found MPD engaged in a pattern of racist and abusive behavior that violated residents’ civil rights.

But within days of Trump’s inauguration, the DOJ issued a memo to freeze all civil rights litigation leftover from the previous administration and to notify leadership of all consent decrees finalized in the last 90 days of former President Joe Biden’s term.

A motion filed on Tuesday in the U.S. District Court of Minnesota asks Judge Paul Magnuson to stay all proceedings for 30 days so U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and new DOJ leadership “can be brought up to speed on this matter.”

On Wednesday, Magnuson granted the request, court records show.

In his previous term, Trump’s Justice Department blocked a consent decree to reform Chicago’s police department. A former DOJ official who was working on that settlement told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS shortly after the election that Minneapolis should expect much of the same.

“When President Trump came in, he shut the whole thing down,” said Emily Gunston, a former deputy chief with the DOJ. “I think folks should expect that that’s exactly what President Trump will do in a second term, with regard to Minneapolis.”

If the DOJ were to do away with the consent decree, Minneapolis would still be subject to its court-enforceable agreement with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights.

The City of Minneapolis provided 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS with the following statement:

“The Minneapolis federal consent decree is still in the hands of the judge. We remain committed to what is outlined in the consent decree and hope the judge approves it soon.”