Minkler resigning as top prosecutor for Southern District

The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, Josh Minkler, announced Wednesday that he is resigning and plans to take a job with a private law firm in the Indianapolis area, his office said in a statement.

Minkler said in a statement that he will step down as U.S. Attorney on Saturday, after which First Assistant U.S. Attorney John Childress will become the Southern District acting U.S. attorney. A spokesman for the office said he was not authorized to discuss where Minkler will work.

Minkler, a Muncie native, has been a federal prosecutor with the Southern District, which covers roughly the southern two-thirds of the state, for more than 26 years beginning in 1994.

He was appointed by President Donald Trump to the U.S. Attorney post in 2017 and was sworn in on Oct. 10, 2017, after being unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate. He had previously been the interim U.S. attorney based in Indianapolis since June 2015.

U.S. Sen. Todd Young, R-Indiana, said Minkler has had an “outstanding career in public service.”

“Josh Minkler has earned praise from people of all political persuasions who are working to keep our cities and our state safe,” Young said in a statement.

“Josh Minkler has served Indiana well for more than two decades — first as an Assistant United States Attorney, then as my First Assistant and, most recently, as the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana,” said Mayor Joe Hogsett. “He is a man of integrity and ethics, proving time and time again that his commitment to our community was paramount in his decision-making and leadership. I want to thank him for his service and wish him well in this next chapter of his career.”

“Josh Minkler is a devoted public servant who has served the country and the citizens of the Southern District of Indiana with distinction,” said Attorney General William Barr. “I thank him for his service, leadership and integrity and wish him the best in his future endeavors.”