The Department of Justice has issued criminal grand jury subpoenas to at least five top Democratic officials in Minnesota who are accused of obstructing a surge of federal law enforcement officers supporting Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign.
Federal investigators are targeting Governor Tim Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Mayor Kaohly Her of St. Paul, among others, marking a dramatic escalation of the Trump administration’s clash with Democratic officials who have criticized operations as a violent assault on the state and its residents.
The subpoenas also target top Minnesota prosecutors, including state Attorney General Keith Ellison and Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty.
The Justice Department appears to be investigating whether state and local officials conspired to impede federal officers from immigration enforcement.
Homeland Security has deployed hundreds of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection officers into the state, making more than 10,000 arrests in recent weeks, according to the agency. The surge is Homeland Security’s largest immigration enforcement operation yet, with officers accused of violently targeting immigrants and citizens alike and facing off against protesters in clashes throughout the Minneapolis area.
The president has repeatedly suggested he could deploy active-duty military against Americans after demonstrations against his agenda escalated in the wake of the killing of Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer earlier this month. The president has labeled protesters “professional agitators and insurrectionists” in a state run by “corrupt politicians” who are now accused of conspiring against the federal government.
Minnesota officials, meanwhile, have sued the administration to stop the surge, alleging the operation is a politically motivated and unconstitutional attack on the state.
Tuesday’s subpoenas appear related to the work in their offices, not in their personal capacity.
The subpoenas command officials to testify before a federal grand jury and provide extensive documents to prosecutors, including all records and communications regarding immigration enforcement and instructions about cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
The subpoenas also ask for all documents “relating to hindering, doxxing, identifying, or surveilling immigration officers.”
Walz said his state “will not be drawn into political theater.”
“This Justice Department investigation, sparked by calls for accountability in the face of violence, chaos, and the killing of Renee Good, does not seek justice,” he said in a statement on Tuesday. “It is a partisan distraction. Minnesotans are more concerned with safety and peace rather than with baseless legal tactics aimed at intimidating public servants standing shoulder to shoulder with their community.”
“When the federal government weaponizes its power to intimidate local leaders for doing their jobs, every American should be concerned,” Mayor Frey said in a statement.
“We shouldn’t live in a country where federal law enforcement is used to play politics or crack down on local voices they disagree with,” he added. “In Minneapolis, we won't be afraid. We know the difference between right and wrong and, as mayor, I'll continue doing the job I was elected to do: keeping our community safe and standing up for our values.”
Ellison said Trump is “weaponizing the justice system” against him and other officials, instead of seriously investigating” the killing of Renee Good.
“Everything about this is highly irregular, especially the fact that this comes shortly after my office sued the Trump Administration to challenge their illegal actions within Minnesota,” Ellison said in a statement. “Let's be clear about why this is happening: Donald Trump is coming after the people of Minnesota and I'm standing in his way. I will not be intimidated, and I will not stop working to protect Minnesotans from Trump's campaign of retaliation and revenge.”
The Twin Cities are home to roughly 80,000 people of Somali ancestry, the vast majority of whom are legal residents or American citizens. But the president — seizing on a series of fraud cases involving government programs where most of the defendants have roots in Somalia — is surging federal law enforcement officers and Justice Department resources into the state as part of his nationwide efforts to deport millions of people.
The Pentagon has prepared nearly 1,500 troops for possible deployment to the state as the president threatens to invoke the Insurrection Act to suppress protests against an aggressive immigration enforcement operation that has targeted immigrants and citizens alike.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem says 10,000 people have been arrested.
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