MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Supporters and critics of a white Minnesota state trooper who's charged with murder for killing a Black motorist confronted each other at a courthouse Monday in an exchange that was heated but peaceful, reflecting the strong emotions that the politically charged case has generated.
More than 300 people, including law enforcement officers from several agencies, gathered in the Hennepin County Government Center in solidarity with Trooper Ryan Londregan ahead of a pretrial hearing in his case. He's charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter and assault for fatally shooting Ricky Cobb II as Cobb tried to drive away from a traffic stop last summer. A similarly large crowd aligned with the Black Lives Matter movement shouted down an attempt by Londregan's defense team to hold a news conference afterward.
“Trooper Londregan followed his training,” defense attorney Chris Madel was able to tell reporters. He noted that the defense team filed sworn declarations from four current and former troopers who say Londregan's use of deadly force was justified. Madel also called for “a prosecutor who cares about the facts more than they do about yelling," before the shouts of “Whose streets? Our streets” grew too loud.
“No good cops in a racist system,” the protesters also chanted. “No justice, no peace. Prosecute the police.”
Four former federal prosecutors from the Washington, D.C.-based law firm Steptoe LLC will be deputized to take over the case from the office of Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty after the original leader of the prosecution team stepped away from the case, said Chris Freeman, managing attorney for the office’s adult prosecution division.
Freeman did not address news reports that Assistant County Attorney Joshua Larson had removed himself as lead prosecutor, but confirmed to Judge Tamara Garcia that Larson is no longer on the case.
Moriarty later said in a statement that she would retain full authority over the case and pay the attorneys out of her existing budget. She named Karima Maloney, Michael Bromwich, Ryan Poscablo and Steven Levin as the new team.
Law enforcement and Republican leaders have been calling on Democratic Gov. Tim Walz to take the case away from Moriarty, a former public defender who was elected on a platform of police accountability following the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis officer in 2020, and turn it over to Democratic Attorney General Keith Ellison. Walz has expressed concern about the direction of the case but has not acted.
In a jab at the incoming prosecution team, Madel told reporters they’d rather the case went to “somebody who cares about justice more than hourly fees.”
The Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association organized a show of support for Londregan before the hearing. The crowd, including many people wearing T-shirts proclaiming his innocence, greeted him with loud cheers and sustained applause as he and his defense team entered the courthouse.
Troopers pulled the 33-year-old Cobb over on Interstate 94 in Minneapolis on July 31 because the lights were out on his car. They found that the Spring Lake Park man was wanted for violating a protection order in neighboring Ramsey County. Londregan arrived to assist. They were telling Cobb to get out when he shifted into drive and took his foot off the brake. Cobb’s car began to slowly move forward. Londregan reached for his gun. Cobb stopped. Londregan pointed his gun at Cobb and yelled at him to get out. Cobb took his foot off the brake again while another trooper's torso was at least partially in the car. Londregan then fired twice at Cobb, striking him both times in the chest, the criminal complaint says.
Cobb's family filed a federal civil rights lawsuit two weeks ago, alleging that the stop and shooting were unjustified.
The judge set two dates for future hearings. The new prosecution team will introduce itself to the court at 1:30 p.m. on May 15, and there will be a fuller hearing June 10 at 9 a.m. to set a trial date and discuss motions by the defense to dismiss the charges for lack of probable cause and alleged prosecution misconduct.
Arguing that the charges lack sufficient grounds, Madel noted during the hearing that the prosecution has yet to name an expert witness who could testify that Londregan's actions weren't justified. Garcia said they can discuss a deadline for disclosure of prosecution expert witnesses at the May 15 hearing.
The misconduct allegation includes the defense claim that the criminal complaint filed by prosecutors misrepresented statements by the Minnesota State Patrol's lead use-of-force trainer, by omitting that expert's conclusion that Londregan did nothing wrong.
Minnesota State Trooper Ryan Londregan's attorney Chris Madel is drowned out by protesters after a hearing for his client at the Hennepin County Government Center on Monday, April 29, 2024, in Minneapolis, Minn. Longdregan is charged with killing Ricky Cobb II during a during a traffic stop in the summer of 2023. (AP Photo/Mark Vancleace)
Minnesota State Trooper Ryan Londregan's attorney Chris Madel is drowned out by protesters after a hearing for his client at the Hennepin County Government Center on Monday, April 29, 2024, in Minneapolis, Minn. Longdregan is charged with killing Ricky Cobb II during a during a traffic stop in the summer of 2023. (AP Photo/Mark Vancleace)
Minnesota State Trooper Ryan Londregan's attorney Chris Madel is drowned out by protesters after a hearing for his client at the Hennepin County Government Center on Monday, April 29, 2024, in Minneapolis, Minn. Longdregan is charged with killing Ricky Cobb II during a during a traffic stop in the summer of 2023. (AP Photo/Mark Vancleace)
NEW YORK (AP) — The Dow Jones Industrial Average topped the 40,000 level for the first time Thursday, as U.S. stocks drifted higher to add to their records set a day before.
The Dow was up 115 points, or 0.3%, at 40,023, in midday trading. It made its last leap of 10,000 points in about three and a half years, as the U.S. economy and corporate profits crawled out of the crash caused COVID-19 and continued to hold up so far despite the worst inflation in decades and the punishing effect of high interest rates.
The S&P 500 index, which is much more widely followed on Wall Street and dictates the performance of many more 401(k) accounts than the Dow, was 0.3% higher, as of 11:10 a.m. Eastern time. The Nasdaq composite was also up 0.3%. All three indexes had rallied on Wednesday.
Walmart rose 5.9% after reporting stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. It also said its revenue for the year could top the forecasted range it had earlier given. That could be an encouraging signal for the broader economy, as worries have risen about whether U.S. households can keep up with still-high inflation and more expensive credit-card payments.
Target, which reports its quarterly results next week, was also rising, along with other retailers like Dollar General and Dollar Tree. All added at least 2%.
Chubb climbed 3.6% after Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway disclosed it had built an ownership stake in the insurer.
Stronger-than-expected profit reports have been one of the main reasons U.S. stock indexes jumped through May to records following their tough April. Another has been revived hopes that the Federal Reserve will be able to cut its main interest rate at least once or twice this year.
A string of worse-than-expected reports on inflation at the start of the year had put the potential for such cuts in jeopardy, but some more encouraging data has since arrived.
Treasury yields have eased in May as hopes rose that the economy could hit the hoped-for sweet spot, where it cools enough to stifle high inflation but not so much that it causes a bad recession. Yields were holding relatively steady Thursday following some mixed data on the economy.
One report showed slightly more workers applied for unemployment benefits last week than economists expected, though the number remains low compared with history. Others said homebuilders broke ground on fewer projects last month than expected, manufacturing growth in the mid-Atlantic region was weaker than hoped and import prices rose more than forecast.
“Today’s numbers were in line with the overall theme of the week—nothing dramatic, but showing signs of a steady-to-cooling economy,” said Chris Larkin, managing director, trading and investing, at E-Trade from Morgan Stanley.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury was holding steady at 4.35%. The two-year yield, which moves more closely with expectations for action by the Fed, rose to 4.77% from 4.72% late Wednesday.
On the losing end of Wall Street, Deere fell 2.8% despite reporting stronger profit for its latest quarter than expected. It cut its forecast for profit over the full fiscal year below analysts’ estimates, as farmers buy fewer tractors and other equipment.
Homebuilders fell following the weaker-than-expected report on housing starts. They gave back some of their big gains the day before, when hopes for lower mortgage rates had sent them sharply higher. Lennar fell 2.4%, and D.R. Horton slipped 2.2%.
GameStop and AMC Entertainment were also sliding for a second straight day, pulling back further from their jaw-dropping starts to the week. They’ve been moving more on excitement drummed up by investors than any changes to their financial prospects.
GameStop fell 23.5%, though it’s still up nearly 73% for the week so far. AMC Entertainment lost 13.7%.
Under Armour swung from an early loss to a slight gain after it warned that its revenue will be likely down by “a low double-digit percentage rate” this upcoming fiscal year, citing weaker demand from wholesalers and “inconsistent execution across our business.” The company announced a restructuring plan to cut costs and also announced a program to buy back up to $500 million of its stock. It was up 2.1%.
In stock markets abroad, indexes were modestly lower in much of Europe after mostly rising in Asia. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 1.6% after reopening following a holiday, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.4%.
AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.
FILE - An entrance to the New York Stock Exchange is shown on May 8, 2024, in New York. Shares opened lower in Europe on Thursday, May 16, 2024, after most Asian benchmarks gained, tracking a Wall Street rally driven by hopes that inflation is heading back in the right direction. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)
A person passes an entrance to the Wall Street subway station in New York on Wednesday, May 15, 2024. Trading on Wall Street is muted early ahead of the U.S. government's latest reports on inflation and retail sales. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)
A currency trader passes by the screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, May 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Banners for Pinterest, displayed to mark the fifth anniversary of the company's listing, hang on the front of the New York Stock Exchange in New York on Wednesday, May 15, 2024. U.S. stocks are rising toward records with hope that inflation is heading back in the right direction. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)
A currency trader passes by the screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, May 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Currency traders work near the screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, May 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
