“U.S. Department of Justice is investigating Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey for an alleged conspiracy to obstruct federal agents from enforcing immigration laws. TASR reports on this based on a report published by CBS News.
Several sources familiar with the matter spoke in this regard about the extraordinary escalation of the conflict between the administration of President Donald Trump and the democratic leaders of the country. According to one of the sources, an unnamed US official, the investigation is based on statements Walz and Freya to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials, deployed in recent weeks in Minneapolis. The ministry refused to comment on the case.
“This is an obvious attempt to intimidate me for standing up for Minneapolis, our local law enforcement and our residents against the chaos and danger this administration has brought to our streets,” Frey said for CBS News. “I will not be intimidated. I will continue to strive for what I have always strived for: maintain safety in our city,” he declared.
“Using the Department of Justice as a weapon and threatening political opponents is a dangerous, authoritarian tactic. The only person not under investigation for the shooting of Renee Good is the federal agent who shot her.” Walz said.
Almost were sent to the city of Minneapolis 3,000 federal immigration agents to arrest people suspected of being in the U.S. illegally and investigate fraud allegations in Minnesota. The Department of Homeland Security called the massive operation the largest in its history.
The heavy presence of federal agents provoked a widespread local response and anti-government protests that escalated further after the shooting death of Minnesota resident Renee Good by an ICE agent during the raid last Wednesday.
Governor Walz and Mayor Frey, both Democrats, strongly condemned the deployment of federal forces in the metropolitan area known as the “Twin Cities” and accused federal agents of creating chaos and undermining public safety with aggressive tactics. Frey said earlier this week that the deployment of federal forces has resulted in a situation that “is unsustainable.”
“We’re in a situation where residents are demanding that the limited number of police officers we have be fighting ICE agents on the street,” Frey said, adding that “in America we cannot be in a situation now where two governmental entities are literally fighting each other”. Walz and Frey called for peaceful protests. In his Platform X message on Thursday, the governor urged Minnesotans to “they did not fan the flames of chaos”.
Last Wednesday, there was an incident in Minneapolis where an ICE agent shot and killed Renee Nicole Macklin Good in her car because she allegedly tried to hit him. This claim is disputed by videos from the scene of the crime, according to which Good’s vehicle avoided the agent. Both the Department of Homeland Security and President Trump say that agent was acting in self-defense, and the department called Good’s actions an act of domestic terrorism.
