In court, Minnesota seeks end to federal enforcement surge

MINNEAPOLIS (CN) — In a crowded downtown courtroom, just off the streets where weeks of mass protests have met the sub-zero quiet of winter, Minnesota state officials emphasized two fatal officer involved shootings and federal agents’ increasingly violent actions against peaceful protestors and bystanders in their Monday plea to end federal occupation in the Twin Cities.

Minnesota’s attorney Brian Carter argued that the federal government is “holding public safety hostage” in Minnesota by “commandeering” the legislative process — pointing to a letter from U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, stating that the federal occupation would end only when Minnesota reverses its sanctuary policies.

“This administration is not content with the rule of law … they put violence in the streets of Minnesota to get what they want.” Carter said, adding that it’s impossible to draw the line because the government is “so far on the other side.”

Carter told U.S. District Judge Katherine Menendez the imminent threat of public safety and ongoing violence displayed by federal agents demands a swift end to the operation.

Still, Menendez, a Joe Biden appointee, seemed hung up on the entirety of the operation’s future resting in her hands, at least for now.

“That begins to feel very much like I am deciding which policy approach is best,” she said.

Menendez also questioned Minnesota’s choice to seek an end to the entirety of the federal operation and asked why state attorneys wouldn’t pursue smaller, more targeted lawsuits against claimed illegal actions of Department of Homeland Security agents.

Minnesota is requesting a temporary restraining order requiring federal agencies to end the monthlong “Operation Metro Surge.” State officials claim the ongoing occupation has drained local resources while terrorizing residents.

Minnesota said the federal government has far exceeded its authority in the state by violating the 10th Amendment and putting U.S. citizens at risk.

In its initial lawsuit — filed five days after the federal officer-involved killing of Renee Nicole Good — the state further claims that the federal enforcement operation in Minnesota is not a legitimate law enforcement action, but rather a politically motivated “federal invasion” designed to punish Minnesota and its officials for its political leanings.

Menendez pushed Department of Justice attorney Brantley Mayers on whether Operation Metro Surge is a legitimate law enforcement exercise or a tool of political coercion.

During a tense and lengthy exchange over the Bondi letter, Menendez asked Mayers repeatedly if the federal government was attempting to “achieve a goal through force” that it couldn’t win in court.

Mayers, who remained firm in his stance that the federal government is simply exercising its right to enforce immigration law, suggested the surge was merely a rational response to the fallout of state policies rather than an attempt to commandeer them.

While federal authorities maintain they haven’t issued direct orders to local police, state officials argue the sheer scale of the operation — surpassing 2,000 agents — effectively forced their hand.

When questioned on limits to federal power, Mayers struggled to concretely answer if a hypothetical deployment of 10,000 Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers would finally cross the line into a 10th Amendment violation.

The Trump administration has continuously blamed state officials’ non-compliance with federal agencies as the main reason for the unrest, and argued that it would be an “unprecedented act of judicial overreach” if the federal enforcement in Minnesota was stopped.

Monday’s hearing, and related lawsuit, is just one part of an intensifying multi-front legal war, joined by two lawsuits filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota — one claiming a pattern of racial profiling and warrantless stops of Somali and Latino residents, and another which seeks to bar federal agents from using chemical irritants and other means of violence against protestors.

While a lower court initially granted protections for demonstrators, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals paused that order Wednesday.

Mass protests and a fatal shooting

The legal battle follows a weekend of heightened tension in Minneapolis after U.S. Border Patrol agents shot and killed 37-year-old Alex Pretti on Saturday. DHS claimed Pretti “violently resisted” after approaching agents with a semi-automatic handgun — although bystander video appears to contradict this.

Videos show Pretti intervening to defend a woman being pepper-sprayed before agents tackled him to the ground and apparently disarmed his concealed firearm before shots were fired.

The Trump administration quickly branded Pretti — a U.S. citizen and ICU nurse with no criminal record and a valid permit to carry — a “domestic terrorist.”

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz dismissed these claims as “sickening” lies, asserting that the federal government cannot be trusted to lead the investigation.

The shooting triggered mass protests in the Whittier neighborhood, a densely populated area with a large Somali population, where federal agents claim a targeted operation was underway prior to the shooting.

“How many more people need to die before this ends?” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey asked at a news conference in City Hall.

Frey opposed the federal enforcement despite the Trump administration’s attempts to label him and Walz as insurrectionists, and a DOJ investigation attempting to prove state officials have conspired against the federal government.

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem blamed the unrest on local officials’ refusal to cooperate with federal operations. Meanwhile, the fallout has reached the courts, as U.S. District Court Judge Eric Tostrud granted a temporary order in a lawsuit filed by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, prohibiting federal agencies from destroying evidence related to the shooting.

The shooting came a day after Friday’s mass protest and march throughout Minneapolis, where tens of thousands of people marched through sub-zero temperatures, supported by over 700 local and small businesses who closed their doors in solidarity.

Saturday’s shooting, and related uproar, only added urgency to Monday’s proceedings. While Menendez did not provide a timeline for her ruling, she acknowledged the weight of the moment, and said this case is her “highest priority.”