NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Minnesota Democrats who were served grand jury subpoenas as part of a federal investigation into an alleged conspiracy to obstruct or impede federal law enforcement during ongoing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations are now speaking out, saying the justice system is being weaponized against them.
The criticism comes after the Justice Department and the FBI served the subpoenas Tuesday to six offices, including the Governor’s Office, the Attorney General’s office and the Minneapolis Mayor’s Office.
“Less than two weeks ago, federal agents shot and killed a Minnesotan in broad daylight. Now, instead of seriously investigating the killing of Renee Good, Trump is weaponizing the justice system against any leader who dares stand up to him,” Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said in a statement, adding that his office received a subpoena for “records and documents related to my office’s work with respect to federal immigration enforcement.”
FBI DIRECTOR PATEL WARNS ELECTED OFFICIALS ‘NO ONE’ IS EXEMPT FROM FEDERAL SCRUTINY AMID MINNESOTA INVESTIGATION
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, left, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, center, and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, right, are all speaking out against the subpoenas they received this week. (Monica Morgan/Getty Images; Mostafa Bassim/Anadolu via Getty Images; Jerry Holt/The Minnesota Star Tribune via Getty Images)
“Let’s be clear about why this is happening: Donald Trump is coming after the people of Minnesota, and I’m standing in his way,” Ellison added. “I will not be intimidated, and I will not stop working to protect Minnesotans from Trump’s campaign of retaliation and revenge.”
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said in his own statement that, “The State of Minnesota will not be drawn into political theater.”
“This Justice Department investigation, sparked by calls for accountability in the face of violence, chaos, and the killing of Renee Good, does not seek justice. It is a partisan distraction. Minnesotans are more concerned with safety and peace rather than with baseless legal tactics aimed at intimidating public servants standing shoulder to shoulder with their community,” Walz said.
“My focus has always been protecting the people of this state, not protecting myself. Families are scared. Kids are afraid to go to school. Small businesses are hurting. A mother is dead, and the people responsible have yet to be held accountable. That’s where the energy of the federal government should be directed: toward restoring trust, accountability, and real law and order, not political retaliation,” Walz added. “Minnesota will not be intimidated into silence and neither will I.”
WHITE HOUSE SLAMS WALZ, DEMOCRATS IN MINNESOTA FOLLOWING GOVERNOR’S ‘DIRECT APPEAL’ TO TRUMP
Federal agents shoot pepper balls at protesters outside an ICE facility during a demonstration against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Minneapolis, Minn., on Jan. 11, 2026. (Mostafa Bassim/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“When the federal gov weaponizes its power to intimidate local leaders for doing their jobs, every American should be concerned,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey wrote on X. “We shouldn’t live in a country where federal law enforcement is used to play politics or crack down on local voices they disagree with.”
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told Fox News, “It’s laughable that Tim Walz — who has smeared heroic ICE officers as ‘Gestapo’ and declared that Minnesota is at ‘war against the federal government’ — is complaining about division when he’s the one perpetrating it.”
Members of law enforcement work the scene following the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good by an ICE agent during federal operations on Jan. 7, 2026, in Minneapolis. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“Tim Walz should stop defending criminal illegal aliens and work with the Trump Administration to get these sickos out of American communities,” she said.
Fox News’ David Spunt, Patrick Ward and Alexis McAdams contributed to this report.
