Harmeet Dhillon resigns as controversial head of Justice Department civil rights division

A division reshaped

More than 75% of the Civil Rights Division’s staff left last year under Dhillon’s leadership. She also shifted many of its long-standing priorities, which had focused on combating discrimination against vulnerable and historically marginalized groups.

The Justice Department closed many cases involving discrimination against Black Americans. It also said it had dismissed more than 50 long-standing consent decrees with public schools, many in the Deep South, that were intended to protect Black students from unlawful discrimination.

Response to Minneapolis shootings

After immigration agents fatally shot American citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis during protests against the administration’s immigration crackdown, the division did not initially open criminal civil rights investigations. The article says this departed from longstanding practice in high-profile shootings involving officers. The division later joined the Pretti case after the Justice Department faced criticism and questions about why Homeland Security Investigations, rather than the FBI, was leading a probe into its own agency.

Criticism and public profile

A staunch ally of President Trump, Dhillon previously ran a law firm in San Francisco and frequently appeared on conservative podcasts. She also posted actively on social media, sometimes announcing civil rights investigations online, a departure from historical practice.