The Trump administration has opened a criminal investigation against Democratic elected officials in Minnesota, according to a senior law enforcement official familiar with the matter, a major escalation in the fight between federal government and local officials over the city’s ongoing aggressive immigration crackdown.
The investigation would focus on allegations that Gov. Tim Walz and Jacob Frey, the mayor of Minneapolis, conspired to prevent the thousands of federal agents sent to the city since last month. Last week, one of those officers killed a 37-year-old woman, Renee Good.
It remains unclear what investigative steps were taken. The top law enforcement official said subpoenas have not yet been issued, but could be in the coming days. Mr. Walz and Mr. Frey responded Friday evening with combative statements, denouncing what they called a militarized use of law enforcement power and vowing to stand firm in the face of the administration’s efforts.
“Weaponizing the justice system and threatening political opponents is a dangerous and authoritarian tactic,” Mr. Walz said in a statement released by his office, which said it had not yet been informed of an investigation. “The only person not under investigation for the shooting of Renee Good is the federal agent who shot her.”
Mr Frey described the investigation as an “obvious attempt to intimidate him” but vowed it would not work.
“America depends on leaders who use integrity and the rule of law as the guiding principles of governance,” he said. “Neither our city nor our country will succumb to this fear. We remain strong as a rock.”
The shooting of Ms. Good, an unarmed mother of three, sparked sustained protests against officers in Minneapolis. Mr. Frey, immediately after Ms. Good’s death, used an expletive to demand that the officers leave town. Mr. Walz also sharply criticized the agents’ behavior.
Justice Department leaders, in turn, have vowed to arrest anyone who obstructs federal agents, and the new investigation aims to determine whether top state Democrats conspired to obstruct law enforcement.
News of the investigation, reported earlier by CBS News, came just two days after Todd Blanche, the deputy attorney general, posted an inflammatory message on social media, accusing Mr. Walz and Mr. Frey of “encouraging violence against law enforcement” and calling their actions “terrorism.”
While the governor and mayor have criticized agents involved in the immigration crackdown and have at times urged local residents to document their actions, there is no public evidence that either man explicitly encouraged violence — much less engaged in acts of terrorism. Both urged protesters to remain peaceful.
Yet growing public protests in Minneapolis have angered President Trump, who has threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act and send the military to the city. In a social media post Thursday, Mr. Trump called the Minnesota protesters “professional agitators” but offered no evidence to support his claims against those who, by most accounts, are ordinary citizens.
On Friday, however, Mr. Trump appeared to back down from his threat.
“I don’t think I need it right now,” he told reporters, referring to the Insurrection Act.
The same day, a federal judge in Minneapolis issued an order imposing several restrictions on how federal agents can handle people protesting the crackdown. Hours earlier, Keith Ellison, Minnesota’s attorney general, told the judge, Kate M. Menendez, that Mr. Trump’s promise to use the Insurrection Act was “unwarranted.” But Mr Ellison also said it was an “immediate and pressing threat”.
All this unfolded as Mr. Blanche and Kash Patel, the FBI director, traveled to Minneapolis to lead the federal law enforcement response. Mr Patel has pledged to crack down on all violent rioters and investigate what he calls the “financing networks” that support these people.
On Friday evening, Mr. Blanche posted a message on social media, saying he had met with officials from the U.S. attorney’s office in Minneapolis and visited with some immigration officials.
“We support those who carry out their lawful duties to protect public safety and will pursue anyone who attacks or obstructs them,” Mr. Blanche wrote, appearing to allude to the investigation. “We will provide ALL resources necessary to support immigration enforcement, charge anyone who obstructs or assaults federal agents, and combat widespread fraud in Minnesota.”
Federal officials have already signaled that they are unlikely to bring criminal charges against Jonathan Ross, the officer who killed Ms. Good. At the same time, authorities said law enforcement would most likely investigate Ms. Good’s partner, Becca Good, and any possible ties the women may have had to local activists.
The move prompted at least six federal prosecutors to resign this week from the U.S. attorney’s office in Minneapolis.
Tyler Pager reports contributed.
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