The Department of Justice has long relied on a tested playbook for emergencies like the unrest in Minneapolis — one focused not only on containing disorder, but also on calming anger and distrust toward law enforcement.
That approach grew out of the civil rights era, when the department created the Community Relations Service, a team of federal specialists known informally as "America's peacemakers."
Historically, CRS could mobilize quickly to respond to a crisis like the one unfolding in Minneapolis after last week's fatal shooting of Renee Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent.
The office previously had a full-time staffer based in Minnesota and could rapidly deploy additional specialists from Chicago, St. Louis, Detroit, Indianapolis, and Madison, Wisconsin.
Now, as relations between federal agents and communities in Minneapolis, Portland, and other cities have deteriorated, the Justice Department is facing criticism for dismantling the very unit built to defuse flashpoints.
Several sources, including current and former DOJ employees, told CBS News that the Trump administration has shuttered CRS and has begun pushing out many of the roughly 60 employees who served there.
In a June 2025 report, the administration said: "The (community relations service) mission does not comport with Attorney General and Administration law enforcement and litigating priorities."
A 2026 budget request showed the department planned to cut CRS staffing from 56 employees to zero, estimating the move would save $24 million this year.
Julius Nam, a former Justice Department prosecutor and CRS specialist, said the service mattered because it was perceived as "neutral" and "impartial."
"That is so important in these situations, in which there is deep distrust of law enforcement by protesters and community groups," Nam told CBS.
CRS specialists, known as "conciliators," typically convene forums, meetings, and dialogues aimed at easing tensions and preventing unrest, protests, and hate crimes.
From 2021 through 2024, the office conducted more than a dozen formal mediations and ran more than 100 training programs.
An agency report reviewed by CBS said CRS' response during the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin after the death of George Floyd was its largest deployment in 2021.
"The Community Relations Service deployed twice to Minneapolis during the trial and sentencing of Derek Chauvin," the report said. "Despite the challenges of social distancing, CRS conciliators worked for months to build relationships with the community, facilitate dialogues, and lead trainings."
Former CRS official Bert Brandenburg warned of consequences.
"When we sideline peacemakers, we all pay the price. Minnesota is not the first and not the last city where you'd want peacemakers on the streets," he told CBS.
Nearly a dozen civil rights groups filed a lawsuit in Massachusetts seeking to block CRS' dismantling, arguing the cuts disrupted ongoing work, including "mediation among community groups and law enforcement over a race-related policing incident."
The groups said "CRS abruptly [withdrew] from the process, leaving them without a mediator or any final agreement among the parties."
Newsmax reached out to the DOJ for comment but did not receive an immediate response.
Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.