DHS Shootings Investigation: Questions and Concerns Grow
- The Justice Department is investigating Minnesota governor tim Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, and other Democratic state officials regarding their public statements concerning recent immigration enforcement operations.
- The investigations center on the public comments made by Walz and Frey about the immigration operations.
- Governor Walz and Mayor Frey have publicly stated that the investigations are politically motivated.
The inquiries launched by the Trump administration after immigration officers killed Renee good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis are a departure from the goverment’s long-standing practices around investigations into high-profile killings by law enforcement, according to local prosecutors and former federal officials.Top officials in the Trump administration were swift to say in the aftermath of the fatal shootings that the immigration officers’ actions were justified,and said that a deeper federal criminal civil rights probe wasn’t warranted at this time,raising questions about an self-reliant investigation. Good, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said, had been committing “domestic terrorism.” Pretti, top trump aide Stephen Miller said, was a “would-be assassin,” though eyewitness video contradicts those narratives.
and local authorities have been cut out from the probe, raising questions about how evidence is being handled.
“Nothing about what is going on here is normal,” clare Diegel, an attorney with the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office, said during a federal court hearing Monday, after the county asked a judge to extend an order forcing Homeland Security officials to preserve evidence in the shooting of Pretti.
“From a law enforcement perspective, this is amazing,” Minnesota officials said in their court filing over evidence preservation. “The federal government’s actions are a sharp departure from normal best practices and procedure, in which every effort is taken to preserve the scene and the evidence it contains.”
After their initial statements, Noem and other officials later pointed to the ongoing investigations to determine what had happened. And Trump himself on Tuesday promised a thorough look into Pretti’s death.
“We’re doing a big investigation … I want a very honorable and honest investigation,” he said. “I have to see it myself.”
Justice Department Investigates Minnesota Officials, Partner of Woman Shot by Federal Agents
The Justice Department is investigating Minnesota governor tim Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, and other Democratic state officials regarding their public statements concerning recent immigration enforcement operations. additionally,the DOJ is examining whether Becca Good,the partner of Renee Good,who was fatally shot by federal agents,obstructed federal agents prior to the shooting.
Focus of the Investigations
The investigations center on the public comments made by Walz and Frey about the immigration operations. The DOJ indicated it may pursue civil rights violations “at some later point if the evidence presents itself,” according to NBC News. Federal officials are also investigating Becca good for potentially impeding agents in the moments leading up to the fatal shooting of Renee Good.
Responses to the Investigations
Governor Walz and Mayor Frey have publicly stated that the investigations are politically motivated. Good’s attorney has reported that she has not been contacted by law enforcement and is unaware of any investigation into her actions, but has criticized the overall response to the shooting.