Former Minneapolis police union head Bob Kroll seeking Donald Trump’s nomination to be U.S. marshal

Bob Kroll, the outspoken and incendiary former Minneapolis police union leader, is seeking President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination to be Minnesota’s next U.S. marshal, according to documents obtained by the Star Tribune.

Kroll is banned from serving as a law enforcement officer in three of the state’s most populous counties for 10 years under a federal civil settlement approved last year. But over the weekend, Kroll’s attorney issued a letter arguing the settlement shouldn’t keep Kroll from joining the federal agency, primarily tasked with tracking down fugitives and providing security for Minnesota’s federal courthouses and judges. It also assists in asset forfeiture, witness protection and transporting federal inmates between prisons.

Kroll applied before a Dec. 20 deadline imposed by a search committee for U.S. Attorney and U.S. marshal candidates that is being organized by Minnesota’s Republican congressional delegation.

Incoming administrations, particularly those of different political parties than the incumbent, typically remove previous presidential appointees. U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger has said he plans to step down before Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration. U.S. Marshal Eddie Frizell, a Biden appointee who in 2022 became the state’s first Black marshal, has not publicly stated his plans. Frizell could not be reached for comment.

Kroll declined to comment for this article. His pursuit of the position is being aided on a pro bono basis by Minneapolis attorney Chris Madel. Madel represented Minnesota state trooper Ryan Londregan in his murder case in the shooting of a Black motorist before Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty dismissed the charges last summer. Madel also represents the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association (MPPOA), one of two groups endorsing Kroll for U.S. marshal.

“I’ve spent a ton of time with cops this past year,” Madel said in an email. “The respect cops have for Bob Kroll is unmatched, and there’s great reason for it. Minnesota needs law enforcement, and nobody says law enforcement in Minnesota more than Bob Kroll.”

Kroll spent three decades as a law enforcement officer, including 25 years as a union representative for the Minneapolis Police Department. During that time, he earned the MPD’s medal of valor, three medals of commendation and eight awards of merit.

But he also racked up a lengthy disciplinary record, which included civil complaints and lawsuits involving wrongful arrest and excessive force.

Kroll forged a reputation as a brash and unwavering defender of Minneapolis officers accused of misconduct, often finding himself at odds with the city’s elected officials and at the center of the debate over race, police use of force and brutality.

In 2015, when the fatal police shooting of Jamar Clark resulted in weeks of protests outside the Fourth Precinct, Kroll, already a lightning rod for criticism, drew the ire of activists by pointing out Clark’s criminal history in TV interviews. He later referred to Black Lives Matter as a “terrorist organization” after the officers involved were cleared of wrongdoing in separate local, state and federal inquiries.

Kroll publicly aligned with Trump during the president’s first term, making appearances on Fox News and joining Trump on stage during a 2019 Minneapolis campaign rally. He donned a red “Cops for Trump” T-shirt for the occasion — commissioned in defiance of a newly enacted department policy banning officers from wearing their uniforms in support of candidates at political events or in ads.

In the days after the 2020 murder of George Floyd, Kroll used communiques to the rank and file to defend the four officers accused and eventually convicted of killing the unarmed Black man, blasted the city’s response and called on Republican Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka to deploy more Minnesota National Guard troops to quash the violence.

When the letter surfaced online, Janeé Harteau, a former Minneapolis police chief and frequent sparring partner of Kroll’s, called him a “disgrace to the badge.”

Later that summer, protesters showed up to his house in Hugo to demand his resignation and destroyed effigy piñatas of Kroll and his wife — former WCCO reporter Liz Collin — on their lawn, drawing criticism from those who said the demonstrators, who included then-DFL legislative candidate John Thompson, went too far.

Kroll retired in January 2021, four months earlier than planned, saying it was in the best interest of his family to accept a buyout. His departure came less than a week after a siege on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters, fueling speculation. He publicly denied being in Washington on Jan. 6, but defended Trump’s leadership.

“Good riddance‚” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey wrote on social media about Kroll’s retirement.

Kroll has stayed mostly out of the public eye since leaving the Police Department, though he’s made some appearances in conservative-leaning media – including Alpha News, where Collin now works.

Kroll settled two federal lawsuits last year, one from journalists and another from protesters, that accused MPD of targeting reporters and peaceful protesters with tear gas, rubber-coated bullets and pepper spray in the immediate aftermath of Floyd’s murder. As a lieutenant and union head, Kroll played an outsized role in determining department policy — both in his official capacity and “as an unofficial policymaker,” according to one of the lawsuits.

“Kroll actively sows discord between rank-and-file officers and the command structure as a means of further amplifying his policy role and outsize influence over police culture,” the lawsuit read. “What Kroll casts as his ‘opinions’ as Federation President have the practical effect of serving as policy guidance for officers.”

During the riots, Kroll endorsed “rampant unconstitutional conduct” in his messages to union members that gave the impression he was in charge, rather than the police chief, according to the suit. This included Kroll asking police commanders to loosen the restrictions on use of less-lethal projectiles and chemical agents, leading to more protesters and journalists being harmed during the unrest, the lawsuit said.

A settlement agreement stipulated Kroll cannot serve as a licensed police officer or in a leadership role in any policing agencies in the counties of Hennepin, Ramsey and Anoka for a decade. He is also barred from being a board member, director, officer or staff member or member of an advisory committee of the Minnesota Board of Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) — the state board that licenses officers — for that period. Kroll agreed to come to court if he’s subpoenaed in the case.

Critics have long viewed Kroll, a veteran beat cop and former SWAT team member, as emblematic of a bygone era of policing and a barrier to necessary reforms, while his backers contend he’s been unfairly vilified for defending officers both publicly and in grievance and disciplinary hearings.

Minnesota’s branch of the U.S. Marshal’s Service is headquartered in Minneapolis. But in a letter written Saturday and addressed “To Whom It May Concern,” Joseph Kelly, who represented Kroll in his two federal lawsuits, wrote that the settlement agreement does not prohibit Kroll from serving in any capacity for a federal agency.

Kelly wrote that the settlement “specifically identified Minnesota Law as the substantive law” applying to the agreement.

“Federal Law Enforcement Agencies do not fall within the definition of ‘law enforcement agency’ as agreed to by the parties in the Agreement. There is no prohibition or restriction on Mr. Kroll serving in any capacity for a Federal Agency,” Kelly wrote.

David Titus, deputy executive director of the MPPOA and former St. Paul Police union president, wrote a letter addressed to Trump endorsing Kroll on Dec. 20.

Titus noted that it was rare for union representatives who rise through their department’s ranks to continue to be elected to represent patrol officers as Kroll had been during his tenure.

“The key to this is leading by example and never forgetting where you came from,” Titus said, evoking Kroll’s blue-collar roots. “Bob has always remembered the backbone of the Police Department is the uniform patrol officers and their needs should come first.”

Kroll also has the backing of the former Minneapolis police union he once led.

Sherral Schmidt, current president of the Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis, endorsed Kroll in a letter dated Dec. 24.

“Bob earned the trust and respect of peers and subordinates with his strong vocal advocacy for the police officers, not only in Minneapolis but statewide,” Schmidt wrote, noting that Kroll successfully negotiated several union contracts and legal agreements with the city that “led to the betterment of the department.”

It’s not immediately clear how many applicants are being considered for the role or whether Kroll is a finalist.