Federal judge rejects subpoenas of Walz, Ellison, Frey and others

Deena Winter, The Minnesota Star Tribune on Jun 22, 2026

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A federal judge has canceled subpoenas by the U.S. Department of Justice of Gov. Tim Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and other Minnesota elected officials as part of an investigation into whether they obstructed immigration enforcement during Operation Metro Surge.

Judge Patrick Schiltz ruled that the U.S. Department of Justice’s investigation was politically motivated, unconstitutional, and without merit.

Attorney General Keith Ellison said an order was unsealed today in which Schiltz “took the extremely rare step” of granting Ellison’s motion to quash subpoenas issued to him, and other Minnesota officials, including Walz, Frey, St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her, the office of Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty, and the Hennepin and Ramsey County Boards of Commissioners.

It marks another blow to the Trump administration’s use of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to go after his political foes. The Minnesota Star Tribune has contacted the DOJ for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

Walz released a statement calling the ruling “a victory for the rule of law and our democracy.”

“The U.S. Justice Department is pursuing criminal investigations into the president’s political opponents,” he said. “This case was just one example of that, but we are seeing daily reminders of this administration’s lawlessness – in Minnesota and around the country. We all must continue to seek justice and uphold the rule of law."

The subpoenas sought records from Frey and Walz’s offices that would show “possible violations of federal criminal laws” during Operation Metro Surge, a 12-week immigration crackdown Trump launched in Minnesota after Trump railed about Somali people being involved in fraud.

After Renee Good was killed by an ICE agent, Frey used an expletive to publicly tell ICE to get out of Minneapolis, and Walz repeatedly condemned the crackdown. The Trump administration backed down in mid-February, after Minnesotans had come out in droves to oppose ICE, Good and protester Alex Pretti were killed, and a third person was shot and injured.

The governor and other elected officials targeted by the DOJ said the subpoenas were an attempt to infringe on their First Amendment rights to express opposition to the Trump administration’s actions.

Subpoenas were also delivered to the offices of top state prosecutors, who launched an independent review of an ICE agent’s fatal shooting of Good after the FBI removed the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) from their investigation, leaving state investigators without access to evidence such as Good’s SUV, a shell casing and witness interviews.

Moriarty and Ellison announced on Jan. 9 they would do their own review of Good’s killing.

Less than two weeks after Good’s killing, Ellison’s office was subpoenaed for records and documents related to his office’s work regarding federal immigration enforcement. At the time, Ellison said instead of “seriously investigating” Good’s killing, the Trump administration is “weaponizing the justice system against any leader who dares stand up to him.”

Schiltz is a George W. Bush appointee who clerked for the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and mentored Justice Amy Coney Barrett.

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