Federal prosecutors issued subpoenas on Tuesday to at least five Democratic officials in Minnesota, ramping up the Justice Department’s investigation into their response to the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration crackdown in the state, according to two people familiar with the matter.
The subpoenas sought documents from Gov. Tim Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her related to their policies on immigration enforcement efforts in the state. Two Minnesota prosecutors, Keith Ellison, the state attorney general, and Mary Moriarty, the Hennepin County attorney, were also sent similar subpoenas.
The subpoenas, all of which were formally served on the officials’ offices, represent a significant expansion of the inquiry into Minnesota leaders that was disclosed late Friday. The investigation was initially said to have focused on Frey and Walz, who have both criticized the crackdown. But it now appears that prosecutors will also scrutinize other public officials, including Ellison and Moriarty, who could open their own inquiries into the fatal shooting in Minneapolis this month of a 37-year-old woman, Renee Good, by a federal immigration agent.
While the subpoenas did not cite a specific criminal statute, the inquiry as a whole was said to center on whether elected officials in Minnesota had conspired to impede the thousands of federal agents who have been in the state since last month looking for immigrants who lack legal status. But the investigation is likely to run up against stiff pushback for examining political speech and conduct that is traditionally protected by the First Amendment.
The shooting of Good, an unarmed mother of three, has led to sustained protests against federal agents in Minneapolis. In the immediate aftermath of Good’s death, Frey used an expletive to demand that agents leave the city. Walz has also sharply criticized the agents’ conduct, asking residents to monitor their efforts.
Justice Department leaders, in turn, have vowed to arrest anyone impeding the agents’ mission. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche recently accused Frey and Walz of “encouraging violence against law enforcement” and referred to their actions as “terrorism.” But there is no evidence that either man has incited violence — let alone engaged in acts of terrorism.
The investigation into the elected Democrats comes as the Justice Department has all but announced that it will not bring charges against Jonathan Ross, the agent who killed Good. Instead, the department has signaled that it intends to scrutinize possible connections between Good and her partner, Becca Good, and left-wing protesters in Minnesota.
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