MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Justice Department is investigating whether Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey have impeded federal immigration enforcement through public statements they have made, two people familiar with the matter said Friday.
The investigation, which both Walz and Frey said was a bullying tactic meant to threaten political opposition, focused on potential violation of a conspiracy statute, the people said.
The people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss a pending investigation by name.
CBS News first reported the investigation.
The investigation comes during a weekslong immigration crackdown in Minneapolis and St. Paul that the Department of Homeland Security has called its , resulting in more than 2,500 arrests.
The operation has become more confrontational since the , with agents pulling people from cars and homes and frequently being demanding they leave. State and local officials have repeatedly told protesters to remain peaceful.
In response to reports of the investigation, Walz said in a statement: “Two days ago it was Elissa Slotkin. Last week it was Jerome Powell. Before that, Mark Kelly. Weaponizing the justice system and threatening political opponents is a dangerous, authoritarian tactic.â€
U.S. senators Kelly, from Arizona, and Slotkin, from Michigan, are from the President Donald Trump administration after appearing with other Democratic lawmakers in a video urging members of the military to resist “illegal orders." The administration has also launched a of Powell, a first for a sitting federal reserve chair.
Walz’s office said it has not received any notice of an investigation.
Frey described the investigation as an attempt to intimidate him for “standing up for Minneapolis, our local law enforcement, and our residents against the chaos and danger this Administration has brought to our streets.â€
The U.S. attorney’s office in Minneapolis did not immediately comment.
In a post on the social media platform X following reports of the investigation, said: “A reminder to all those in Minnesota: No one is above the law.†She did not specifically mention the investigation.
State calls for peaceful protests
State authorities, meanwhile, had a message for any weekend protests against the Trump administration’s in the Twin Cities: avoid confrontation.
“While peaceful expression is protected, any actions that harm people, destroy property or jeopardize public safety will not be tolerated,†said Commissioner Bob Jacobson of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety.
His comments came after Trump backed off a bit from his threat a day earlier to , the Insurrection Act, to send troops to suppress demonstrations.
“I don’t think there’s any reason right now to use it, but if I needed it, I’d use it,†Trump told reporters outside the White House.
Judge rules on ACLU lawsuit
Federal officers in the Minneapolis-area participating in the enforcement operation can’t detain or tear gas peaceful protesters, who aren’t obstructing authorities, including when these people are observing the agents, a U.S. judge in Minnesota ruled Friday.
U.S. District Judge Kate Menendez ruled in the case filed in December on behalf of six Minnesota activists, which were represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota.
Government attorneys argued that the officers have been acting within their legal authority to enforce immigration laws and protect themselves. But the ACLU has said government officers are violating the constitutional rights of Twin Cities residents.
Detention whiplash
A Liberian man who has been shuttled in and out of custody since immigration agents with a battering ram was released again Friday, hours after a routine check-in with authorities led to his second arrest.
The dramatic initial arrest of Garrison Gibson last weekend was captured on video. U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Bryan Thursday and freed him, but Gibson was detained again Friday when he appeared at an immigration office.
A few hours later, Gibson was free again, attorney Marc Prokosch said.
“In the words of my client, he said that somebody at ICE said they bleeped up and so they re-released him this afternoon and so he’s out of custody,†Prokosch said, referring to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Gibson, 37, who fled the civil war in his West African home country as a child, had been ordered removed from the U.S., apparently because of a 2008 drug conviction that was later dismissed. He has remained in the country legally under what’s known as an order of supervision, Prokosch said, and complied with the requirement that he meet regularly with immigration authorities.
In his Thursday order, the judge agreed that officials violated regulations by not giving Gibson enough notice that his supervision status had been revoked. Prokosch said he was told by ICE that they are “now going through their proper channels" to revoke the order.
911 caller: Good was shot ‘point blank’
Minneapolis authorities released police and fire dispatch logs and transcripts of 911 calls, all related to the fatal shooting of Good. Firefighters found what appeared to be two gunshot wounds in her right chest, one in her left forearm and a possible gunshot wound on the left side of her head, records show.
“They shot her, like, cause she wouldn’t open her car door,†a caller said. “Point blank range in her car.â€
Good, 37, was at the wheel of her Honda Pilot, which was partially blocking a street. Video showed an officer approached the SUV, demanded that she open the door and grabbed the handle.
Good began to pull forward and turned the vehicle's wheel to the right. Another ICE officer, Jonathan Ross, pulled his gun and , jumping back as the SUV moved past him. DHS claims the agent shot Good in self-defense.
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Richer and Tucker reported from Washington. Associated Press reporters Steve Karnowski in Minneapolis; Ed White and Corey Williams in Detroit; Graham Lee Brewer in Oklahoma City; Jesse Bedayn in Denver; Audrey McAvoy in Honolulu; Hallie Golden in Seattle; and Ben Finley in Washington contributed.
