Chief Brian O'Hara has joined a group of law enforcement leaders decrying President Donald Trump’s pardons for all who rioted at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

The consent decree process started after a police officer killed George Floyd in 2020, sparking global protests. In 2023, the Department of Justice released a report that found the Minneapolis Police Department engaged in systematic racial discrimination and unconstitutional policing for years.

The Trump administration is putting a halt to agreements that require reforms of police departments where the Justice Department found a pattern of misconduct, according to a memo issued Wednesday.

One day after the Trump administration injected fresh uncertainty into the fate of Justice Department agreements aimed at reforming local police departments with histories of misconduct and abuse, city leaders in in Minneapolis and Louisville pledged to follow through with agreed-upon reforms no matter what.

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara said he is "disgusted" by the recent pardons by President Donald Trump of 1,500 Jan. 6 insurrectionists – some of whom assaulted Capital police officers.

Just two weeks after sweeping police reforms were agreed upon by the city of Minneapolis and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), it appears that agreement, called a consent decree, could get tossed out.

The Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis (POFM) has filed a motion to intervene in the federal consent decree that outlines sweeping reforms to the city’s police department.

The Justice Department instructed federal prosecutors to investigate state and local officials who interfere with the administration’s immigration crackdown. The directive also said local authorities could face criminal charges. Minneapolis police ...

The new Justice Department leadership has put a freeze on civil rights litigation, and suggested it may reconsider police reform agreements negotiated by the Biden administration.

The directives halt ongoing civil rights cases and could jeopardize police reform agreements finalized in recent months in Minneapolis and Louisville.

MINNEAPOLIS — Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said the city will continue with plans to implement police department reforms outlined in a federal consent decree agreement, even after the Trump Administration ordered a freeze on civil rights litigation and a potential review of such agreements.

The memo doesn’t state how long the freeze will last. However, it widely shuts down the civil rights division for at least for the first few weeks of the Trump administration. Trump’s nominee to lead the department, Harmeet K. Dhillon, is awaiting Senate confirmation.