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

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Justice Department is investigating whether Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey obstructed enforcement of federal immigration laws through public statements they made, according to two people familiar with the matter.

The investigation focused on a possible violation of the conspiracy statute, the people said.

He watches: Minnesota state leaders call for calm as protests escalate and Trump intensifies his threats

The people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the pending investigation by name.

CBS News was first to report the investigation.

In response to the investigative reports, Walz said in a statement: “Two days ago it was Elissa Slotkin. Last week it was Jerome Powell. And before that, Mark Kelly. Weaponizing the justice system and threatening political opponents is a dangerous and tyrannical tactic.”

Walz’s office said it had not received any notice of an investigation.

“This is a clear attempt to intimidate me into standing with Minneapolis, our local law enforcement, and our residents against the chaos and danger this administration has brought to our streets,” Frey said in a statement. “I will not be afraid. My focus will remain where it has always been: keeping our city safe.”

The investigation comes during a weeks-long immigration crackdown in Minneapolis and St. Paul, which the Department of Homeland Security described as its largest enforcement operation, resulting in the arrests of more than 2,500 people.

The process has become more confrontational since the shooting death of Rene Judd on January 7. State and local officials have repeatedly asked protesters to remain peaceful.

The state calls for peaceful protests

Meanwhile, state authorities had a message for any weekend protests against the Trump administration’s unprecedented immigration crackdown in the Twin Cities: Avoid confrontation.

“While peaceful expression is protected, any actions that harm people, destroy property or endanger public safety will not be tolerated,” said Commissioner Bob Jacobson of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety.

His comments came after President Donald Trump backed away slightly from his threat a day earlier to invoke 1807, the Insurrection Act, to send in troops to quell demonstrations.

“I don’t think there’s any reason now to use it, but if I need it, I’ll use it,” Trump told reporters outside the White House.

Arrest strike

A Liberian man who had been moved in and out of custody since immigration agents smashed down his door with a battering ram was released again on Friday, hours after a routine check-in with authorities led to his second arrest.

The sensational initial arrest of Garrison Gibson last weekend was caught on video. U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Bryan on Thursday ruled the arrest unlawful and released him, but Gibson was arrested again on Friday when he appeared at an immigration office.

A few hours later, Gibson was released again, attorney Mark Prokosch said.

“In my client’s words, he said someone at ICE said they released him this afternoon and so he’s out of custody,” Prokosch said, referring to ICE.

Gibson, 37, who fled civil war in his homeland in West Africa as a child, was ordered removed from the United States, apparently because of a 2008 drug conviction that was later dismissed. Prokosch said he remained in the country legally under what is known as a supervision order, and complied with a requirement to meet regularly with immigration authorities.

In his order issued Thursday, the judge agreed that officials violated regulations by not giving Gibson adequate notice that his supervision status was being revoked. Prokosch said ICE told him they are “now going through their proper channels” to rescind the order.

Urging Native Americans to carry identification cards

Meanwhile, tribal leaders and Native American rights organizations advise anyone with a tribal ID card to carry it with them when out in public in case U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers contact them.

Native Americans across the United States have reported being stopped or detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and tribal leaders are asking their members to report these contacts.

Ben Barnes, chief of the Shawnee Tribe in Oklahoma and head of the Oklahoma Indian Nations, called the reports “deeply disturbing.”

Organizers in Minneapolis set up application kiosks in the city to help people who need a tribal ID card.

Democratic members of Congress held a local meeting on Friday to hear from people who say they have had aggressive encounters with immigration agents. St. Paul Mayor Kawhle Herr, who is Hmong American, said people are walking around with their passports in case they are challenged, and she has received reports of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents going door to door “asking where Asian people live.” Thousands of Hmong people, most of them from the Southeast Asian country of Laos, have settled in the United States since the 1970s.

911 caller: Jed was shot ‘at close range’

Minneapolis authorities released police and fire records and transcripts of 911 calls, all related to Judd’s fatal shooting. Firefighters found what appeared to be two gunshot wounds on her right chest, one on her left forearm, and a possible gunshot wound on the left side of her head, records show.

One caller said: “They shot her because she did not open her car door.” “From a close range in her car.”

Judd, 37, was driving her Honda Pilot, which was partially blocking the street. A video clip showed an officer approaching the SUV, demanding that she open the door and hold the handle.

Jed started moving forward and turned the car’s wheel to the right. Another ICE officer, Jonathan Ross, pulled his gun and fired at close range, then jumped back as the SUV drove past him. DHS claims the agent shot Jade in self-defense.

FBI car accident arrest

At least one person has been arrested for stealing property from an FBI vehicle in Minneapolis, FBI Director Kash Patel said. The four-wheel drive vehicle was among the government vehicles whose windows were shattered on Wednesday evening. Prosecutor Pam Bondi said body armor and weapons were stolen.

The destruction occurred when agents were responding to gunfire while detaining migrants. Trump later said on social media that he would invoke the Insurrection Act if Minnesota officials did not stop the “professional agitators and insurrectionists” there.

Minnesota’s attorney general responded by saying he would prosecute if the president acted.

Richer and Tucker reported from Washington. Associated Press reporters Steve Karnovsky in Minneapolis; Ed White and Corey Williams in Detroit; Graham Lee Brewer in Oklahoma City; Jesse Bedaine in Denver; Audrey McAvoy in Honolulu; Haley Golden in Seattle; Ben Finley in Washington contributed.