Former Obama Official Fired by Minneapolis After Alleged Workplace Thefts
Adam Fetcher, a former deputy press secretary in the Obama administration, was fired last week from his communications role with the city of Minneapolis amid allegations that he stole cash and credit cards from colleagues to buy kratom.
Fetcher, 42, had worked as a communications officer for the city for roughly a year before his termination on July 1. He was earning $186,000 annually. According to the Minnesota Star Tribune, the alleged thefts took place after he returned from a weeks-long, city-approved rehabilitation program.
Prosecutors with the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office have received the case from investigators and are reviewing it. Charges remain possible. Fox News Digital contacted both Fetcher’s attorney and the county attorney’s office for additional comment.
Surveillance footage and store records allegedly show Fetcher using a charge card taken from a city employee’s purse to make a $481 purchase at Minneapolis Tobacco & Vapor, a smoke shop less than a mile from his home. The store sells kratom, an herbal supplement sometimes used to ease opioid withdrawal symptoms that also carries a risk of dependence.
Store manager Hamza Zamara said employees assisted investigators after a woman reported an unauthorized charge on her card. When Fetcher allegedly returned to the shop, staff photographed him, followed him outside, and provided police with the license plate of the vehicle he was driving.
“We told him, ‘Hey, we know what you’re doing,’” Zamara said.
In an internal email announcing the firing, City Operations Officer Margaret Anderson Kelliher wrote that under Fetcher’s leadership the communications team had reorganized, become fully staffed, and was “well positioned to manage the City’s Communications needs.” The message contained no details about the reasons for his departure.
A separate memo obtained by the Star Tribune stated that multiple city employees had reported missing cash, debit cards, or credit cards, along with unauthorized charges, between mid-May and June. “I know this information may be concerning and troubling, and I want to assure you that the City takes this sort of report seriously and has acted accordingly,” Kelliher wrote. “Although we cannot provide additional details, we have no reason at this time to believe there is any ongoing risk of theft.”
Before joining the city, Fetcher served as deputy national press secretary in the Obama White House and later held senior communications roles at Patagonia, Rivian, and Lyft.
