The Department of Justice is investigating Minnesota leaders including Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, alleging that they are conspiring to impede federal immigration agents due to their outspoken criticism of the deployment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection to the Twin Cities.
The investigation, first reported byCBS News on Friday, marks yet another escalation from the Trump administration following the January 6 launch of what the Department of Homeland Security claimed was its larger-ever immigration operation in the Minneapolis area and the killing the next day of legal observer Renee Nicole Good by ICE agent Jonathon Ross.
“Two days ago it was Elissa Slotkin. Last week it was Jerome Powell. Before that, Mark Kelly. Weaponizing the justice system against your opponents is an authoritarian tactic,” Walz wrote on social media in response to news of the investigation. “The only person not being investigated for the shooting of Renee Good is the federal agent who shot her.”
At the time of Good’s death, Walz said the violence was the “consequence of governance designed to generate fear, headlines, and conflict” and told President Donald Trump and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, “From here on, I have a very simple message: We do not need any further help from the federal government... you’ve done enough.”
Frey, meanwhile, responded to the shooting by telling ICE to “get the f--- out of Minneapolis!”
A source informedCNN that the Justice Department has issued subpoenas for both Walz and Frey, but neither leader’s office had received any communication from the DOJ as of Friday.
“This is an obvious attempt to intimidate me for standing up for Minneapolis, local law enforcement, and residents against the chaos and danger this administration has brought to our city,” Frey posted on social media Friday. “I will not be intimidated. My focus remains where it’s always been: keeping our city safe.”
Frey continued: “America depends on leaders that use integrity and the rule of law as the guideposts for governance. Neither our city nor our country will succumb to this fear. We stand rock solid.”
A US official told CBS News that the leaders were being investigated under 18 USC § 372, which says it is illegal for two or more people to conspire to stop federal agents from doing their jobs through “force, intimidation, or threats.” However, this statute has not historically been used against people using their First Amendment right to criticize federal operations.
Former federal prosecutor Harry Litman called the investigation “total garbage” and “a complete and utter non-starter.”
He added that the statute DOJ was invoking “requires force, intimidation, or threats,” and that “there’s no way they could prove that, but even more… the First Amendment prevents any kind of action unless it is imminent and lawless.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi, however, seemed to celebrate the investigation on social media, writing, “A reminder to all those in Minnesota: No one is above the law.”
Several Democratic politicians joined Walz and Frey in speaking out against the investigation on social media, including several from Minnesota.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) called the investigation “an assault on our democracy and the rule of law.”
“Speaking out against what our government is doing is not a crime in America—not now, not ever,” she continued.
Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Minn.) wrote, “America deserves justice, not President Trump’s use of DOJ as a weapon against his perceived enemies. I stand with Gov. Walz.”
Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.) said that the investigation was “even more proof that this has never been about making Minnesota safer. It has always been about political retribution for President Trump and his allies.”
Beyond Minnesota, California Gov. Gavin Newsomwrote: “Donald Trump’s corrupted DOJ will stop at nothing—including ridiculous theories unsupported by facts—in pursuing his revenge agenda. No one is safe from his abuse of power. It’s sick.”
“This is 100% political retaliation and an implicit threat to all of us standing up for the Constitution,” posted Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-Va.) “I won’t be bullied and neither will the American people.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) pointed to other times that Trump’s DOJ had gone after his political opponents: “First it was Tish James and James Comey. Now it’s Senators, Governors, and the Fed Chair. In Donald Trump’s America you get a bogus investigation for doing your job. Americans reject this kind of totalitarian bullying. Where are Republicans? Hiding.”
Sens. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) both redirected attention to the killing of Renee Good.
“Instead of investigating the death of Renee Good, Trump wants to investigate Governor Walz and Mayor Frey. Despicable. This is a clear weaponization of justice against Trump’s political rivals and a desperate attempt to distract from ICE’s growing brutality and Trump’s lawlessness,” Van Hollen wrote on Friday.
In a follow-up post on Saturday, he continued: “Opening fraudulent investigations into Governor Walz and Mayor Frey is a textbook example of prosecutorial misconduct. Judges must start imposing sanctions and holding lawyers accountable. To every federal official participating in these shams: One day you will be held accountable.”
Sen. Warren wrote: “Instead of seeking justice for Renee Good, Donald Trump is weaponizing the Justice Department to investigate and intimidate Democratic leaders in Minnesota. We will not stand by silently and be bullied into submission.”