Department of Justice investigating Gov. Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Frey, U.S. officials say
By WCCO Staff
[Editor’s note: Live updates related to the aftermath of the fatal Minneapolis ICE shooting have moved here.]
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey are under federal investigation, two U.S. officials told WCCO on Friday afternoon.
Walz and Frey are being investigated by the Department of Justice for allegedly obstructing law enforcement activities, the officials confirmed.
See what both the governor and mayor said in response to the alleged investigation here.
The investigation comes after New details were released on the Jan. 7 fatal shooting of 37-year-old Renee Good in south Minneapolis by ICE officer Jonathan Ross. The reports say Good had at least three gunshot wounds on her chest, her left arm and a possible one on her head.
President Trump on Thursday threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act, which would allow him to deploy troops to quell protests in Minnesota after two shootings, one fatal, by federal immigration enforcement agents there. On Friday, Gov. Tim Walz’s office confirmed that he is “engaged in an ongoing conversation with the White House.”
Here is the latest on the ICE surge in Minnesota
- Minnesota safety officials and the state’s National Guard spoke on Friday afternoon about the state’s precautions ahead of demonstrations scheduled to happen this weekend.
- A raid on a south Minneapolis apartment building Thursday left a family shaken after documents revealed that agents swarmed the incorrect address.
- A family in Minneapolis claims immigration enforcement agents detonated a tear gas canister underneath their vehicle even though they were just attempting to drive through. They had six children in the car, ages ranging from 11 years old to a 6-month-old infant.
- A union representing MSP Airport employees says more than a dozen workers have been apprehended by ICE on the job, even inside the terminal.
- An ICE officer shot a Venezuelan national in the leg Wednesday night in north Minneapolis after the officer was allegedly attacked by men with a “shovel and broom handle,” three U.S. officials told CBS News.
Judge rules federal agents can’t arrest, use pepper spray on peaceful protesters in Minneapolis
A Minnesota federal judge on Friday put limits on the tactics that federal law enforcement are permitted to use in their handling of the ongoing protests in Minneapolis over the Trump administration’s surge of immigration resources to the city.
In an 83-page order, U.S. District Judge Katherine Menendez blocked federal agents who are deployed to Minnesota as part of the Trump administration’s immigration operations from using pepper spray or non lethal munitions on, or arresting, peaceful protesters.
The order also bars federal law enforcement from stopping or detaining drivers and passengers when there is “no reasonable articulable suspicion” that people driving near protests are forcibly interfering with law enforcement operations.
By Jacob Rosen, Joe Walsh
911 transcripts capture moments after fatal shooting of Renee Good
WCCO is uncovering new details about the fatal shooting of Renee Good regarding the emergency response and attempts to save her life.
According to a Minneapolis Fire Department report, Renee Good was shot at least three times. The Minneapolis Fire report says life-saving measures went on for nearly an hour.
People dialed 911 right after hearing the shots. WCCO has obtained the transcripts.
One caller said, “A bunch of ICE agents … they just shot a lady. Point blank in her car.”
The caller later said, “They shot her, like, cause she wouldn’t open her car door.”
Records show the first 911 call came in at 9:38 a.m. The Minneapolis Fire Department report shows crews were dispatched within 90 seconds, arriving at East 33rd Street and Portland Avenue four minutes later.
According to the report, when emergency responders got to Good’s car, they took her out of the vehicle and onto a snowbank to assess her condition. They found her “unresponsive, not breathing” with irregular pulse activity.
The report also details the life-saving measures. It says they moved to a sidewalk for a “more workable scene, better access for ambulances, and separation from an escalating scene…”
Good was shot at least three times, in the chest, the left arm and possibly on the left side of her head, the report said.
First responders covered her chest wounds, administered chest compressions and put a tourniquet on her arm, according to the report, and performed additional advanced procedures on the way to Hennepin Healthcare.
The report said they continued CPR while in the stabilization room at the hospital. They stopped resuscitative efforts around 10:30 a.m., roughly 53 minutes after the officer shot Good.
The document also shows how long the ICE Officer stayed on scene. At 9:41 a.m., right before first responders arrived, the report notes he’s still there. The next time he’s mentioned in the dispatch notes is 10:03 a.m., when he was transported to a federal building.
There were 911 calls with people yelling in the background, about needing crowd control, maintaining a perimeter around the scene, re-routing buses and sending in evidence-gathering teams, the report said.
Minneapolis family grateful for support after they say ICE released tear gas under their vehicle
New video shows what happened when an innocent family got caught in a protest in Minneapolis Wednesday night.
The video shows Destiny Jackson trying to carry her baby boy to safety after a cloud of tear gas enveloped her SUV.
In a since-deleted tweet, the Department of Homeland Security appeared to blame the family for endangering their six children before later faulting “rioters” instead.
The Jackson family says they’re just grateful for all the community’s support.
By Reg Chapman
Donations pour in after Circle Pines restaurant employee with work visa detained by ICE
What started as an average night for Pancho’s Taqueria and Mexican Cafe in Circle Pines, Minnesota, turned into a traumatic memory.
Frank Chase, who owns the restaurant, says he can’t stop thinking about Tuesday, when federal agents arrested one of the restaurant’s employees, who Chase says had a valid work visa to live legally in the U.S.
The agents waited in the parking lot before following a Latino staff member named Kevin into a storage container as he grabbed supplies for the kitchen.
By Jeff Wagner
House Democrats convene hearing in Minnesota amid immigration crackdown
More than two dozen U.S. House Democrats convened in St. Paul on Friday for an unofficial Congressional hearing on the conduct of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal agents in Minnesota, spotlighting the testimony of local officials and witnesses as the federal operation intensifies.
U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal — the Democrat from the state of Washington who is the ranking member on a subcommittee on immigration — chaired the meeting alongside U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, who represents Minneapolis and some surrounding suburbs.
DOJ investigating Gov. Walz and Mayor Frey over alleged conspiracy to impede immigration agents
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey are under federal investigation, two U.S. officials told WCCO on Friday afternoon.
Walz and Frey are being investigated by the Department of Justice for allegedly obstructing law enforcement activities, the officials confirmed.
Daniel Rosen with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Minnesota declined to comment on the investigation.
Walz, in a statement regarding the investigation, said, “Two days ago, it was Elissa Slotkin. Last week, it was Jerome Powell. Before that, Mark Kelly. Weaponizing the justice system and threatening political opponents is a dangerous, authoritarian tactic. The only person not being investigated for the shooting of Renee Good is the federal agent who shot her.”
Slotkin, a Democratic U.S. senator representing Michigan, said Wednesday that she had received inquiries from the Justice Department after they appeared in a video message urging members of the military not to follow “illegal orders.”
Four other congressional Democrats also received inquiries.
Last week, the Pentagon took steps to demote Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona’s rank in the Navy and cut his military pension because of his appearance in the video.
The Federal Reserve on Jan. 9 received grand jury subpoenas from the Justice Department stemming from a criminal investigation into its chair, Jerome Powell, he said in a video statement Sunday.
Frey, in a written statement, said, “This is an obvious attempt to intimidate me for standing up for Minneapolis, our local law enforcement, and our residents against the chaos and danger this Administration has brought to our streets. I will not be intimidated. 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. Neither our city nor our country will succumb to this fear. We stand rock solid.”
Walz’s and Frey’s offices said Friday that they haven’t received notice of the investigation.
Professor David Schultz, a First Amendment law expert with Hamline University and University of St. Thomas School of Law, said he doesn’t expect the investigation to hold much water.
Schultz explained that public comments from both Walz and Frey fall under protected speech, noting that the bar would be incredibly high if the federal government is attempting to argue that either of them have verbally encouraged a “real overt act of obstruction.”
“There’s no case on record, let us say in the modern history of the First Amendment, that has taken mere criticism to be equivalent to obstruction of justice,” Schultz said, adding that it’s no surprise to him that President Trump is using the DOJ to further complicate life for Walz and other Minnesota officials.
By Jonah Kaplan, Conor Wight, WCCO Staff, Joe Walsh
Minnesota safety officials urging demonstrators to stay peaceful
Minnesota safety officials are asking that protesters participating in demonstrations this weekend stay orderly and peaceful.
Department of Public Safety Commissioner Bob Jacobsen and Major General Shawn Manke with the Minnesota National Guard discussed measures the state is taking at a news conference on Friday afternoon.
“While peaceful expression is protected, any actions that harm people, destroy property or jeopardize public safety will not be tolerated,” Jacobsen said.
He urged demonstrators to follow directions from law enforcement and avoid confrontations.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz earlier this month issued a warning order to prepare the National Guard in response to the fatal shooting of Renee Good by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent. Manke said members have been mobilized, though they will not be used unless needed.
“I don’t know if you’ll see National Guard in the neighborhoods or not. I guess it depends on what the needs are,” Manke said. “We are a support element to local law enforcement as well as the state.”
Manke said the National Guard was in a similar state of preparedness during protests last weekend.
By Nicholas Lentz
Two Minnesota school vans pulled over by federal agents in the same week
Two vans contracted by St. Paul Public Schools were pulled over by federal agents this week while students and staff were onboard, the district said.
Erica Wacker, the St. Paul Public School’s director of communications, confirmed to CBS News that nobody was arrested or detained, and that the vans were on the way to school.
“Our staff followed the district’s protocols, and both vans were able to continue to school without further disruption,” said Wacker.”We applaud the staff members onboard for keeping everyone calm and safe.”
Both incidents occurred between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m., Wacker said. The first occurred on Monday, Jan.12, and the second was on Wednesday, Jan. 14.
CBS News has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for comment.
St. Paul Public Schools contracts vans for transportation through various companies, Wacker said. Going forward, the district is ordering magnets with the district’s name and logo to display on the outside of the vehicles.
The district previously announced that it will be offering temporary virtual learning options, starting on Jan. 22, for students who do not feel comfortable going to school amid federal immigration enforcement activity in the area.
Minnesota public safety officials, National Guard to speak ahead of weekend protests
The Minnesota Department of Public Safety and the Minnesota National Guard are set to hold a safety briefing ahead of demonstrations scheduled to take place this weekend, state officials said.
The news conference, which will also feature officials with the Minnesota State Patrol, Metro Transit and Department of Natural Resources, is set to begin at 3:30 p.m. in St. Paul.
DPS Commissioner Bob Jacobson, Major General Shawn Manke with the National Guard, Lieutenant Colonel Jeremy Geiger with the Minnesota State Patrol, Colonel Rodmen Smith with the DNR and Metro Transit Interim Police Chief Joe Dotseth are expected to be in attendance.
CBS News Minnesota will carry the news conference live. Watch in the attached video player or on YouTube.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz earlier this month issued a warning order to prepare the National Guard in response to the fatal shooting of Renee Good by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent.
By Nicholas Lentz
Impounded vehicles abandoned due to ICE detainment will be free to reclaim, Minneapolis says
Minneapolis officials say any vehicles that end up at a city impound lot after being “abandoned due to ICE detention” will be given back at no cost.
The city said vehicle owners can call 612-673-5777 or go online to see if a vehicle has been impounded.
Proof of detention and vehicle ownership will be required to claim a car.
Anti-ICE protesters continue to make their voices heard at Whipple building
For more than a week now, protesters have been showing up at the Whipple building in Minneapolis where federal agents are headquartered.
At times, the situation has grown contentious between federal agents and the crowd.
“The energy has been very much in support of our neighbors and in support of our communities,” said Danielle, who was protesting at the building on Friday morning.
DHS says it never targeted family with 6 kids in vehicle
The Department of Homeland Security disputes a Minneapolis family’s claims that immigration enforcement agents targeted them with tear gas in the midst of a standoff Wednesday evening.
A couple and their six children earlier said they were trapped inside their vehicle when a tear gas canister exploded underneath them. The kids in the vehicle ranged in age from 11 years old to a 6-month-old infant.
“The last person to get out of the car was my infant child,” mother Destiny Jackson said. “And when he came in, he was, like, lifeless. It was like foam or bubbles coming out of his mouth. I had to give him mouth-to-mouth and CPR.”
On Friday, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin issued a statement, saying, “DHS law enforcement NEVER targeted this family or their innocent children.”
McLaughlin called the family “the victim of rioters and agitators.”
By Eric Henderson, Reg Chapman
DOC says DHS claims state isn’t honoring arrest detainers are “categorically false”
The Minnesota Department of Corrections says claims made by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement that the state is not honoring ICE arrest detainers are “categorically false.”
On Thursday, ICE responded to Walz’s request to “turn down the temperature” by demanding he and the state “honor our immigration detainers.”
The DOC responded to DHS claims, saying it honors all federal detainers, including those from ICE. The corrections department vehemently disputed DHS claims that “1,360 aliens, including violent criminals, are in the state’s custody” and that Minnesota “has released nearly 470 criminal illegal aliens back onto the streets of Minnesota since President Trump took office,” calling such claims “unsupported by facts, and deeply irresponsible.”
The Minnesota Department of Corrections does not have jurisdiction over county jails.
[Read more.]
By WCCO Staff, Camilo Montoya-Galvez
Walz having “ongoing conversation with the White House”
A new statement from the office of Gov. Tim Walz says he “is engaged in an ongoing conversation with the White House.”
WCCO has asked if Walz has spoken to President Trump directly, but has not yet heard back.
Walz on social media on Thursday made a “direct appeal” to Mr. Trump to “stop this campaign of retribution.” He also called on the president to “end this occupation” in a primetime address earlier this week.
WCCO’s Caroline Cummings contributed to this report.
Midtown Global Market postpones Lunar New Year celebration
Midtown Global Market is pushing back its Lunar New Year celebration, organizers said Friday.
Originally planned for Jan. 31, organizers said that as “Lake Street and other communities across Minnesota face challenges, this did not feel like the right time to celebrate.”
A new date has not been set.
By Aki Nace
ICE’s detainee population reaches new record high of 73,000
The number of detainees in ICE custody has reached a new record high, surpassing 70,000 for the first time in the deportation agency’s 23-year history, according to internal DHS data obtained by CBS News.
As of Thursday, ICE was holding about 73,000 individuals facing deportation in its custody across the country, the highest level recorded by the agency and an 84% increase from the same time in 2025, when its detention population hovered below 40,000, the internal statistics show.
The Trump administration has said it is aiming to be able to detain upwards of 100,000 immigration detainees at any given time, as part of its government-wide effort to carry out a deportation crackdown of unprecedented proportions.
Oglala Sioux leader walks back claims of DHS pressure, member arrests
The president of the Oglala Sioux Tribe has walked back claims he made in a memo and press release earlier this week that immigration enforcement arrested four tribal members and that the federal government tried to extract an “immigration agreement” out of the tribe in return for information about their members’ whereabouts.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said it can’t verify claims that any of their officers arrested or “even encountered” members of the Oglala Sioux Tribe or found anyone in their detention centers claiming to be a tribal member. They denied asking the tribe for any kind of agreement.
Tribal President Frank Star Comes Out has not responded to repeated requests for comment, including after his updated memo was released on Thursday.
The accusations of arrests came at a time when many Native Americans are already concerned over the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement agenda and racial profiling by federal agents ensnaring them as well, and as some tribes have grappled with whether to engage in agreements with DHS tied to the crackdown.
By The Associated Press
1 day after judge orders release of Minneapolis man, agents re-arrest him at immigration check-in
A Liberian Minnesotan is back in custody Friday, his lawyer said, a day after a judge ordered him released because federal agents broke down his door in Minneapolis to arrest him without a judicial warrant.
The dramatic arrest of Garrison Gibson last weekend by armed immigration agents using a battering ram was captured on video. U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Bryan ruled the arrest unlawful on Thursday, but Gibson was detained again when he appeared at an immigration office, attorney Marc Prokosch said.
“We were there for a check-in and the original officer said, ‘This looks good, I’ll be right back,'” Prokosch said. “And then there was a lot of chaos, and about five officers came out and then they said, ‘We’re going to be taking him back into custody.’ I was like, ‘Really, you want to do this again?'”
By The Associated Press
New details released on fatal shooting of Renee Good
Renee Good, who died last week after she was shot by an ICE agent in Minneapolis, sustained at least three gunshot wounds and a possible fourth, according to a Minneapolis Fire Department report obtained by CBS News Minnesota.
The incident report shows that paramedics arrived five minutes after Good was shot in her SUV following the encounter with ICE agents. Medics found the 37-year-old unresponsive with an irregular pulse and attempted life-saving efforts on the scene and in the ambulance to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
By Matt Gutman, Sarah Lynch Baldwin
House Speaker Demuth sides with White House as Walz calls for calm
Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is directly appealing to President Trump to “lower the temperature” and stop what he calls Trump’s “campaign of retribution.”
The governor’s office tells WCCO they’re attempting to speak with Mr. Trump. So far, WCCO has not heard of any contact.
Meanwhile, ICE accuses Walz of quote “hostile, anti-inflammatory” rhetoric against the agency and its agents. That’s echoed by the White House and some Republican lawmakers, like Minnesota House Speaker and gubernatorial candidate Lisa Demuth.
“Gov. Walz says he wants to turn the temperature down. The solution is simple: Minnesota should be honoring requests by the federal government to hold criminals that are here illegally that are already in our jails, rather than release them onto our streets, so that they can be detained by ICE in an orderly and safe manner,” Demuth said in a statement.
WCCO spoke with Nathan Stock, an expert in conflict resolution, who has worked on this issue for the late President Jimmy Carter’s nonprofit on how to de-escalate tensions.
“There’s a balance to be struck in your public engagement between being honest about your own feelings, your frustrations, your concern for your country or your state, but also wherever possible, not framing the issue in a way that your political opponents will immediately jump on, will immediately be triggering to them,” Stock said. “And also constantly taking care. And I think we’ve seen this from a lot of our elected leaders to emphasize over and over and over again, the importance of peaceful political engagement.”
Stock has worked on efforts to bridge partisan divides in Minnesota politics.
Walz met with former governors, business, faith, elected and civic leaders, urging them to help decrease tensions and assist with an appeal to Trump administration leadership.
By WCCO Staff
Agents raided wrong apartment in search for items stolen from FBI vehicles, woman says
A raid on a south Minneapolis apartment building Thursday left a family shaken, outraged and looking for answers.
Ring video shows law enforcement officers with long guns moving in, busting through the door, before entering the apartment building. Another angle shows officers inside, searching Alisa Porter’s unit before ripping the camera off the wall.
The Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office says it was conducting a criminal investigation and executing multiple search warrants for a firearm stolen from a federal vehicle on Wednesday night. The operation was assisted by the ATF, FBI and other agencies. The investigation is ongoing.
Porter said agents raided the wrong apartment.
A copy of the search warrant left behind lists the name of a man living at 2926. Mail for Porter lists her address as 2928 Apt 2.
WCCO also learned that more than just a gun was taken when two FBI SUVs were broken into. The document left behind by law enforcement lists highly sensitive items that were taken, including multiple FBI access badges and wallets containing driver’s licenses and credit cards.
By Ubah Ali
1 arrested for stealing from FBI vehicle in Minneapolis
Federal agents in Minneapolis arrested one person on Thursday for allegedly stealing FBI body armor and weaponry, according to government officials.
U.S. Attorney General Bondi says ATF agents, along with Department of Justice partners, executed a warrant on a “known member of the Latin Kings gang” who has a “long list of prior violent crimes.”
“This criminal is a perfect example of what our brave federal law enforcement agents are up against every day as Minnesota leadership ENCOURAGES lawbreaking,” Bondi said in a post on X about the arrests.
FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed the items had been stolen from an FBI vehicle in Minneapolis on Wednesday night.
“There will be more arrests. Again: any individual who attacks law enforcement or vandalizes federal property paid for by hardworking taxpayers will be found and arrested,” Patel said.
Patel added that the FBI is pursuing others believed to be involved in vandalizing and stealing from several government vehicles Wednesday night.
