After more than a week of tensions and protests in Minneapolis, the Department of Justice is reportedly investigating Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey for possible obstruction of law enforcement.
Sources who spoke to CNN said that a grand jury has issued subpoenas for both men, but as of Friday evening, Walz’s office had not received notice of any such subpoena. The Daily Beast has contacted both Walz and Frey for comment.
When asked for comment, the White House directed the Daily Beast to the Department of Justice, which did not immediately respond.
Walz and Frey, both Democrats, have been quick to criticize the actions of federal law enforcement officers in Minneapolis, particularly those that led to the shooting death of 37-year-old mother Renee Nicole Good on Jan. 7 at the hands of ICE officer Jonathan Ross.
At a press conference held shortly after the shooting, Frey told ICE to “get the f--- out” of his city.
“I do have a message for our community, our city, and I have a message for ICE to ICE: get the f--- out of Minneapolis,” Frey said.
“We do not want you here. Your stated reason for being in this city is to create some kind of safety, and you are doing exactly the opposite,” he continued. “People are being hurt. Families are being ripped apart. Long-term Minneapolis residents that have contributed so greatly to our city, to our culture, to our economy are being terrorized, and now somebody is dead, that’s on you, and it’s also on you to leave.”
Anti-ICE protests have been taking place around the country since Good’s killing, particularly in Minneapolis, which saw further violence on Wednesday after a federal law enforcement officer shot a Venezuelan immigrant in the leg.
Walz, for his part, encouraged citizens to record “atrocities” committed by ICE agents to accumulate evidence for future prosecutions, suggesting residents carry their phones at all times in order to do so.
“Armed, masked, undertrained ICE agents are going door-to-door, ordering people to point out where their neighbors of color live,” he said. “It’s a campaign of organized brutality against the people of Minnesota by our own federal government.”
“Accountability is coming, in the voting booth and in court.”
In response, President Donald Trump threatened to impose martial law on the city.
“If the corrupt politicians of Minnesota don’t obey the law and stop the professional agitators and insurrectionists from attacking the Patriots of I.C.E., who are only trying to do their job, I will institute the INSURRECTION ACT, which many Presidents have done before me, and quickly put an end to the travesty that is taking place in that once great State,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Thursday morning.
Walz did not confirm the investigation when contacted by CNN, but did accuse the Trump administration of “weaponizing the justice system and threatening political opponents,” which he d described as a “dangerous, authoritarian tactic.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi’s second-in-command, Todd Blanche, described the protests in Minnesota as an “insurrection,” blaming Walz and Frey for “encouraging violence against law enforcement” in an X post on Wednesday.
“Minnesota insurrection is a direct result of a FAILED governor and a TERRIBLE mayor encouraging violence against law enforcement. It’s disgusting,” Blanche wrote.
“Walz and Frey—I’m focused on stopping YOU from your terrorism by whatever means necessary. This is not a threat. It’s a promise.”
