DOJ subpoenas Gov. Tim Walz, Minnesota officials in ICE obstruction investigation

The U.S. Department of Justice has issued subpoenas to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and other state officials as part of an investigation into whether they conspired to obstruct the Trump administration's immigration enforcement. 

In addition to Walz and Frey, the DOJ has also subpoenaed Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, the office of St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her, and two counties, NBC News and other outlets reported Tuesday.

The subpoenas were centered on allegations that state and local officials have been impeding the ongoing operations of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in the state.

"When the governor or the mayor threaten our officers, when the mayor suggests that he's encouraging citizens to call 911 when they see ICE officers, that is very close to a federal crime," said U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche to Fox News.

Walz has denounced the increased federal pressure on his administration to detain criminal illegal immigrants, calling the Trump administration's actions “political theater” and “a partisan distraction” that goes against Minnesotan values.

“Minnesotans are more concerned with safety and peace than baseless legal tactics aimed at intimidating public servants standing shoulder to shoulder with their community,” stated Walz. “My focus has always been protecting the people of this state. Families are scared. Kids are afraid to go to school. Small businesses are hurting. A mother is dead, and the people responsible have yet to be held accountable.”

Frey also took issue with the subpoenas, telling NBC News that “I’ll continue doing the job I was elected to do: keeping our community safe and standing up for our values.”

“When the federal government weaponizes its power to try to intimidate local leaders for doing their jobs, every American should be concerned,” Frey said. “We shouldn’t have to live in a country where people fear that federal law enforcement will be used to play politics or crack down on local voices they disagree with.”

Earlier this month, during ICE operations in Minneapolis, an agent shot and killed Renee Good, a 37-year-old woman, as she drove her SUV into him after blocking a street.

Some, including Frey and other Democrat officials, have charged that the ICE agent effectively murdered Good, arguing that she was trying to pull away from a group of federal agents who had asked her to exit her vehicle.

Others, including the Trump administration, have claimed that the agent acted in self-defense, having just cause to believe that Good was trying to run over him and other law enforcers.

Last week, amid the tensions between Minnesota officials and the federal government, President Donald Trump threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act and send troops to the state.

“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,” the president wrote on Truth Social.