As lawsuit seeks to bar gangs from associating at Minnesota State Fair, individuals agree to stay away

Mara H. Gottfried, Pioneer Press on Aug 20, 2026

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ST. PAUL, Minn. — Most of the people named in a legal action to keep two gangs from associating at the Minnesota State Fair have agreed to stay away voluntarily.

The Ramsey County Attorney’s Office and Minnesota Attorney General’s Office filed the legal cases against two primarily Somali gangs. They and law enforcement said it’s an effort to prevent violence.

Of the 10 people named, six dispute the allegations they belong to a criminal gang as defined by state law, but “desire to resolve any disputes” regarding the temporary injunctions that are being sought and said they would not go to the Fair, according to court documents filed this week.

They also agreed to “not encourage, assist … threaten, intimidate … or take part in causing any person to promote or instigate interactions, altercations, fights, brawls, battles, or violence” between the two gangs, said the joint stipulations for temporary injunctions signed by both sides and approved by Ramsey County Chief Judge Sara Grewing on Thursday.

Among the other four people named by prosecutors, two are contesting the cases. Documents about the remaining two didn’t appear in court filings as of Thursday afternoon.

Grewing said in court last week she expects to rule on the injunctions today.

The Ramsey County Attorney’s Office and Minnesota Attorney General’s Office filed the civil complaints on Aug. 5, seeking to bar the gangs Muddy and The Ville from “engaging in certain nuisance-causing conduct” within the Fairgrounds and nearby parking lots during the 12-day event and the morning afterward.

There were hearings on the matters last week and Wednesday.

Attorneys for two men named by prosecutors as alleged Muddy members filed court documents opposing injunctions being issued. An injunction would “unjustifiably infringe upon the rights” of his client, attorney John Fee wrote, “while simultaneously branding him publicly as a gang member and criminal.”

Fee wrote that prosecutors haven’t “met their statutory burden to establish” that Muddy is a “criminal gang” or “continuously and regularly” engages in gang activities. The prosecution says it qualifies as a criminal gang because it has “a common identifying gang name” and “common identifying gang symbols and hand signs,” but the filings do not “actually speak to or identify any gang symbols,” Fee continued.

“The identified hand sign in question is a ‘W’ made with the fingers on one hand” and how that “relates to the word Muddy remains a mystery; however, the commonplace and innocuous nature of the sign, is not,” Fee wrote. “The ‘W’ has been widely used by people of all walks since its inception in the early 90’s hip-hop scene in California. … As an example, many celebrities have been known to ‘throw up’ the ‘W’ while posing for photos” and he included such photos in an exhibit with the court document.

A gang investigator spoke in court last week about clashes between the two gangs over the last several years, including two brawls at the Fair in 2024 and 2025, and two shootings one night near the Fairgrounds in 2024.

He told the court there have been recent social media threats of violence that mentioned this year’s Fair, including one that referenced “State fair bumps,” which is slang for violent altercations, and listed the two gangs and a few others.

When temporary gang injunctions have been used previously, they have “prevented group and gang violence at important community festivals thanks to community and law enforcement coming together and pulling in the same direction to keep the peace,” the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office previously said in a statement.

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