Federal Judge Says DOJ Abused Grand Jury Power In Subpoenas To Minnesota Officials
On Monday, June 22, 2026, U.S. District Judge Patrick Schiltz quashed six federal grand jury subpoenas served on Minnesota state and local officials, ruling the Justice Department abused grand jury power.[1]
The subpoenas, served in January 2026, targeted the offices of Gov. Tim Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her, and officials in Ramsey and Hennepin counties.[2] Walz called the ruling "a victory for the rule of law and our democracy" and accused the Justice Department of pursuing criminal investigations into the president's political opponents.[2] Ellison said the case shows Donald Trump is "weaponizing the criminal justice system against people he disagrees with." PBS News
Operation Metro Surge began in December 2025 when ICE and CBP deployed more than 3,000 agents to the Twin Cities, leading to more than 3,700 arrests before the operation wound down in February 2026. On January 12, 2026, Attorney General Keith Ellison and the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul sued federal immigration authorities, saying the operation violated the Constitution and sought to force local cooperation.
Schiltz wrote the subpoenas had "extremely weak to nonexistent" ties to any possible criminal violation and were meant to coerce cooperation with the enforcement operation rather than to further a grand jury investigation.[2] He formally blocked the subpoenas on Monday, June 22, 2026, saying their coercive use violated limits on grand jury power and raised separation-of-powers and federalism concerns.[1]
The mainstream summary does not mention the broader context of Operation Metro Surge, which involved over 3,000 federal agents and resulted in more than 3,700 arrests, highlighting the scale of federal enforcement efforts that prompted the subpoenas. This operation, which began in December 2025, was met with significant local resistance, as Hennepin and Ramsey counties complied with fewer than 10% of ICE detainer requests from September 2023 to October 2025, contrasting sharply with state prisons that complied with 100% of requests during the same period. This discrepancy underscores the tension between federal immigration enforcement and local non-cooperation policies, which the mainstream summary frames primarily as a legal dispute without delving into the underlying dynamics of immigration federalism and local governance.
Furthermore, while the summary quotes officials like Gov. Walz and Attorney General Ellison framing the subpoenas as politically motivated retaliation, it lacks the explicit mention of Judge Schiltz's characterization of the subpoenas as having 'extremely weak to nonexistent' ties to any criminal violation. This detail, emphasized by various commentators, reinforces the perception that the subpoenas were not merely a legal tool but rather a strategy to coerce local officials into compliance with federal immigration policies. Such framing suggests a deeper narrative about the politicization of legal processes in the context of immigration enforcement that the mainstream account does not fully explore.[3][4]
Show source details & analysis (3 sources)
📊 Relevant Data
Operation Metro Surge, the federal immigration enforcement effort that prompted the Minnesota lawsuit, deployed thousands of ICE and CBP agents to the Minneapolis-St. Paul area starting in December 2025 and resulted in more than 3,700 arrests before winding down in February 2026.
Operation Metro Surge — Wikipedia (aggregating DHS, AP, PBS reports)
Hennepin and Ramsey counties, whose boards received subpoenas, complied with fewer than 10% of ICE detainer requests from September 2023 to October 2025, while Minnesota state prisons complied with 100% of 167 requests during the same period.
'Sanctuary' label obscures actual levels of ICE cooperation across Minnesota — MinnPost
📌 Key Facts
- On Monday, June 22, 2026, Judge Patrick Schiltz issued a written opinion characterizing six federal grand jury subpoenas as an overreach of Justice Department authority.
- Schiltz’s ruling found the subpoenas’ dominant purpose was coercion and retaliation over immigration enforcement and that they were used primarily to pressure Minnesota Democrats to cooperate with Operation Metro Surge rather than to further a legitimate grand jury investigation.
- The opinion said the DOJ failed to provide any plausible investigative purpose, that the subpoenas’ coercive nature violated limits on grand jury use, and raised separation-of-powers and federalism concerns while seeking materials largely related to constitutionally protected conduct.
- The subpoenas, served in January 2026, targeted the offices of Gov. Tim Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her, and officials in Ramsey and Hennepin counties as part of a probe into alleged obstruction during a Minneapolis–St. Paul immigration operation.
- On Monday, June 22, 2026, the judge formally blocked the subpoenas issued by the Trump administration to Minnesota state and local officials.
- Responding to the decision, Tim Walz called it “a victory for the rule of law and our democracy” and accused the Justice Department of pursuing criminal investigations into the president’s political opponents, while Attorney General Keith Ellison said the case shows Donald Trump is “weaponizing the criminal justice system against people he disagrees with.”
- The ruling emphasized that Minnesota has a legal right not to devote state resources to enforcing federal civil immigration law.
📰 Source Timeline (3)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
- On Monday, June 22, 2026, U.S. District Judge Patrick Schlitz formally blocked the Trump administration's subpoenas to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and other state and local officials, finding their 'dominant purpose' was coercion and retaliation over immigration enforcement.
- Schlitz wrote that the subpoenas had 'extremely weak to nonexistent' connections to any possible criminal violation and largely sought materials related to constitutionally protected conduct.
- The ruling emphasizes that Minnesota has a legal right not to devote state resources to enforcing federal civil immigration law.
- The article reiterates that the subpoenas, served in January 2026, targeted the offices of Gov. Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her, and officials in Ramsey and Hennepin counties, as part of a probe into alleged obstruction during a Minneapolis–St. Paul immigration operation.
- Walz, the 2024 Democratic nominee for vice president, publicly called the decision 'a victory for the rule of law and our democracy' and accused the Justice Department of pursuing criminal investigations into the president's political opponents.
- Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said the case shows Donald Trump is 'weaponizing the criminal justice system against people he disagrees with.'
- Article confirms that on Monday, June 22, 2026, Judge Patrick Schiltz issued a written opinion explicitly characterizing the six federal grand jury subpoenas as an overreach of Justice Department authority.
- Schiltz’s ruling states that the subpoenas to Gov. Tim Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, the Minnesota attorney general, and county officials were used primarily to pressure Minnesota Democrats to cooperate with Operation Metro Surge rather than to further a legitimate grand jury investigation.
- The opinion elaborates that DOJ failed to provide any plausible investigative purpose for the subpoenas and that their coercive nature violated limits on grand jury use, underscoring separation-of-powers and federalism concerns.