On Monday, the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office announced that it would not seek criminal charges against Dylan Adams, 33, a fiscal policy analyst for Minnesota’s Department of Human Services, who allegedly keyed six Teslas and caused more than $20,000 in damage. According to HCAO, because Adams was a first-time offender, he would instead be placed into a diversion program. He would pay for the cost of the repairs and still be able to keep his job.
At the time of Adams’ arrest, FOX 9 reported that police considered each of the six incidents a felony, noting that the damage to each Tesla exceeded $1,000, meeting the threshold for felony vandalism in every case. (I wrote about this story here.)
County Attorney Mary Moriarty’s decision to let Adams escape criminal charges sparked shock and indignation among fair-minded Americans.
But when news broke on the very same day that she had charged a 19-year-old woman with a felony for keying a coworker’s car, that indignation turned to outrage. Understandably, the Soros-backed prosecutor now finds herself at the center of a firestorm.
Like Adams, this young woman has no previous criminal record. The Minnesota Star Tribune reported:
She was charged with first-degree felony property damage on Monday after she allegedly keyed her coworker’s car at the White Castle in Brooklyn Park. The damage to the car was estimated at $7,000. She is due to make her first court appearance in two weeks.
Moriarty appeared at the Brooklyn Public Library on Wednesday afternoon to launch a new program offering free gun locks at 11 libraries across Hennepin County. During the press conference that followed, she faced questions about what appeared to be a glaringly uneven application of the law — particularly given that the 19-year-old woman charged is also a first-time offender.
According to the Tribune’s Jeff Day, Moriarty “bemoaned” the fact that, rather than discussing the emotionally devastating impact of gun violence on young people and children, she was instead being forced to address the issue of damage to Teslas.
She replied to the reporter’s question with one of her own: “Should we have treated this gentleman differently because it’s a political issue? We made this decision because it is in the best interest of public safety.”
She continued, “We try to make decisions without really looking at the political consequences. Can we always predict how a story will be portrayed in the media or what people will say? No.”
And she moved on.
Let’s give this woman a reality check, shall we? First of all, how was this decision in the best interest of public safety?
Second, no — the HCAO should not have treated the two cases differently simply because Adams case involved a political issue while the young woman’s case stemmed from animosity toward a coworker. Both individuals acted out of anger.
And finally, they committed the same crime. In fact, Adams damaged six vehicles, while the young woman damaged only one. Adams’s actions caused over $20,000 in damages, compared to $7,000 caused by the young woman.
Moriarty’s decision to charge the young woman with a felony (which I assume includes restitution) while letting Adams skate by with a diversion program isn’t just unequal justice; it’s blatantly unequal justice, and I’m sure she knows it. And if she doesn’t, I’m sure the young woman’s attorney will be happy to point that out.
I am not a lawyer, but this sure looks like an abuse of power to me.
This progressive county prosecutor has developed a reputation for leniency – at least for those with the right political affiliations. As I mentioned earlier this week, even Minnesota’s progressive Attorney General Keith Ellison reportedly clashed with Moriarty over her soft-on-crime approach during her first year in office, according to the New York Post.
In his article, Day describes several cases where Moriarty’s judgment has been called into question. I’ve included two of them below. The first was a murder case.
Her handling of the murder of Zaria McKeever — including two plea deals for the teenagers who killed her at the behest of Erick Haynes — was so controversial that Gov. [Tim] Walz took the case from her and assigned it to Attorney General Keith Ellison. One of the brothers accepted the plea deal before it was taken over by Ellison and is currently at a residential after-care program. The other brother was sentenced to 11-years in prison and is set to be released to probation in 2030. Haynes got a life sentence.
The second, a rape.
Moriarty dismissed a rape case four days into the trial after it was discovered that a veteran prosecutor had lied to the court and tried to cover it up after she was passed a fairly inconsequential note from a victim advocate. The decision to dismiss was criticized by other legal experts and a juror.
Moriarty is simply a far-left activist masquerading as a county attorney. Her actions make it clear that ideology, not justice, drives her decisions. She’s just one more example of how George Soros’s meddling in local elections has deeply damaged the integrity of our justice system.
Elizabeth writes commentary for Legal Insurrection and The Washington Examiner. She is an academy fellow at The Heritage Foundation. Please follow Elizabeth on LinkedIn or X.
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