Minnesota attorney general candidates outline different approaches to violent crime

Republican attorney general candidate Jim Schultz's plan to combat violent crime in Minnesota includes adding more criminal prosecutors, increasing penalties for repeat offenders and carjackers and putting pressure on county prosecutors who don't pursue certain cases.

Schultz hopes to challenge DFL Attorney General Keith Ellison, who said that "guns have got to be part of any public safety conversation." More must be done to keep guns from falling into the wrong hands, Ellison said, such as expanding background checks on buyers and regulating untraceable firearms.

Ellison and Schultz laid out their contrasting approaches to addressing violent crime during separate news conferences Monday. Ellison focused more on gun control measures and preventing mass shootings, while Schultz discussed how he would encourage prosecutors across the state to impose harsher punishment on those who commit crimes involving a gun.

"We have to have judges who impose at least the mandatory minimum [sentence], and in many cases substantially more," said Schultz, who acknowledged that judges don't answer to his office but said he would be willing to "call them out publicly."

Gun violence is an issue personal to Schultz, who said his sister woke up one morning to gunshots from her front lawn at her home in north Minneapolis. A man being chased by police had "careened" his car into her front yard, trading fire with officers and leaving "multiple bullet holes in my sister's home," he said.

"I still remember her calling me and crying that morning, and that's representative of the incredible crime that's plagued our communities," Schultz said.

Schultz said he would seek to establish a violent crime task force to develop strategies for preventing shootings, assaults and carjackings. He would ask state lawmakers to make carjacking a specifically codified crime and increase the minimum sentence for it, and he would push to increase penalties for repeat offenders and lengthen minimum sentences for those who commit violent crimes.

As attorney general, Schultz said he would hold accountable county attorneys who refrain from prosecuting certain crimes. His plan is similar to the public safety package Senate Republicans passed during session.

Schultz is the GOP-endorsed candidate for the office. Also running in the August primary is Republican Doug Wardlow, who wants to expand the office's criminal division, create a violent crime prosecution unit and assist police investigations.

Schultz said he would also add more criminal attorneys to the office to assist county prosecutors across the state. He claimed Ellison has just one criminal attorney in his office now, leaving county attorneys struggling to handle their criminal caseloads.

Ellison said Monday that the attorney general's office has three full-time criminal prosecutors and more it can draft in. Ellison has asked the Legislature for more funding to beef up the criminal prosecution side of his office, but lawmakers haven't approved the request for multiple years in a row.

"When I got to the AG's office, we had only one full-time. Now we've tripled that," Ellison said. "We've asked the Legislature, for three years, for at least nine more, which is what I think that we need."

Ellison jabbed Schultz for not knowing the Legislature had not funded the positions.

"I don't blame my opponent for not knowing because he's never done criminal defense, he's never done even a trial, never even stepped into court," Ellison said. "So I don't blame him for not knowing what he's talking about, but the people in the Legislature do know."

The attorney general highlighted his efforts to regulate "ghost guns," homemade firearms that lack commercially trackable serial numbers. Ellison on Tuesday joined a coalition of 20 state attorneys general who filed an amicus brief in support of a new Biden administration rule regulating the so-called ghost guns.

He and U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum heard from students and community members Monday during a roundtable discussion on gun violence prevention.

Cracking down on untraceable weapons, getting rid of assault weapons and expanding background checks are necessary steps to address gun violence in local communities, Ellison said.

"These things would protect folks' right to own a gun, but they would also save lives," Ellison said.