Judge rejects subpoenas of Minnesota officials, rebukes Trump administration’s ‘coercive’ actions

MINNEAPOLIS (CN) — A federal judge delivered a blow to the Trump administration Monday, blocking a series of “unconstitutional” grand jury subpoenas aimed at top Minnesota state and local officials.

In his 29-page order, Chief U.S. District Judge Patrick Schiltz found the subpoenas were part of an unlawful effort to coerce Minnesota officials into assisting the federal government with immigration enforcement and to remove “sanctuary policies.”

The subpoenas — which came days after state officials sued to block the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement surge earlier this year — sought records dating back to January 2025 as part of an investigation into what the government believed to be a lack of compliance with immigration directives and guidance.

“The state of Minnesota and its political subdivisions have the right, a right grounded in the bedrock constitutional principle of federalism, to decline to devote their resources to furthering the Trump administration’s enforcement of federal immigration laws,” Schiltz, a George W. Bush appointee, said in the order, noting a near “nonexistent” connection between the information sought and any criminal violation.

The six federal grand jury subpoenas were served against the Minnesota governor’s office, the Minneapolis and St. Paul mayors’ offices, the Minnesota attorney general’s office and both the Ramsey and Hennepin County Board of Commissioners.

Schiltz found the subpoenas — bolstered by a “seemingly coordinated” media campaign warning Minnesota’s “defiance” has consequences published the same day as the leaks — were heavily linked with President Donald Trump’s threats of retribution and “well-established history” of using criminal investigations to pressure political adversaries.

“Initiating a criminal investigation in order to harass political opponents or to coerce them into taking official action — particularly official action that the federal government cannot directly require those political opponents to take — is a blatantly unlawful and unethical use of the grand jury process,” Schiltz said in the order.

In December 2025, the Trump administration launched Operation Metro Surge — deploying more than 3,000 Homeland Security agents in the Twin Cities in what many called the largest civil immigration enforcement operation in the department’s history.

Throughout the surge, advocates, state officials and residents reported widespread abuse and dangerous tactics from federal agents, and two Minnesotans were killed by federal agents.

Minnesota quickly challenged the Trump administration’s operation in court, to which Trump dismissed as a lack of cooperation, allowing “thousands of already convicted murderers, drug dealers and addicts, rapists” and other dangerous people to “roam free” in the state.

The president notably threatened to cut off all federal funding to Minnesota after highlighting that “retribution is coming.”

That retribution came quickly, with the Trump administration announcing days later it was investigating Minnesota officials for impeding federal law enforcement officers — simultaneously making public statements claiming state leaders were breaking the law by opposing the surge.

On top of attempting to obtain documents pertaining to the state’s enforcement, or lack thereof, of immigration laws, then-Attorney General Pam Bondi also demanded Minnesota Governor Tim Walz share all of Minnesota’s records on Medicaid and Food programs, repeal sanctuary policies and give the Justice Department access to state voter rolls.

Walz, along with other state officials, has long held the Trump administration’s actions against Minnesota and its officials are part of a campaign of retribution against the state’s so-called “sanctuary policies” and for Walz’s position as a political adversary of the president.

In a post on X Monday, the outgoing governor said the ruling is a victory for the rule of law and our democracy, scolding the investigation as another example of “this administration’s lawlessness.”

Schiltz agreed, finding the subpoenas coercive and noting the 10th Amendment’s “anti-commandeering” rule prohibits the government from commanding state officials to enforce a federal regulatory program — and from retaliating against those who decline to do so.

The judge wasn’t moved by the government’s attempted justification of the wide-ranging subpoenas, in which officials argued city ordinances encouraging reporting of ICE activity and county training on how to respond in an encounter with an ICE agent are enough to launch an investigation.

“Any citizen who happens across law enforcement activity has a constitutional right to observe it, to record it and to mention it to anyone they’d like, including members of the Minneapolis City Council,” Schiltz said in the order. “None of this is itself unlawful, nor does any of this encourage unlawful behavior.”

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey celebrated the ruling in a press release Monday, noting one of the strengths of our democracy is the ability to challenge those in power without fear.

“This Department of Justice investigation was never about justice, law and order, but the absence of it,” he said. “Subpoenaing political opponents because they spoke on behalf of their constituents violates the core tenets of our democracy and human decency.”

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty also expressed elation in response to the ruling Monday.

Monday’s ruling adds to mounting public concern that the Justice Department is becoming increasingly politicized under the Trump administration.

“The department takes the unlawful obstruction of federal law enforcement operations extremely seriously and will continue to act in full compliance with the law to investigate these matters,” a Justice Department spokesperson told Courthouse News in an email.