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Lawsuit Filed
Minnesota officials have escalated their confrontation with the Trump administration by filing a federal lawsuit demanding access to evidence in three controversial shootings involving federal officers.
“Minnesota sued the federal government on Tuesday, March 24, seeking access to evidence in the fatal shootings by federal officers of Renee Good and Alex Pretti and a shooting that injured another man during an immigration enforcement surge in the state, according to a complaint.”
The lawsuit, filed by Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty, accuses federal authorities of withholding critical evidence needed for independent state investigations.
The legal action targets the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security, along with Attorney General Pam Bondi and outgoing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, as defendants.
The three shooting cases involve Good, a 37-year-old mother of three killed by an ICE officer on January 7; Pretti, a nurse killed by Border Patrol and CBP officers on January 24; and Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, who was shot in the leg.
Sosa-Celis was initially charged with assaulting federal officers before those charges were dropped amid conflicting evidence.
Operation Metro Surge
The lawsuit stems from Operation Metro Surge, Trump's largest immigration enforcement operation that deployed thousands of federal officers to the Minneapolis and St. Paul area.
State officials claim the federal government reneged on its promise to cooperate with state investigations after the surge, breaking down longstanding practices of evidence-sharing.
The Department of Homeland Security considered the operation a success, but it drew staunch criticism from Minnesota leaders who raised questions about officers' conduct.
The Trump administration has suggested that Minnesota officials lack jurisdiction to investigate, but state officials insist they need to conduct their own probes.
State officials don't trust the federal government to investigate itself, as Moriarity stated: 'There has to be an investigation any time a federal agent or a state agent takes the life of a person in our community.'
Evidence Withholding
The lawsuit specifically details how federal authorities have impeded state investigations by withholding evidence, including basic information such as the names of agents who opened fire.
“Hours after Pretti was shot, President Donald Trump posted a picture on his Truth Social account claiming to show Pretti's gun. 'The photograph shows the gun on the seat of a car, surrounded by two charging cords, which indicates it was not protected or handled according to normal law enforcement process meant to properly preserve evidence,' the suit reads.”
Evidence from crime scenes has been withheld, with one particularly concerning case involving President Trump posting a picture on Truth Social of Pretti's gun that wasn't handled properly.
The suit argues that Homeland Security's referral of evidence requests to the Justice Department was improper and reflected a broader policy to withhold evidence from state authorities.
This comes despite Homeland Security leading the investigations into the deadly use of force in the killings of Good and Pretti.
In late January, following Pretti's killing, a court granted a temporary restraining order barring federal investigators from destroying evidence, though this was later dissolved.
Federal Response
The Justice Department's handling of the cases has further escalated tensions, as federal prosecutors opened a civil rights investigation into Pretti's shooting but not into Good's case.
This decision marked a sharp departure from past administrations, which moved quickly to investigate shootings of civilians by law enforcement officials for potential civil rights offenses.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche defended the approach, stating that circumstances and facts must 'warrant an investigation' rather than investigating every law enforcement shooting.
Federal officials initially accused Sosa-Celis and another man of beating an ICE officer, but all charges were later dropped after evidence suggested the agents' story was false.
Authorities opened a criminal investigation into whether two immigration officers lied under oath about the shooting, with at least one agent now under federal criminal investigation.
Public Response
The shootings have sparked significant public outcry and protests, with the deaths of Good and Pretti particularly drawing nationwide attention.
“The lawsuit marks an escalation in the clash between Minnesota leaders and the Trump administration over the investigations into the high-profile shootings by federal officers that sparked public outcry and protests.”
Both victims were U.S. citizens who were protesting the conduct of immigration officers, highlighting the politically charged nature of the incidents.
State officials have emphasized the unprecedented nature of the federal government's behavior, with Moriarty describing the evidence withholding as 'unprecedented and alarming.'
The county attorney's office has received over 1,000 tips from the public on the shootings via an online portal they opened to collect evidence.
Despite the legal challenges, Moriarity maintained that her office retains the right to file charges if it determines a crime was committed in any of the three shootings.
The lawsuit represents the latest escalation in an ongoing confrontation between Minnesota and the Trump administration, with previous legal battles over the immigration operation.