DOJ Drops Federal Charges Against Officers Who Falsified Breonna Taylor Warrant

The Justice Department moved Friday to permanently dismiss the remaining federal charges against two former Louisville police officers accused of falsifying the warrant used in the 2020 raid that killed Breonna Taylor, a filing that drew immediate condemnation from civil-rights advocates on the sixth anniversary of her death.

The motion, filed March 20, asks a federal judge to dismiss all charges against former detectives Joshua Jaynes and Kyle Meany "with prejudice," a legal designation that would permanently bar prosecutors from reviving the case. A judge had not ruled on the motion as of Friday.

Federal prosecutors had accused Jaynes of drafting a warrant affidavit based on "affirmative lies and lies by omission," and Meany of signing off on that affidavit despite knowing it was false. Both men were charged with aiding and abetting the deprivation of Taylor's Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures. Taylor was shot and killed when officers broke down her apartment door while serving a no-knock warrant in search of a former boyfriend who no longer lived there. Her boyfriend fired at the officers; police returned fire and Taylor was struck and killed.

The dismissal filing was signed by Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Robert Keenan, and Acting Criminal Chief Katie Neff. No career prosecutors from the division's criminal section signed the brief, a notable procedural departure that raises questions about the role of political appointees in the decision. The department said it had conducted "a further review of this matter" and framed the move as an effort to combat "weaponized federal overreach."

The case had already been substantially weakened by prior judicial rulings. Federal courts in 2023 and again in August 2025 struck the felony allegations against both officers, reducing them to misdemeanor color-of-law violations. In the August 2025 ruling, Judge Simpson said he was "seriously troubled by the claimed falsehoods" but concluded that federal authorities "cannot attribute Taylor's death to the lack of a warrant supported by probable cause." He wrote that the shooting "is a case of legal, lethal and tragic crossfire that was not initiated by police."

Michael Denbow, an attorney for Meany, welcomed the development. "Kyle is incredibly grateful for today's filings. He is looking forward to putting this matter behind him and moving forward with his life," Denbow said. An attorney for Jaynes could not be immediately reached for comment.

Critics of the move were swift and unsparing. Kristen Clarke, who oversaw the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division under President Biden, called the filing unconscionable. "This move is indefensible, callous and unsupported by the facts and the law," she said. "Their attempt to dismiss this case is further evidence of this Justice Department's abdication of its duty and responsibility to evenhandedly enforce the law. The timing of it all is particularly heartless as communities continue to mark the 6 year anniversary of her tragic murder."

The Trump Justice Department's posture toward the Taylor case extends beyond this filing. Prosecutors have separately asked a court to release the only officer currently serving prison time in connection with Taylor's killing while he appeals his conviction.

Attorneys for Taylor's family could not be immediately reached for comment.