The U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) has launched a criminal investigation into Minnesota lawmakers, including Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, over a suspected conspiracy to obstruct immigration officials, an anonymous U.S. official familiar with the investigation confirmed.
The DOJ has prepared subpoenas for Walz and Frey as part of the investigation, but whether they had been served was not confirmed, according to the anonymous source.
Following the announcement, Mayor Frey wrote in a post on X: "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. I will not be intimidated."
"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. The only person not being investigated for the shooting of Renee Good is the federal agent who shot her." Governor Walz additionally said on X, subliminally addressing the report while expressing that the federal justice system is being weaponized to intimidate President Donald Trump’s political foes.
The U.S. official explained that the probe originates from the various statements made by both the mayor and governor commenting on the deployment of thousands of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and Border Patrol officers to Minneapolis within recent weeks at the order of President Trump.
Upon announcement of the investigation, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi shared a message on X that appeared to warn Minnesota officials.
“A reminder to all those in Minnesota; No one is above the law,” said Bondi.
The DOJ has yet to comment on the inquiry.
Since Jan. 4, the Trump administration has deployed nearly 3,000 federal agents to Minnesota, leading to several protests in Minneapolis over the increase in immigration crackdowns.
Tension between residents and agents has increased drastically following a fatal incident involving U.S. Citizen and activist, Renee Nicole Good, and an ICE agent on Jan. 7, sparking outrage across cities.
