A federal judge on Monday quashed Justice Department subpoenas against Gov. Tim Walz and other Minnesota Democratic politicians amid a months-long probe into state officials who opposed President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
U.S. District Judge Patrick Schlitz ruled the subpoenas were “part of an unconstitutional effort to coerce” state officials to assist federal immigration enforcement. Schlitz said the federal government’s actions were “blatantly unlawful,” and intended to “harass and retaliate” against Minnesota officials.
“The fact that connections between the information sought in the subpoenas and any possible criminal violation range from extremely weak to nonexistent only adds to the overwhelming evidence that these subpoenas were not issued to investigate, but to harass, coerce, and retaliate,” wrote Schlitz, who is chief judge of the Minnesota federal court district and a Bush appointee.
The Justice Department said it would continue its investigation following Schlitz’s ruling.
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“The Department takes the unlawful obstruction of federal law enforcement operations extremely seriously and will continue to act in full compliance with the law to investigate these matters,” a spokesperson for the Justice Department said in a statement.
Walz, a former vice presidential candidate, called the decision a “victory for the rule of law” and said the case was one example of the Justice Department “pursuing criminal investigations into the President’s political opponents.”
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, who was also facing a subpoena, celebrated the judge’s decision to block what he called an “effort to weaponize DOJ power.”
“Criticism of government action is not a crime,” Frey wrote in a statement following the ruling.
The Department of Homeland Security deployed hundreds of immigration agents to Minnesota as part of Operation Metro Surge in December, prompting clashes between federal officials and protestors and resulting in the shooting deaths of two Minnesota residents, Renée Good and Alex Pretti, at the hands of ICE agents.
The Justice Department sent six subpoenas to Walz, Frey, Attorney General Keith Ellison, St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her and commissioners in Ramsey and Hennepin counties in January. The subpoenas sought different documents and communications from each, but all related to broad categories about federal immigration enforcement.
The Trump administration pursued the subpoenas after Ellison led state and local officials in a lawsuit against then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and the department. A federal judge subsequently denied Ellison’s bid to block what he called an “unprecedented surge” of immigration officials in his home state.
Trump threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act as protests intensified, a move that would have allowed the president to deploy the U.S. military to quell demonstrations.
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