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Fox News has learned federal prosecutors are investigating both Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey for allegedly impeding law enforcement efforts in the blue state.
Two sources familiar confirmed the probe, though no additional details about the investigation have been publicly released.
Sources said the investigation is in early stages, and it is unclear if it will result in any criminal charges.
U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche told Fox News the duo’s anti-ICE rhetoric was teetering on a federal crime.
“When the governor or the mayor threaten our officers, when the mayor suggests that he’s encouraging citizens to call 911 when they see ICE officers, that is very close to a federal crime,” Blanche said.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Gov. Tim Walz are at the center of a federal probe into impeding law enforcement. (Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty Images; Jerry Holt/The Minnesota Star Tribune via Getty Images)
PROTESTERS CLASH WITH FEDERAL OFFICERS AFTER ANOTHER ICE SHOOTING IN MINNEAPOLIS
Walz responded to the news on X, claiming the Trump administration was “weaponizing the justice system.”
“Two days ago it was Elissa Slotkin. Last week it was Jerome Powell. Before that, Mark Kelly,” Walz wrote. “Weaponizing 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.”
As of 7:30 p.m. ET, Frey had not publicly responded to the investigation announcement.
Both Democrat leaders have encouraged anti-immigration enforcement protests following the death of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good, who was fatally shot Jan. 7 by a federal agent while allegedly blocking an ICE operation in Minneapolis.
The White House’s Rapid Response 47 team criticized Walz following a statewide address Wednesday, where he called for ICE agents to be prosecuted.
Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., arrives for an oversight visit to the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, Jan. 10, in St. Paul, Minn. (Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“Help us establish a record of exactly what’s happening in our communities. You have an absolute right to peacefully film ICE agents as they conduct these activities,” Walz said. “So, carry your phone with you at all times. And if you see these ICE agents in your neighborhood, take out that phone and hit record.
“Help us create a database of the atrocities against Minnesotans, not just to establish a record for posterity. But to bank evidence for future prosecution.”
Frey called for peace on Wednesday, just days after telling ICE to “get the f— out” of the city.
White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told Fox News that Walz, Frey and other Democratic leaders have “done nothing but turn up the temperature, smear heroic ICE officers, and incite violence against them—all in defense of criminal illegal aliens.”
President Donald Trump took to Truth Social on Thursday warning he would invoke the Insurrection Act if Minnesotans continue aggression toward federal agents.
“If the corrupt politicians of Minnesota don’t obey the law and stop the professional agitators and insurrectionists from attacking the Patriots of I.C.E., who are only trying to do their job, I will institute the INSURRECTION ACT, which many Presidents have done before me, and quickly put an end to the travesty that is taking place in that once great State,” Trump wrote in the post.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey speaks during a news conference, Jan. 9, at City Hall. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
WHITE HOUSE BLAMES DEMOCRATS FOR ICE VIOLENCE AS MINNEAPOLIS ERUPTS, INSURRECTION ACT THREAT LOOMS
The Insurrection Act, which allows the president to deploy the military to suppress rebellions and enforce federal laws, has not been invoked since the 1992 Los Angeles riots.
If invoked, National Guardsmen could be deployed to carry out domestic law enforcement.
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Fox News Digital’s Greg Norman-Diamond contributed to this report.
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