Free Republic

George Floyd’s Friend and ‘Key Witness’ in Chauvin Trial Invokes 5th Amendment, Declines to TestifyA self-described key witness to the death of George Floyd—a longtime friend who was in the car with Floyd when police approached him—said through a lawyer that, if forced to testify about the incident, he’ll invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and remain silent. Morries Lester Hall, who in a June 2020 interview with The New York Times called himself “a key witness to the cops murdering George Floyd” and said he was “going to be his voice” going forward, has asked the court to...

Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill dismissed Minneapolis cop’s third-degree murder charge in a 107-page decision Thursday morning. Chauvin, 44, also faces criminal charges, including more serious charges of second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.

The United Nations flag came down outside the Hennepin County Government Center last week after commissioners unanimously voted to fly only the U.S., Minnesota and county flags over the red-brick plaza facing Minneapolis City Hall.

Ryan Hoeft was a rookie St. Louis Park cop on Nov. 6, 2001, when his handgun went off in his squad car, the bullet hitting his head and killing him. The Hennepin County medical examiner ruled his death a suicide. But his parents allege in a lawsuit filed this week that their son did not kill himself and that his gun fired accidentally. Mary and Terry Hoeft, of Rice Lake, Wis., accuse the Hennepin County Sheriff's Department, the county medical examiner and St. Louis Park police of failing to properly investigate their son's death. The suit, filed Tuesday in Hennepin...

As an attorney for Hennepin County, Julius Nolen specialized in prosecuting violent offenders, mainly sexual assault and child-abuse cases. His wife, Laura, was a criminal lawyer for the city of Minneapolis. Between them, they had 28 years of experience in criminal law for the city and county. But they also used cocaine, according to drug investigators who arrested the Nolens and three others Friday during what appeared to be a quiet cocaine party at the couple's home in southwest Minneapolis. "I know my career is over," Julius Nolen allegedly told officers after showing them a glass plate with two white...

MINNEAPOLIS - A Hennepin County prosecutor was among five people arrested on suspicion of drug possession, authorities said on Saturday. The arrested prosecutor, who handles mostly child abuse and sex abuse cases, and his wife, an attorney in the Minneapolis City Attorney's office, were arrested at a house in south Minneapolis on Friday night, according to Chief Deputy Scott County Attorney Pete Cahill. Cahill said four people were arrested at the home, and one in a traffic stop after leaving.

MINNEAPOLIS -- More than a dozen churches won't have to comply with parts of the state's new concealed-carry gun law after a Hennepin County District judge issued a temporary restraining order on Friday. Edina Community Lutheran Church filed a lawsuit May 20, claiming notification requirements in the law were an unconstitutional infringement of religious freedom. The law required churches to both post signs -- which were described in great detail -- and verbally inform parishioners at the door that pistols were prohibited. Judge Marilyn Brown Rosenbaum granted the church's request for a temporary restraining order against the signage and personal...