Minnesota Sues DOJ, DHS Over Evidence Access in Officer-Involved Shootings

Minnesota officials have escalated their legal confrontation with the Trump administration by filing a lawsuit demanding access to evidence needed to investigate three officer-involved shootings.

“WASHINGTON -- Minnesota officials sued the Trump administration on Tuesday for access to evidence they say they need to independently investigate three shootings by federal officers, including the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti”

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The lawsuit, filed by Attorney General Keith Ellison, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty, and BCA Superintendent Drew Evans, seeks to force the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security to share evidence related to the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, and the shooting of Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis.

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State officials argue that they have the authority and responsibility to investigate violence within their borders, including prosecuting homicides and assaults, and that federal obstruction is preventing them from fulfilling this duty.

The shootings occurred during "Operation Metro Surge," a controversial immigration enforcement operation that deployed thousands of federal officers to the Minneapolis and St. Paul area as part of President Donald Trump's national deportation campaign.

The Department of Homeland Security initially touted this as its largest immigration enforcement operation ever, but it faced significant criticism from Minnesota leaders who questioned the conduct of federal agents.

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The operation led to major political fallout, including a Homeland Security shutdown as Democrats in Congress withheld funding to secure restraints on Trump's immigration agenda.

The clash between state and federal authorities intensified after the shootings, with Minnesota officials expressing distrust in the federal government's ability to investigate itself.

The three shooting cases central to the lawsuit involve distinct incidents of alleged misconduct by federal officers.

“Minnesota Clashes with Federal Government Over Evidence in Officer-Involved Shootings Minnesota officials have filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration to access evidence for investigating three officer-involved shootings, citing federal non-compliance”

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Renee Good was shot and killed by ICE officer Jonathan Ross in January, while Alex Pretti was fatally shot by Border Patrol Agent Jesus Ochoa and Customs and Border Protection Officer Raymundo Gutierrez.

A third case involves Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, who was shot and wounded in his right thigh by a federal agent.

Federal officials initially accused Sosa-Celis and another man of beating an ICE officer with a broom handle and snow shovel, but prosecutors later dropped all charges against the men and opened a criminal investigation into whether two immigration officers lied under oath about the incident.

Initial accounts by federal officials in all three cases have been contradicted by video evidence.

Minnesota officials have expressed strong condemnation of what they describe as the federal government's unprecedented obstruction of justice.

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty has been particularly vocal, stating that "the federal government has adopted a policy of categorically withholding evidence," calling the practice "unprecedented and alarming."

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She vowed to "fight for transparency and accountability that the federal government is desperate to avoid."

The lawsuit argues that the federal government is not permitted to "withhold investigative evidence for the purpose of shielding law enforcement officers from scrutiny where a State is investigating serious potential violations of its criminal laws, targeting its citizens, within its borders."

State officials emphasize that there must be an investigation any time a federal agent takes a life in their community, and they don't trust the federal government to investigate itself.

The lawsuit comes amid broader legal and political tensions between Minnesota and the Trump administration, with significant implications for federal-state relations in law enforcement.

“Minnesota officials filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday, accusing the Trump administration of withholding evidence related to three shootings by federal officers, including the shooting deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti”

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Legal experts have noted that even if Minnesota were to obtain the evidence and file state charges against federal officers, it would be challenging to prosecute such cases locally, as prosecutors would need to prove the officers were acting outside their official capacities.

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Meanwhile, the Department of Justice has opened a civil rights probe into Alex Pretti's shooting, creating a potential parallel investigation.

The situation has also created political fallout, with the Trump administration pulling federal agents out of Minnesota in February after the Pretti shooting, which marked "the beginning of the end for Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota."

Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem were sidelined by the administration during this period.