Federal–State Power and Civil Liberties

Federal prosecutors have opened an 18 U.S.C. §372 investigation into whether Gov. Tim Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, AG Keith Ellison and other Minnesota officials conspired to impede Operation Metro Surge—an approximately 3,000‑agent ICE/Border Patrol deployment—and have served grand‑jury subpoenas on multiple state and local offices as protests escalated after the ICE‑related killing of Renee Good. At the same time, federal judges in Minnesota have imposed limits on how federal officers may police demonstrations and ordered preservation of evidence amid contested DOJ/DHS handling of the Good and Alex Pretti shootings, developments that have prompted accusations of evidence obstruction and politicization of the justice system.