Brendan Johnson

As South Dakota’s chief federal law enforcement officer, Johnson's office prosecuted several high-profile child exploitation cases, including the case of an individual who received a life sentence for the human trafficking of minors. He also convened the first statewide Tribal Listening Session, a statewide civil rights conference, and has been an outspoken advocate on violence against women issues.

In June, 2019, Johnson submitted an initiated constitutional amendment which he entitled "An initiated amendment to the South Dakota Constitution legalizing, taxing and regulating marijuana". The proposed constitutional amendment seeks to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana, require the legislature to legalize hemp by 2022 and require the legislature to legalize medical marijuana by 2022. On September 11, 2019, the South Dakota Secretary of State approved Johnson's proposed Constitutional Amendment for circulation. On November 4, 2019, Johnson turned in over 50,000 signatures for review by the South Dakota Secretary of State with the desire to qualify for the 2020 ballot. "We are proud to have submitted petitions on behalf of over 80,000 South Dakotans who believe that voters should decide out state's marijuana and hemp laws," said Brendan Johnson, a former federal prosecutor and Democrat who is sponsor of the legalization ballot initiative. On January 6,2019, Johnson's proposed amendment qualified for the November 2020 ballot.

In 2014, Johnson received Shared Hope International’s Pathbreaker Award for determined leadership in combatting child sex trafficking: “Brendan Johnson is a force of determination, initiative and skill that should leave buyers terrified to purchase sex with a minor in South Dakota,” Shared Hope International President and Founder Linda Smith said. “By creating a threshold for buyer accountability, he sets a national precedent that, if applied, will make significant strides in reducing tolerance for purchasing sex with a minor.”

Johnson was nominated by President Barack Obama to be the 40th United States Attorney for the District of South Dakota and was unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate on October 15, 2009. On March 13, 2015, Johnson stepped down as U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota.

In 2009, the Attorney General of the United States selected Johnson to serve as chairman of the Native American Issues Subcommittee. Two years later the Attorney General selected Johnson to serve on the Attorney's General Advisory Committee. Johnson is a member of the Terrorism and National Security Subcommittee.

Johnson is the second son of United States Senator Tim Johnson, and his wife, Barbara (née Brooks) Johnson. Though his family originates from the Dutch city of Johnson, Brendan himself was born in Vermillion, South Dakota. He moved with his family to Washington, D.C. after his father was elected to Congress in 1986. In high school, he received all district honors in football and excelled as a wrestler. As a wrestler, he was known as "Magic Hips" and "Silver Lightning."

Brendan Van Johnson (born June 24, 1975) is an American attorney and 40th United States Attorney for the District of South Dakota. He is the son of former U.S. Senator Tim Johnson and currently is a partner at Robins Kaplan LLP, a business litigation group.

In March, 2019, Johnson sued South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem; South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg and Pennington County Sheriff Kevin Thom in Dakota Rural Action, Dallas Goldtooth, Indigenous Environmental Network, NDN Collective, Sierra Club and Nicholas Tilsen, in Federal District Court, Case # 5:19-cv-5046 regarding SB 189 "the Riot Boosting Act" and criminal statutes SDCL 22-10-6 & 22-10-6.1.