The Justice Department of the United States initiated a legal inquiry into Minnesota's state and local leadership on Tuesday by serving subpoenas compelling the offices of Governor Tim Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison, and the mayors of Minneapolis and St. Paul to provide records related to their interactions and cooperation with federal immigration authorities since early 2025.
Among the subpoenas, one obtained by Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey demands that his office’s custodian of records release documents pertaining to any collaboration, or the absence thereof, with Federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. These subpoenas form part of a federal grand jury probe scrutinizing whether the officials’ vocal opposition to President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement campaign in the Twin Cities could be classified as criminal conduct.
According to a Justice Department official, in total, subpoenas were served on six offices held by Democratic officials in the state and local government. U.S. Attorney Pam Bondi, who arrived in Minnesota earlier last week, emphasized in a Fox News interview the principle that “no one is above the law,” underscoring that public servants and law enforcement personnel will be held accountable to ensure their safety. Bondi, however, did not explicitly comment on the subpoenas themselves.
President Trump directed a surge of thousands of Border Patrol and ICE officers into Minneapolis and surrounding areas in recent weeks, initiating deportation operations on an unprecedented scale. These efforts have led to numerous violent altercations with local residents. The agents have patrolled city streets heavily armed and equipped with tactical gear, camouflaged clothing, and masks — a display that incited widespread but mainly peaceful protests throughout the city.
Governor Walz and Mayor Frey have criticized the ICE enforcement as an irresponsible political maneuver putting residents at significant risk, suggesting the tactic aims to foment disorder that would justify further federal intervention. While both leaders have called for protesters to remain peaceful, Walz has openly encouraged citizens to document ICE encounters, amassing video evidence for potential prosecution of misconduct by federal immigration officers in the future.
Officials in the Trump administration have accused the Minnesota leaders of deliberately obstructing ICE operations by aligning with anti-government activists, charges the governor firmly denies. Justice Department representatives have not issued further statements on the matter.
Public hostility toward the ICE operations has intensified, particularly following the fatal shooting of Renee Good, a U.S. citizen, by an ICE agent nearly two weeks ago. Federal agents’ use of tear gas and chemical irritants against demonstrators, as well as allegations of racial profiling, have fueled anger among Twin Cities communities. A notable incident involved the mistaken arrest of ChongLy “Scott” Thao, a naturalized U.S. citizen of Asian descent, who was taken from his home inappropriately without a warrant and later released after being found uninvolved.
The Department of Homeland Security, overseeing ICE and Border Patrol, stated that during the operation in which Thao was detained, officials were seeking two criminal aliens from Laos with active deportation orders. Public records indicate that one of those men featured on ICE wanted posters was actually incarcerated in a prison south of Minneapolis at the time, serving a four-year sentence for kidnapping.
Federal law requires that agents obtain judicial warrants to enter private property, and officers must have probable cause to make arrests, a standard grounded in constitutional protections. The subpoena deliveries follow reports revealing the Justice Department’s criminal investigation into Walz, Frey, and other Democratic officials who have vocally criticized Trump’s immigration surge.
Governor Walz, who campaigned unsuccessfully as a vice presidential candidate in 2024, described the federal justice system’s current actions as politically motivated attempts to intimidate opponents of the Trump administration. Walz highlighted other recent investigations targeting public figures critical of the administration, including Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and certain members of Congress with military backgrounds who urged armed forces members to refuse unlawful orders.
A criminal conspiracy case based solely on elected officials’ opposition to government policies would be highly unusual. The Justice Department has experienced challenges in securing indictments in related cases; grand juries have twice declined to re-indict New York Attorney General Letitia James and have refused to endorse several investigations connected to immigration enforcement in other regions.
Meanwhile, Minnesota Democrats have launched legal action seeking a judicial injunction halting what they characterize as unconstitutional excesses by federal immigration agents. Last Friday, a federal judge in Minnesota prohibited mass arrests, detentions, and use of crowd-control measures such as pepper spray on peaceful protesters or observers at ICE operations.
In response to these developments, Governor Walz reiterated the priority of safety and tranquility over “baseless” legal actions intended to intimidate public servants supporting their communities. Mayor Frey accused the federal government of attempting to intimidate local authorities merely for discharging their responsibilities and stressed that this should concern all Americans.