Minnesota officials subpoenaed in immigration obstruction investigation

The U.S. Department of Justice has subpoenaed Democratic officials in Minnesota, alleging they conspired to block federal immigration agents from traveling to the state.

The offices of Gov. Tim Walz, state Attorney General Keith Ellison and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey were among those receiving legal summons as U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi traveled to Minnesota following intense protests.

US President Donald Trump said he “felt horrible” after an ICE agent fatally shot protester Renee Good, 37, calling her death a “tragedy”.

Walz called the investigation a “partisan distraction,” saying the Justice Department is “not seeking justice” in the killing of Good, whose death sparked unrest.

In a statement to the BBC, Frey said the Justice Department was suing him over disagreements with the Trump administration. Ellison accused Trump of militarizing the justice system.

The Justice Department did not immediately respond to the BBC’s request for comment.

Ellison, the state’s top prosecutor, said on X that the Justice Department had sent him a grand jury subpoena for records and documents related to his office’s work enforcing federal immigration law.

“This is all very irregular, especially the fact that this comes shortly after my office sued the Trump administration to challenge its illegal actions in Minnesota,” he said.

A spokesperson for Minneapolis City Hall confirmed to the BBC that “Mayor Jacob Frey’s office has been subpoenaed.”

“When the federal government uses its power to try to intimidate local leaders who are doing their jobs, all Americans should be concerned,” Frey said in a statement.

“We should not have to live in a country where people fear that federal law enforcement will be used for political purposes or to suppress local voices they disagree with.”

Subpoenas were also sent to St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her and Hennepin County Prosecutor Mary Moriarty.

Bondi on Sunday threatened legal action against state leaders if they refuse “to act responsibly to prevent lawlessness” after a church was targeted during protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Justice Department officials, who accuse the activists of “desecration of a place of worship,” said they would open an investigation into alleged civil rights violations.

Tensions have risen in the state since ICE ramped up operations in Minneapolis this month as part of Trump’s immigration crackdown, with federal officials saying they are targeting “the worst of the worst” there.

But unrest intensified after the Jan. 7 fatal shooting of Good by an ICE agent.

The Trump administration says the ICE agent acted in self-defense, while local authorities say the woman posed no danger.

About 3,000 federal agents have been deployed to Minnesota in recent weeks and 1,500 troops are believed to be on standby.

The US Department of Homeland Security says it has arrested 3,000 “of the most dangerous offenders” in the past six weeks as part of Operation Metro Surge.

At a news conference Tuesday, officials in the Twin Cities — the Minneapolis-St Paul metropolitan area — accused federal agents of racial profiling.

They said off-duty officers were arrested and asked for proof of citizenship.

“Each of these individuals is a person of color,” Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Bruley said.

Walz and Frey demanded that ICE leave the area and the state sued the Trump administration to block the deployment of immigration agents.

Last week, Trump raised the possibility of invoking the rarely used Insurrection Act following a night of protests and vandalism in the Minnesota city.

The unrest erupted after an officer shot a man in the leg who was allegedly attacked with shovels by three Venezuelan migrants.

At a press briefing Tuesday, Trump spoke sympathetically about Good and, after learning his parents were Trump supporters, he said he hoped they would still vote for him.

He also doubled down on his criticism of the protesters, calling them “professional agitators and professionals who want our country to do badly.”

Trump has repeatedly linked the rise of ICE in Minnesota to fraud cases that the Justice Department says primarily involve defendants from the state’s large Somali community.

On Tuesday, Trump said Somalia was “a backward country, probably the worst country.”