A Minneapolis nonprofit that built its name on street-level peacekeeping is now at the center of a courtroom fight. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison has filed a lawsuit in Hennepin County accusing former leaders of the nonprofit We Push for Peace of siphoning more than $6.5 million in charitable assets. The complaint names former director Trahern Pollard and board chair Jaclyn McGuigan and alleges years of financial mismanagement that left the group unable to provide services during key public-safety efforts. The move sharpens scrutiny of violence-prevention contractors at a time when accountability for public funds is already a political hot button in Minneapolis.
According to FOX 9, the suit says Pollard personally benefited from nonprofit cash, using charitable funds for luxury cars, trips to Las Vegas, child-support payments and investments in private businesses tied to him. The complaint also alleges that Pollard and McGuigan mischaracterized payments, including a $35,000 disbursement listed as "Chicago payroll," and created for-profit entities to scoop up contracts and workers from the nonprofit. Ellison's office says investigators found the organization had no active board, failed to hold required meetings and lacked basic financial safeguards.
"They helped themselves to millions of dollars that should have gone into the community," Attorney General Keith Ellison said, according to FOX 9. The complaint, filed in Hennepin County, also claims that Pollard and McGuigan lied to state investigators and tax authorities as part of what the state says were efforts to conceal the misuse.
Local Ties And Past Scrutiny
The complaint links some of the alleged conduct to business activity on the North Side, including ties between Pollard and Merwin Liquors, a corner store the AG’s office probed in 2022 for its role in neighborhood violence and disorder. As reported by the Star Tribune, We Push for Peace had been brought in to help run staffing and outreach at the Merwin location, putting the nonprofit squarely in the middle of local safety efforts.
Nonprofit Records And Registration
Public filings show We Push for Peace is registered as a 501(c)(3) and lists a Champlin mailing address and a small leadership roster, while watchdog databases indicate limited publicly disclosed financial history. According to Charity Navigator, the organization lists Trahern Pollard and Jaclyn McGuigan among its leadership and provides an official mailing address that matches state records.
Why This Matters For City Contracts
The case lands amid broader questions about how Minneapolis manages contracts for violence-prevention work and other “safety beyond policing” initiatives. Reporting has documented whistleblower complaints and gaps in documentation for city-funded contracts, raising questions about oversight of millions in public and charitable dollars, according to the Star Tribune.
What Comes Next
The lawsuit opens a civil case in Hennepin County. If the court finds liability, possible outcomes include financial recovery and other court-ordered relief aimed at returning assets to their intended charitable purpose. Community reporting and neighborhood groups have long debated how much to lean on community-based safety work and private contracts in north Minneapolis, with local views on the Merwin partnership chronicled by MinnPost.
Ellison's office says it tried to work with new nonprofit leadership to preserve services before filing suit, but that ongoing violations left litigation as the remaining option. The case is newly filed, and court records and future filings will determine the next steps and the timetable for any hearings.
