By STEVE KARNOWSKI and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER, Related Press
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Federal prosecutors served six grand jury subpoenas Tuesday to Minnesota officers as a part of an investigation into whether or not they obstructed or impeded federal regulation enforcement throughout a sweeping immigration operation in Minneapolis-St. Paul space, an individual accustomed to the matter stated.
The subpoenas, which search information, had been despatched to the workplaces of Gov. Tim Walz, Legal professional Normal Keith Ellison, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her and officers in Ramsey and Hennepin counties, the particular person stated.
The particular person was not approved to publicly talk about an ongoing investigation and spoke to The Related Press on situation of anonymity.
The subpoenas are associated to an investigation into whether or not Minnesota officers obstructed federal immigration enforcement via public statements they made, two folks accustomed to the matter stated on Friday. They stated then it was targeted on the potential violation of a conspiracy statute.
Folks arrive for an MLK rally on, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026 in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photograph/Angelina Katsanis)
A protester writes professional BLM and Anti-ICE rhetoric on the window of her automotive throughout an ICE protest and celebration of MLK day, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026 in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photograph/Angelina Katsanis)
ICE brokers make use of the services at a fuel station, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photograph/Yuki Iwamura)
Present Caption
1 of three
Folks arrive for an MLK rally on, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026 in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photograph/Angelina Katsanis)
Increase
Walz and Frey have known as the probe a bullying tactic meant to threaten political opposition.
Frey on Friday described the investigation as an try to intimidate him for “standing up for Minneapolis, our local law enforcement, and our residents against the chaos and danger this Administration has brought to our streets.”
The subpoenas got here because the Trump administration urged a decide to reject efforts by Minnesota and its largest cities to cease the immigration enforcement surge that has roiled Minneapolis and St. Paul for weeks.
The Justice Division known as the lawsuit, filed quickly after the deadly capturing of Renee Good by an immigration officer, “legally frivolous.” Legal professionals argued that the Division of Homeland Safety is appearing inside its authorized powers to implement immigration legal guidelines.
Operation Metro Surge has made the state safer with the arrests of greater than 3,000 individuals who had been within the nation illegally, the federal government stated Monday in a court docket submitting.
“Put simply, Minnesota wants a veto over federal law enforcement,” Justice Division attorneys wrote.
Minnesota Legal professional Normal Keith Ellison stated the federal government is violating free speech and different constitutional rights with its unprecedented sweeps. He described the armed officers as poorly educated and stated the “invasion” should stop.
The lawsuit filed Jan. 12 seeks an order to halt or restrict the enforcement motion. Extra filings are anticipated, and it’s not recognized when U.S. District Decide Katherine Menendez will decide.
Ilan Wurman, who teaches constitutional regulation at College of Minnesota Regulation College, doubts the state’s arguments might be profitable.
“There’s no question that federal law is supreme over state law, that immigration enforcement is within the power of the federal government, and the president, within statutory bounds, can allocate more federal enforcement resources to states who’ve been less cooperative in that enforcement space than other states have been,” Wurman advised The Related Press.
Julia Decker, coverage director on the Immigrant Regulation Middle of Minnesota, expressed frustration that advocates don’t have any approach of figuring out whether or not the federal government’s arrest numbers and descriptions of the folks in custody are correct. U.S. residents have been dragged from their properties and autos in the course of the Minnesota surge.
“These are real people we’re talking about, that we potentially have no idea what is happening to them,” Decker stated.
In a separate lawsuit, Menendez stated Friday that federal officers can’t detain or tear fuel peaceable protesters who aren’t obstructing authorities.
Good, 37, was killed on Jan. 7 as she was transferring her car, which had been blocking a Minneapolis road the place Immigration and Clients Enforcement officers had been working. Trump administration officers say the officer, Jonathan Ross, shot her in self-defense, though movies of the encounter present the Honda Pilot slowly turning away from him.
Since then, the general public has repeatedly confronted officers, blowing whistles and yelling insults at ICE and U.S. Border Patrol. They, in flip, have used tear fuel and chemical irritants in opposition to protesters. Bystanders have recorded video of officers utilizing a battering ram to get right into a home in addition to smashing car home windows and dragging folks out of automobiles.
Police within the area, in the meantime, stated off-duty regulation enforcement officers have been racially profiled by federal officers and stopped with out trigger. Brooklyn Park police Chief Mark Bruley stated he has obtained complaints from residents who’re U.S. residents, together with his personal officers.
He stated he believes the stops have been performed a “small group of individuals,” and never all brokers within the space.
President Donald Trump final week threatened to invoke an 1807 regulation and ship troops to Minnesota, although he has backed off, at the least in his public remarks.
Richer reported from Washington, D.C. Related Press reporter Sarah Raza in Minneapolis contributed.
