Justice Department subpoenas Minnesota Governor Walz and other officials in obstruction investigation

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Federal prosecutors filed six grand jury subpoenas Tuesday for Minnesota officials as part of an investigation into whether they obstructed or impeded federal law enforcement during a sweeping immigration operation in Minneapolis-St. Paul area, said a person familiar with the matter.

The subpoenas, seeking the records, were sent to the offices of Gov. Tim Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, St. Paul Mayor Kawley Hare, and officials in Ramsey and Hennepin counties, the person said.

Read more: The Department of Justice is investigating Minnesota Governor Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Frey

The person was not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

The subpoenas relate to the investigation into whether Minnesota officials obstructed enforcement of federal immigration laws through public statements they made, two people familiar with the matter said Friday. They then said the matter focused on a possible violation of the conspiracy statute.

Mayor: Subpoenas are intended to create fear

Walz and Frey, both Democrats, called the investigation a bullying tactic aimed at suppressing political dissent. Frey’s office issued a subpoena, which requires a long list of records for the grand jury on February 3, including “cooperation or non-cooperation” with federal authorities and “any records tending to show a refusal to assist immigration officials.”

“We should not live in a country where people fear federal law enforcement will be used to play politics or suppress local voices they disagree with,” Frey said.

She, a Hmong immigrant and Democrat, also acknowledged the subpoena, saying she was “not bothered by these tactics.” The governor’s office referred reporters to a statement earlier Tuesday that said the Trump administration is not seeking justice, but merely creating a distraction.

The subpoenas came a day after the government urged a judge to reject efforts to halt a surge in immigration enforcement that has roiled Minneapolis and St. Paul for weeks.

The Justice Department called the state’s lawsuit filed shortly after Renee Judd was shot to death by an immigration officer “legally frivolous.”

“Simply put, Minnesota wants veto power over enforcement of federal law,” the government lawyers wrote.

Ellison said the government is violating freedom of expression and other constitutional rights. He described the armed officers as poorly trained and said the “invasion” must stop.

The lawsuit filed Jan. 12 seeks an order halting or limiting the enforcement proceedings. It is not known when US District Judge Katherine Menendez will make her decision.

Ilan Worman, who teaches constitutional law at the University of Minnesota Law School, doubts the state’s arguments will succeed.

“There is no question that federal law takes precedence over state law, that immigration enforcement is within the authority of the federal government, and the president can, within legal limits, allocate more federal enforcement resources to states that have been less cooperative in this area of ​​enforcement than other states,” Worman told the AP.

Arrests are difficult to track

More than 10,000 people in the United States were arrested illegally in Minnesota last year, including 3,000 “of some of the most dangerous criminals” in the past six weeks during Operation Metro Surge, said Greg Bovino of the US Border Patrol, who has led the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration in major cities.

He did not go into detail, although he highlighted the arrest of three people with criminal records from Laos, Guatemala and Honduras.

He watches: Border Patrol and ICE leaders hold a briefing on Minneapolis operations

“These are not technical violations,” Bovino said at a news conference. “As I mentioned, these are individuals responsible for serious damage.”

Julia Decker, policy director at the Minnesota Immigrant Law Center, expressed frustration that advocates have no way of knowing whether the arrest numbers released by the government and descriptions of people in detention are accurate.

“These are real people we’re talking about, and we probably have no idea what’s happening to them,” Decker said.

Bovino defends his “forces” as moral

Judd, 37, was killed on January 7 as she moved her car, which was blocking a Minneapolis street where ICE officers were working. Trump administration officials say the officer, Jonathan Ross, shot her in self-defense, though videos of the interview show the Honda Pilot slowly pulling away from him.

Since then, members of the public have repeatedly confronted officers, blowing whistles and directing insults at Immigration, Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol. They, in turn, used tear gas and irritating chemicals against the demonstrators. Bystanders recorded video of officers using a battering ram to enter a home, as well as smashing vehicle windows and pulling people from cars.

Bovino defended his “troops” and said their actions were “legal, moral and ethical.”

He told reporters: “What we see when people are arrested, as you say, a lot of times they are instigators and troublemakers, and now I call them anarchists,” not “ordinary citizens.”

Meanwhile, police in the area said off-duty law enforcement officers were racially profiled by federal officers and suspended without cause. Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Brolly said he had received complaints from US citizen residents, including his officers.

Richer reported from Washington. Associated Press reporters Ed White in Detroit; Sarah Reda and Jack Brock in Minneapolis; Rebecca Boone in Boise, Idaho, contributed.