Keith Ellison recommended exoneration. A rogue sheriff intervened. Now Tim Walz can solve it.

Two months ago, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison moved to undo an apparent injustice perpetrated long ago against a Native American man named Brian Pippitt. After a comprehensive investigation of his 2001 conviction identified serious problems with the prosecution’s case, Ellison’s office called for Pippitt’s exoneration.

Yet the rural county prosecutor’s office that sent Pippitt to prison is now fighting to keep him there. The local sheriff in Aitkin County (pop. 16,500), Daniel Guida—who has earned national attention in recent years with his aggressive crackdown on Water Protectors protesting an oil pipeline—has similarly objected, saying he needs to conduct yet another investigation.

As a result, despite the AG’s strong recommendation to exonerate him, Pippitt, now 62, remains indefinitely behind bars.

There is one man, however, who could end the saga quickly: Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. Attorneys for Pippitt tell Drop Site they are asking Walz to use his authority as governor to remove the case from the county prosecutor and hand it over to the attorney general’s office.