When you’re even losing the prosecutors…

At least six career prosecutors in the Minneapolis U.S. Attorney’s office — including Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson — have resigned as the office continues to face pressure to treat the investigation of the fatal shooting of a Minneapolis woman by an ICE officer as an assault on a federal officer case.

Thompson also previously served as the acting U.S. attorney for Minnesota; he was appointed by President Trump in June and served in the position until October. He resigned from the attorney’s office along with Harry Jacobs, Melinda Williams, Thomas Calhoun-Lopez, Ruth Schneider and Tom Hollenhurst.

Two sources familiar with the matter tell CBS News the resignations stemmed from concern over a request to probe Good’s widow — who was with her when they encountered the ICE agents — as well as the way that the case is being treated as an assault on a federal officer as opposed to a civil rights case. 

Missing from photo: any sign of an assault on a federal officer.

Doug Kelley, a former assistant U.S. attorney for Minnesota, says the move is a major blow to the credibility of the office moving forward.

“I’ve been practicing federal criminal law in this state for 51 years and this is the darkest day in 51 years as far as I can see for the rule of law in Minnesota,” Kelley said. “If they feel the need to resign because of orders they have gotten that will violate their consciences, to me it’s a great statement on their part that this is not tolerable by them.”

In other words, when you start to lose the prosecutors people are going to ask why.