The Justice Department has opened an investigation into Minnesota officials, including Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, over allegations they conspired to interfere with federal immigration enforcement.
The investigation centers on 18 U.S.C. § 372, a federal statute that criminalizes conspiracies to prevent federal officers from performing their duties through “force, intimidation or threats,” one U.S. official said.
Another official said the inquiry was prompted by public statements from Walz and Frey addressing the recent deployment of thousands of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and Border Patrol agents to the Minneapolis area.
Nearly 3,000 federal immigration agents have been sent to Minneapolis as part of a broad enforcement operation targeting illegal immigration and alleged fraud in Minnesota, a deployment the Department of Homeland Security has described as its largest to date. Walz and Frey have publicly condemned the federal presence, claiming it has led to disorder and compromised public safety.
