The Trump administration is trying a new way to curb the anti-ICE protests in Minnesota by going against Tim Walz and Jacob Frey.
The Minnesota Governor and the Minneapolis Mayor are under investigation by the Department of Justice for allegedly obstructing the immigration crackdown in the state.
According to reports, the DOJ has issued subpoenas to the two leaders for conspiring to block law enforcement. The news comes at a time when the state and federal governments are engaged in a war of words.
This is an obvious attempt to intimidate me for standing up for Minneapolis, local law enforcement, and residents against the chaos and danger this Administration has brought to our city. I will not be intimidated. My focus remains where it’s always been: keeping our city safe. https://t.co/psaWb825sL
— Mayor Jacob Frey (@MayorFrey) January 17, 2026
Following the ICE shooting of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis, both Walz and Frey openly slammed the Trump administration.
While Frey asked ICE to ‘get the f— out of Minneapolis,’ Walz told the residents to keep their phone cameras open while dealing with enforcement agents.
The statements seem to have irked Trump and his allies, who are now taking a legal route to silence the two men. However, the duo has announced that they are not going to be intimidated by these tactics.
Following the reports of the subpoena, Frey said in a statement to the Minnesota Star Tribune, “I will not be intimidated.” The Mayor added, “My focus will remain where it’s always been: keeping our city safe. America depends on leaders that use integrity and the rule of law as the guideposts for governance.”
Walz also took to social media to express his views on the investigation, saying that the federal government is weaponizing the DOJ against its critics.
He wrote, “Weaponizing the justice system against your opponents is an authoritarian tactic. The only person not being investigated for the shooting of Renee Good is the federal agent who shot her.”
The other side also did not stay silent. Without naming anyone, Attorney General Pam Bondi confirmed that an investigation was underway as she wrote on X, “A reminder to all those in Minnesota: No one is above the law.”
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche echoed similar thoughts in an X post by penning, “We support those performing their lawful duties to protect public safety and will PROSECUTE anyone attacking or obstructing them.”
Today in Minneapolis I met with the U.S. Attorney’s office and visited the brave @thejusticedept and @DHSgov law enforcement officers removing criminal aliens from MN streets.
We support those performing their lawful duties to protect public safety and will PROSECUTE anyone… pic.twitter.com/iK6nxVTjLq
— Todd Blanche (@DAGToddBlanche) January 17, 2026
Tensions have escalated in Minnesota, especially in Minneapolis, since the deployment of 2,000 federal agents in the city for a crackdown on illegal immigration. But multiple videos have come out showcasing the ICE officers harassing legal citizens.
Good, a legal resident, was shot dead by ICE agent Jonathan Ross while observing a protest in a Minneapolis street. Department of Homeland Security ended up calling her a domestic terrorist who tried to run over Ross with her car.
The incident sparked widespread protests across the country. A few days later, another video went viral, which featured ICE agents brutally dragging a woman out of her car, even though she cried that she was disabled and only wanted to reach her doctor.
The Minnesota government has argued that ICE agents have instilled fear in citizens and have disrupted normal lives. Now, with the legal investigation into the Governor and the Mayor, the matter might get even more complicated.
