A former Obama administration spokesman was fired from his job as Minneapolis’s top communications officer after being accused of stealing money from colleagues and making fraudulent charges at local tobacco shops.
Adam Fetcher, an administration spokesman during former President Barack Obama’s first term and his 2012 reelection campaign, became the city’s first chief communications officer in July 2025. Earlier this year, he took a nine-week leave for treatment for a substance abuse disorder, before returning in mid-April, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Following his return, Fetcher allegedly stole cash, debit, and credit cards from three fellow city employees’ desks and purses and racked up hundreds of dollars in fraudulent charges at a tobacco store, including for Kratom, which is commonly used to treat opioid withdrawal symptoms.
The case file against Fetcher has been submitted to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office for possible criminal charges. A spokesman for County Attorney Mary Moriarty confirmed to the Washington Examiner that the case “has been submitted for charging consideration and is currently under review.”
City operations officer Margaret Anderson Kelliher fired Fetcher on July 1, amid a pending criminal case that could qualify as a felony-level offense, in which the communications officer was accused of stealing a card from a fellow city employee in June and making a $481 purchase at Minneapolis Tobacco & Vapor, according to the outlet.
Store manager Hamza Zamara confirmed that staff helped police identify Fetcher when a woman called the store saying that someone had made a transaction there without her permission. When Fetcher returned to the shop, employees took pictures and confronted him before providing his vehicle’s license plate number to police, according to the report.
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“We told him, ‘Hey, we know what you’re doing,” Zamara said.
The Washington Examiner reached out to the city of Minneapolis and the police department for comment.