Drew Howard Wrigley (born October 10, 1965) is an American attorney, lawyer, and politician from North Dakota.

Weeks later, then-incumbent Wayne Stenehjem died unexpectedly, and Governor Doug Burgum appointed Wrigley to serve the final year of that term.

Wrigley previously served as the United States Attorney for the District of North Dakota from 2001 to 2009 and again from 2019 to 2021, appointed by President George W. Bush and Donald Trump, respectively.

Wrigley was the deputy chief of staff to then-Governor John Hoeven prior to serving in elected office.

[2] In 2001, President George W. Bush appointed Wrigley to be the United States District Attorney for North Dakota.

Capital punishment was abolished in the state of North Dakota in 1973, but because the crime involved crossing state lines, the trial fell under jurisdiction of the federal government, leaving the decision about whether or not to seek the death penalty up to Wrigley, who chose to request the death penalty.

[citation needed] He personally handled the case and successfully prosecuted Alfonso Rodriguez, a repeat sex offender from Crookston, Minnesota, for the kidnap, rape, and murder of Sjodin (he was sentenced to death on September 22, 2006).

[citation needed] A February 9, 2007, article in the New York Times stated that according to a transcript of the court proceedings, Judge Ralph R. Erickson, who imposed the sentence, said "This is the first time since 1914 that any judge has been confronted with a death penalty sentence in North Dakota or Minnesota...Mr. Rodriguez's senseless and horrendous" act forced an uncomfortable discussion of capital punishment to the forefront.

On August 16, 2018, President Donald Trump announced his intent to nominate Wrigley to be the U.S. Attorney for the District of North Dakota.

[9] On February 8, 2021, the Biden administration directed the United States Attorneys were to resign their posts, as is routine during a presidential transition.

[16][17][18][19] Later in the year, Wrigley reported that the state crime lab had completed the backlog of sexual assault examination kits in October.

[20][21] In the aftermath of the indictment of Ray Holmberg, Wrigley shared information that involved his predecessor, Wayne Stenehjem, not “saving himself” from the case.