In another example of county prosecutors offering leniency to certain criminals, it has been disclosed in court records that the gunman who killed three people at Michigan State University this week had a felony gun charge against him dropped in 2019. 

The shooter, Anthony McRae, killed three and critically wounded five before shooting himself. Three years ago, he was charged with carrying a concealed firearm without a license — a felony that carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a fine of $2,500.

Instead of prosecuting that crime, the Ingham County prosecutor dropped the charge, and Mr. McRae was convicted of possessing a loaded firearm in a vehicle, which is a misdemeanor. Michigan State is situated in Ingham County. 

Mr. McRae was sentenced to 18 months of probation, which he completed in 2021. 

In a statement to Fox News, the Ingham County prosecutor, John Dewane, defended his office’s actions.

“Even if he were convicted by a jury of the original charge, Anthony McRae would not have been recommended for a jail or prison sentence,” Mr. Dewane said. “The sentencing guideline score would have been the same if he had been convicted of either the original charge,” carrying a concealed weapon, “or the offense for which he was convicted,” carrying a firearm in a vehicle.

Mr. Dewane became Ingham County prosecutor last year after a high-profile resignation. His predecessor, Carol Siemon, was criticized by local law enforcement officials for her lenient sentencing guidelines for those convicted of violent crimes. She made the decision to step down halfway through her elected term. 

In 2020, Ms. Siemon recommended that a man accused of double homicide be charged with second-degree murder, which carries a sentence of 30 to 50 years. She said she does not support life without parole sentences. 

The county sheriff asked the state attorney general’s office to take over the case before a local judge rejected the plea deal. An Ingham County circuit judge, Rosemarie Aquilina, said Ms. Siemon was trying “to be creative to get around the judge and the Legislature, and quite frankly, the law.”

While serving as county prosecutor, Ms. Siemon participated in a European retreat with like-minded prosecutors, during which they discussed ways to reform the criminal justice system.

The retreat was funded, in part, by a Hungarian-American political activist and billionaire, George Soros. Mr. Soros has spent years investing in local district attorney and county prosecutor elections in order to elect “reform-minded” individuals, such as Philadelphia’s Larry Krasner, Baltimore’s Marilyn Mosby, and Manhattan’s Alvin Bragg, to name a few.

According to a report from the Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund, 20 percent of Americans live in counties where the top prosecutor was backed by Mr. Soros — which accounts for half of the nation’s 50 largest metro areas.