MINNEAPOLIS — Joe Thompson, the leading federal prosecutor and public voice on uncovering rampant fraud around Minnesota, has resigned from the U.S. attorney’s office.

“It has been an honor and a privilege to represent the United States and this office,” Thompson wrote in an email obtained by the Minnesota Star Tribune. He does not give any reason for his resignation or any indication of where he is going next. He did not respond to initial requests for comment.

Thompson’s resignation was followed by other senior members of the office, including Assitant U.S. Attorney Harry Jacobs, who was instrumental in prosecuting the Feeding Our Future trial and was part of the team prosecuting Vance Boelter for his politically motivated rampage.

Thompson was appointed acting U.S. Attorney of Minnesota by President Donald Trump in May of 2025 and served in that role for six months until Daniel Rosen took office as U.S. Attorney last October. He was the lead prosecutor in the massive Feeding Our Future food fraud case.

Thompson covered several other high-profile cases during his brief tenure, including filing federal charges against Boelter for allegedly murdering Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, and attempting to murder Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette.

But Thompson has been most notable for uncovering fraud throughout the state. “Our state is far and away the leader in fraud now and everyone sees it,” Thompson told the Minnesota Star Tribune Editorial Board last year. He has claimed that the fraud is in the billions — a number that has been heavily contested by Gov. Tim Walz.

In a statement, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara lamented the loss of Thompson from the U.S. attorney’s office.

“The legitimacy of the justice system depends on institutions — not rhetoric," O’Hara said. “Joe Thompson is an institution within law enforcement.”

O’Hara said the fact that Thompson is leaving at the same time that the federal government is using fraud investigations to justify a massive surge of ICE agents has to be considered.

“When you lose the leader responsible for making the fraud cases, it tells you this [immigration enforcement] isn’t really about prosecuting fraud,” O’Hara said.

Thompson has been considered a potential political candidate and has also been rumored to be a candidate for a new position with the Department of Justice that would oversee a multiagency effort to conduct fraud investigations in the United States.

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