Minnesota sues feds for evidence in Pretti, Good slayings

(CN) — Minnesota took the Trump administration to federal court Tuesday claiming officials have withheld evidence in three federal officer-involved shootings, including the killings of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti.

The state wants a federal judge to force the government to share evidence it collected after the shootings and claims the administration obstructed Minnesota’s ability to access information.

“The lawsuit filed today challenging the categorical withholding of all evidence from our office and the state of Minnesota for a criminal investigation is unprecedented in American history,” Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said in a statement.

During the Trump administration’s “Operation Metro Surge,” federal agents shot three people in the Minneapolis area. Renee Good and Alex Pretti died, and Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis was wounded.

In the 43-page-complaint filed in D.C. federal court, Minnesota says the federal government’s decision to block a state-level investigation into each incident goes against long-standing cooperation between state and federal authorities.

“The state of Minnesota has the authority and responsibility to protect against and address violence within its borders,” Minnesota says in the complaint. “It is a core attribute of state sovereignty — and a duty owed to the people of Minnesota — that such investigations be thorough and based on all relevant evidence.”

Minnesota says its officials were stonewalled after sending formal requests to Trump administration agencies seeking access to shooting evidence — claiming the outright refusal to respond at all confirms the government has adopted a policy of refusing Minnesota authorities access.

“It is extraordinary that we need to file this lawsuit at all,” Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said in a statement, adding the federal government’s choice not to share evidence has no rational basis.

While the Justice Department claims Minnesota has no jurisdiction in investigating the shootings, the state says it has both the authority and the duty to investigate crimes committed within its territory under the 10th Amendment’s establishment of state powers.

Legal experts told Courthouse News in January that the federal government’s decision to exclude state investigators from the Good shooting investigation was highly unusual, and a signal of a less credible investigation.

In Tuesday’s complaint, Minnesota outlines the long history of state and federal cooperation, pointing to instances over the years where joint investigations took place regarding similar federal officer-involved shootings.

On the morning of the Good shooting, the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and FBI leadership in Minnesota reportedly agreed to conduct a joint investigation — an agreement that wouldn’t last the day before the government reneged.

“The history of cooperation and access to federal evidence that Minnesota officials had relied on to investigate these shootings abruptly ended once federal leadership became involved,” Minnesota says in the complaint, pointing specifically to President Trump’s statement that there would be no federal cooperation because Minnesota officials were “crooked.”

The fallout of the Pretti shooting saw a more immediate exclusion of state investigators, as Minnesota claims the federal government physically blocked the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension from accessing the scene of the shooting — prompting a lawsuit amid concern evidence might be destroyed.

U.S. District Judge Eric Tostrud initially granted a restraining order in that case, before lifting the order after his concerns of evidence preservation were alleviated.

The Justice Department did announce a civil rights probe into Pretti’s killing, but said a similar investigation was not warranted in Good’s case.

The state also seeks information on the shooting of Sosa-Celis, who saw charges assaulting federal agents dropped after Immigration and Customs Enforcement said agents may have made false statements.

Tuesday’s lawsuit is the latest in a long line of legal action taken against the Trump administration for its handling of the immigration enforcement surge in the North Star State, and signals the state’s intent to pursue litigation even after the operation’s end.

“These shootings are just three examples of the violent actions committed by federal agents in Minnesota during the Surge,” Minnesota says in the complaint. “Federal agents also carried out illegal stops, sweeps, arrests, and dangerous raids in sensitive public spaces.”

Named defendants include Attorney General Pam Bondi and outgoing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and their respective departments.

DHS and the Justice Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.