Allies of Tim Walz and Jacob Frey have rallied around the two Minnesota leaders after the Department of Justice launched a criminal probe that legal experts have labeled “total garbage.”
“All the way through, it’s been just complete tirades against Walz in particular, ‘buffoon, dumb, it’s all his fault,’ this is a complete non-start of a prosecution,” former federal prosecutor Harry Litman told MS NOW, referencing Donald Trump’s comments and political crusade against his critics.
But he added that “it’s a grave thing to try to defy a subpoena, even in a total garbage lawsuit, as this [investigation] is,” he added.
The Justice Department has accused Minnesota’s Democratic governor and the mayor of Minneapolis of obstructing federal law enforcement through their public statements, which Litman and other legal experts say are protected by the First Amendment.
A startling decision to launch federal investigations into two prominent Democratic leaders follows the recent law enforcement surge in Minnesota, which the Department of Homeland Security has called its largest immigration enforcement operation yet, resulting in more than 2,500 arrests, with officers accused of violently targeting immigrants and citizens alike and facing off against protesters in violent clashes.
Tensions have also flared up significantly in Minneapolis and other Minnesota cities following the death of 37-year-old Renee Good, who was killed after ICE agent Jonathan Ross fired three shots through the windshield of her car. President Donald Trump has also threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act and deploy active-duty military against civilians but later appeared to back down from his remarks.
Walz and Frey have fiercely pushed back against the surge in remarks to Minnesotans, which the administration alleges has prevented officers from doing their jobs.
Former federal prosecutor Elie Honig has also cast doubt on the Justice Department’s case.
“DOJ has lost its damn mind,” Honig told CNN. “If you have public officials, as we do here, making political speech, even if it’s explosive, inflammatory, aggressive, and then that causes people to protest, or to call 9-1-1, that is simply not obstruction of justice … If they bring an indictment for obstruction, I promise you, they will lose.”
In a statement defending Frey, the Democratic Mayors Association blasted Trump for “making our communities less safe” and using “lies, intimidation, distractions and coverups” to attack citizens for exercising their constitutional rights.
“Trump has invaded our cities, attacked our citizens and created fear and chaos,” the statement read. “While Trump continues to try to control and dictate instead of lead, Mayor Frey’s focus has and always will remain on keeping the residents of Minneapolis safe.”
Other Minnesota lawmakers reacted with outrage to the investigation, with Senator Amy Klobuchar calling the subpoenas “an assault on our democracy and the rule of law.”
“Speaking out against what our government is doing is not a crime in America—not now, not ever,” she wrote on X.
“America deserves justice, not President Trump’s use of DOJ as a weapon against his perceived enemies,” wrote state Rep. Betty McCollum. “I stand with Gov. Walz.”
Democratic Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer said “Americans reject this kind of totalitarian bullying.”
“Instead of seeking justice for Renee Good, Donald Trump is weaponizing the Justice Department to investigate and intimidate Democratic leaders in Minnesota,” said Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren. “We will not stand by silently and be bullied into submission.”
“With each passing day, more and more of Donald Trump’s political opponents are finding themselves targeted by his Justice Department,” wrote Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, who recently filed a lawsuit against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over politically charged threats to the Navy veteran’s rank and retirement.
“It’s not by accident,” he added. “This is un-American, and we cannot allow it to continue.”
Walz and Frey are the latest among a string of Democratic figures and Trump critics to face criminal scrutiny and investigations under the current investigation, what critics have labeled a campaign of “retribution” after the president faced indictments and prosecutions of his own.
In his own response to reports of the investigation, Walz called Trump’s “weaponizing” of the justice system against his political opponents “a dangerous, authoritarian tactic.”
“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,” Frey said in a statement.
“I will not be intimidated,” he added. My focus remains where it’s always been: keeping our city safe.”
The administration has also threatened Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell in an investigation that critics, including Powell, have blasted as politically driven after a refusal to slash interest rates in line with Trump’s wishes.
“I have deep respect for the rule of law and for accountability in our democracy. No one — certainly not the chair of the Federal Reserve — is above the law,” Powell said in a statement. “But this unprecedented action should be seen in the broader context of the administration’s threats and ongoing pressure.”
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