Veteran federal prosecutor Anders Folk will be sworn in as Minnesota's interim U.S. attorney on Monday, taking over for Trump-appointee Erica MacDonald while a search committee finds a long-term replacement nominee.
Veteran federal prosecutor, Minnesota native named state's interim U.S. attorney
Anders Folk, a graduate from Hopkins High School and University of Minnesota, will be sworn in Monday.
February 25, 2021 at 7:28PM
Folk has served as the No. 2 prosecutor in MacDonald's office since 2018 and worked another five-year stint as assistant U.S. attorney ending in 2010. In between, Folk spent eight years in the private sector as a partner for Stinson LLP, where he specialized in white-collar, securities and cyber law cases.
Folk is an alumnus of Hopkins High School. He graduated from the University of Minnesota Law School and spent five years in the U.S. Marine Corps, where he prosecuted and defended Marines and sailors in courts-martial and separation hearings.
MacDonald agreed to resign her post this month, heeding President Joe Biden's call for U.S. attorneys across the country to make way for new blood. MacDonald held the office starting in 2018, more than a year after the forced resignation of Obama appointee Andrew Luger.
Under MacDonald's tenure, the office employed 130 people, adding 18 new assistant U.S. attorneys and 17 new support staff. She led an office that prioritized prosecutions of cartel-linked drug cases, sexual exploitation of minors on the internet, violent crime on Indian reservations and the rise of gun violence in the Twin Cities.
"Serving as the United States Attorney has been my great honor and privilege," said MacDonald in a statement Thursday. "I have always been and continue to be humbled and inspired by the women and men of this office whose dedication to the pursuit of truth and justice is unwavering."
Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo praised MacDonald's work in targeting a spike in gun crime in 2020. "U.S. Attorney MacDonald was an active leader in public safety assisting the Minneapolis Police Department in addressing violent crime and led a task force last year that brought resources to keep our city safe," said Arradondo.
Minnesota U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith are leading the search committee, composed of law enforcement officials and prosecutors from around the state, to find MacDonald's successor.
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These Minnesotans are poised to play prominent roles in state and national politics in the coming years.
