Minnesota sues Trump administration for DOJ/DHS evidence in Minneapolis ICE shootings
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty, joined by the State of Minnesota and the BCA, has filed a federal lawsuit in Washington, D.C., seeking to compel DOJ and DHS to turn over evidence — including weapons and casings, all video and photos, medical and autopsy records, internal policies and training materials, communications, and the identities and statements of federal officers — in the Minneapolis shootings of Renee Good, Alex Pretti and Julio Sosa‑Celis after formal Touhy demands and missed deadlines. The complaint argues federal stonewalling unlawfully obstructs Minnesota’s constitutional duty to investigate homicides and has acted in bad faith, prompting threats of further litigation and a transparency portal, even as legal experts warn the Supremacy Clause makes state convictions of federal agents unlikely and political pressure for accountability grows.
📌 Key Facts
- Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty, the State of Minnesota, and the BCA filed a federal lawsuit in Washington, D.C., suing the U.S. Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security — explicitly naming the Trump administration leadership — to compel turnover of evidence in federal‑agent shootings in Minneapolis (Renee Good, Alex Pretti and Julio Sosa‑Celis).
- Moriarty’s office issued formal Touhy demands seeking the full evidentiary record: weapons and casings, all video and photos, medical and autopsy records, identities and statements of every federal officer involved, and DHS/DOJ internal policies, training materials and communications tied to Metro Surge operations.
- The filings and reporting note specific deadlines for compliance (a mid‑February deadline for Good materials and a March 3 deadline for Pretti materials) and cite prior ignored or missed deadlines to build a record that federal agencies acted in bad faith.
- Moriarty and state officials characterize the federal agencies’ refusal to produce materials as obstruction; Moriarty said agencies are 'obstructing' the investigations and threatened additional lawsuits if Touhy demands are ignored, while Attorney General Keith Ellison called the refusal 'arbitrary' and 'capricious.'
- The complaint argues that federal stonewalling prevents Minnesota from fulfilling its constitutional duty to investigate homicides and harms state sovereignty and local public‑safety interests, framing Good and Pretti as potential test cases for accountability for Metro Surge actions.
- News reports and legal experts emphasize a major legal barrier: supremacy‑clause protections make state prosecution of federal officers unlikely unless prosecutors can prove the agents acted outside the scope of their official duties; DOJ has opened a civil‑rights probe only in the Pretti case.
- Moriarty launched a 'Transparency and Accountability Project' portal to collect public evidence on 17 incidents involving federal agents, and there is growing political pressure in Minnesota to hold federal agents accountable for Metro Surge violence.
- Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said MPD was constrained during Operation Metro Surge, acknowledged the department's response 'wasn’t perfect,' and reported MPD is investigating two possible misdemeanor assaults involving federal agents and has referred them to an Inspector General but received no response.
📰 Source Timeline (6)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
March 24, 2026
8:41 PM
Minnesota sues Trump administration over access to evidence in shootings by federal agents
New information:
- The lawsuit explicitly names the Trump administration and casts the dispute as Minnesota v. the current DHS/DOJ leadership, not just an inter‑agency records fight.
- Filings detail that Minnesota is seeking not only evidentiary items (weapons, casings, video, autopsies) but also DHS/DOJ internal policies, training materials, and communications tied to Metro Surge operations in Minneapolis.
- The complaint argues that federal stonewalling is preventing Minnesota from fulfilling its constitutional duty to investigate homicides and frames the obstruction itself as a violation of state sovereignty and local public‑safety interests.
- The suit cites specific prior attempts at cooperation — including ignored or blown deadlines on Touhy requests — to build a record that DOJ and DHS have acted in bad faith.
- The article notes growing political pressure in Minnesota, including calls from state officials and advocates, to treat the Good and Pretti killings as test cases for whether any federal agent can be held to account for Metro Surge violence in the Twin Cities.
7:19 PM
Minnesota sues DOJ, DHS over access to evidence in Renee Good, Alex Pretti shootings
New information:
- A federal lawsuit has now been filed in Washington, D.C. by Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty, the State of Minnesota, and the BCA against the U.S. Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security.
- The suit explicitly seeks to force DOJ and DHS to turn over evidence in three Minneapolis shootings by federal agents: the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti and the shooting of Julio Sosa‑Celis.
- Moriarty publicly called the lack of a transparent investigation "unprecedented" and vowed, "We will not sit by and let that happen," while Ellison said the feds’ refusal to share evidence is "arbitrary" and "capricious" and has "no rational basis."
- The article reiterates that legal experts think a state conviction of the federal officers is unlikely even if prosecutors bring charges, because they would have to prove the agents acted outside the scope of their official duties, while DOJ has opened a civil‑rights probe only in the Pretti case.
March 10, 2026
3:03 AM
MPD Chief questioned about lack of intervention during federal crackdown
New information:
- Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara appeared before the Community Commission on Police Oversight and was sharply criticized by about three dozen residents and activists over MPD’s lack of visible intervention during Operation Metro Surge.
- O’Hara publicly stated that MPD was in a 'constant state of trying to adjust' during the surge and said the department’s response 'wasn’t perfect,' arguing that local officers are limited because federal agents operate under different laws.
- O’Hara revealed that MPD is investigating two possible misdemeanor assault cases involving federal agents during the crackdown and has referred them to an Inspector General’s Office, but has not yet received any response.
March 02, 2026
6:27 PM
Moriarty prepared to sue feds over 'obstruction' as office weighs charges in Good, Pretti shootings
New information:
- Moriarty says federal agencies are already 'obstructing' her office’s investigation into the Renee Good and Alex Pretti shootings and is prepared to file new lawsuits as soon as Tuesday if Touhy demands are ignored.
- Her office set a March 3 response deadline on its Touhy request for Pretti-case evidence and will treat non‑compliance as further obstruction.
- Moriarty publicly reiterated she expects to have enough non‑federal evidence to make charging decisions in both Good and Pretti shootings despite federal resistance and the Supremacy Clause hurdle.
- She formally launched a "Transparency and Accountability Project" portal to collect public evidence on 17 separate incidents involving potentially unlawful actions by federal agents, including actions by Border Patrol Chief Greg Bovino.
- The article underlines that, in practice, Supremacy Clause protections make it unlikely federal officers will ever face a state trial, so any criminal case would almost certainly have to come from federal prosecutors.
February 03, 2026
2:24 AM
Hennepin County Attorney’s Office demands evidence in Renee Good investigation
New information:
- The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office has now sent formal Touhy letters to both DOJ and DHS demanding the full evidentiary record in the ICE killing of Renee Good, including weapons and casings, all video and photos, medical and autopsy records, internal policies and training materials, and the identities and statements of every federal officer involved.
- The office set a specific deadline (mid‑February) for the federal government to turn over materials, framing it as necessary to complete its criminal review because DOJ has signaled it is not pursuing its own criminal case.
- The article underscores that without federal cooperation, any state prosecution of ICE officer Jonathan Ross would face huge legal hurdles under supremacy‑clause protections — making this document demand a key test of whether local authorities will be allowed to fully investigate.