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The Department of Justice is investigating Democratic officials in Minnesota but not the immigration officer who shot dead a woman in Minneapolis this month, deputy attorney-general Todd Blanche confirmed on Sunday.
In an interview on Fox News, Blanche said it was not appropriate for the DoJ to investigate the Immigration and Customs Enforcement official who shot Renee Nicole Good in her car, in an incident that has been widely viewed online.
The shooting sparked protests and has raised fresh questions about the tactics used by law enforcement officers as President Donald Trump’s administration cracks down on immigration.
“We don’t just go out and investigate every time an officer is forced to defend himself against somebody for putting his life in danger. We never do”, he said. While there is an internal review, he said, there is a “big difference” between that and a DoJ probe.
Homeland security secretary Kristi Noem told CBS on Sunday that there was a review of the shooter’s actions using “the exact same investigative and review process that we always have”.
Blanche, a former federal prosecutor who was Trump’s defence lawyer during his “hush money” trial in 2024, confirmed an investigation into the city’s mayor Jacob Frey and Minnesota governor Tim Walz, both of whom are Democrats and have encouraged peaceful protest.
“You saw the governor and the mayor actively encouraging criminals to go out on the street and impede ICE. That is not allowed under our law,” he said.
Blanche declined to talk in more detail about the investigation, but said: “American people can see what the mayor’s been saying, they can see what the governor’s been saying and it’s obvious that that has to stop.”
The DoJ and Walz did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Protesters have taken to the streets in freezing temperatures in recent days as Minneapolis has become a focal point for demonstrations against ICE in the days since Good’s death.
Trump has threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act of 1807 to deploy troops to put down protests, and the administration has reportedly made preparations that could enable military personnel to be sent to the city. Walz has authorised the state’s National Guard to be ready if needed.
Frey said the Trump administration was trying to “bait” protesters by readying 1,500 active-duty soldiers to be deployed in Minnesota.
“This act was clearly designed to intimidate the people of Minneapolis . . . we’re not going to be intimidated,” he said on CNN.
“I never thought in a million years that we would be invaded by our own federal government.”
A spokesperson for Frey said they had not heard from the federal government. “This is an obvious attempt to intimidate me for standing up for Minneapolis, our local law enforcement and our residents against the chaos and danger this administration has brought to our streets,” he said in reference to the possibility of a DoJ investigation.
Blanche posted on X last week: “Walz and Frey — I’m focused on stopping YOU from your terrorism by whatever means necessary. This is not a threat. It’s a promise.”
In the wake of Good’s shooting on January 7, Frey demanded that ICE “leave the city and state immediately” and urged people to demonstrate peacefully and lawfully. Walz said in a video last week that Minnesota residents should protest peacefully and should record federal immigration actions on their phones.
After reports of a DoJ investigation into him first emerged on Friday, Walz posted on X: “Weaponising the justice system against your opponents is an authoritarian tactic. The only person not being investigated for the shooting of Renee Good is the federal agent who shot her.”
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