MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota, U.S. (AP) — The U.S. Department of Justice will investigate whether Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey have impeded the enforcement of federal immigration law through the public statements they have made, two people familiar with the matter said on Friday.
The inquiry centers on a possible violation of a conspiracy statute, the people indicated.
The individuals spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation.
CBS News first reported on the probe.
The investigation comes amid a migrant enforcement operation in Minneapolis and St. Paul that the Department of Homeland Security has described as its largest immigration operation in recent memory, resulting in more than 2,500 arrests.
The operation has grown more contentious since the January 7 killing of Renee Good. Federal agents have pulled people from cars and homes, and have often been confronted by angry bystanders demanding that they leave. State and local authorities 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. Using the justice system as a weapon and threatening political opponents is a dangerous and authoritarian tactic.”
Walz’s office said it had received no notice of any investigation.
Frey described the inquiry as an attempt to intimidate him for “defending Minneapolis, our local police forces, and our residents against the chaos and danger this administration has brought to our streets.”
The federal prosecutor’s office in Minneapolis did not comment at this time.
In a post on X, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said: “A reminder to everyone in Minnesota: no one is above the law.” She did not specifically reference the investigation.
State authorities, meanwhile, had a message for any protests against the Trump administration’s immigration raids in the Twin Cities: avoid confrontation.
“While peaceful expression is protected, actions that injure people, destroy property or endanger public safety will not be tolerated,” said Bob Jacobson, Minnesota Public Safety Commissioner.
His comments came after Trump tempered his threat a day earlier to invoke the Insurrection Act to deploy troops to quell the demonstrations.
“I don’t think there’s any reason right now to use it, but if I needed to, I would use it,” Trump told reporters outside the White House.
Federal agents taking part in the immigration raids in the Minneapolis metropolitan area cannot detain peaceful protesters or spray tear gas on them, and that includes bystanders who observe the agents, a federal judge in Minnesota ruled on Friday.
District Judge Kate Menendez ruled in the case filed in December on behalf of six Minnesota activists, who were represented by the Minnesota chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.
The government’s lawyers argued that the agents have acted within their legal authority to enforce immigration laws and protect themselves. But the ACLU has said that federal agents are violating the constitutional rights of Twin Cities residents.
