The Justice Department on Tuesday served subpoenas to multiple Democratic officials in Minnesota, including Gov. Tim Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, in connection with a probe into an alleged conspiracy to impede federal immigration officers, three sources familiar with the matter told CBS News.
The subpoenas represent a significant escalation between the Justice Department and Minnesota officials, who have clashed over the Trump administration’s intense crackdown against immigrants living in the state illegally.
The subpoenas show that the Justice Department is investigating state and local officials to see if they may have conspired to impede federal officers from discharging their duties.
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The statute cited as the basis for the probe is the same one that was used against some of the rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, including members of the far-right Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys.
Mr. Trump granted clemency to the more than 1,500 people who were convicted of crimes in connection with the Capitol riot during his first day in office one year ago.
Earlier this month, the Department of Homeland Security staged a massive deployment of federal immigration agents to the Minneapolis region, saying they would be tasked with arresting people suspected of being in the U.S. illegally and probing allegations of fraud.
In total, roughly 3,000 Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and Border Patrol agents have been dispatched to the Twin Cities, a force that is nearly five times the size of the Minneapolis police department, which employs about 600 officers.
The high-profile federal deployment has been strongly opposed by state and local leaders, including Walz, Ellison and Frey, and angered many local residents, who have denounced actions and operations by federal agents as heavy-handed and indiscriminate.
Protests and confrontations between residents and federal agents have become a near daily occurrence, especially after the killing of Minneapolis mother Renee Good by an ICE officer on Jan. 7.
CBS News reached out to representatives for Walz, Ellison and Frey seeking comment.
Legal experts remain skeptical that the Justice Department has enough evidence to secure any indictments in the case.
“A grand jury subpoena should not be issued to an individual who is merely exercising their First Amendment rights,” said Gene Rossi, a former federal prosecutor who is now an attorney with Carlton Fields.
“Impeding an investigation is not done by words. It is done by actions. And all they are doing is criminalizing the policy of a president. If that is the basis for a grand jury investigation, the entire country could be subject to a grand jury investigation.”