REUTERS—The U.S. Justice Department is investigating Minnesota officials including Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey over an alleged conspiracy to impede immigration agents, a source familiar with the probe said on Friday.
The investigation, first reported by CBS News, stems from previous statements made by Walz and Frey about the thousands of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and Border Patrol agents deployed to the Minneapolis region in recent weeks.
Walz, reacting on social media to news of the investigation, said the justice system was being weaponized.
“Two days ago it was Elissa Slotkin. Last week it was Jerome Powell. Before that, Mark Kelly. Weaponizing the justice system against your opponents is an authoritarian tactic,” he said.
The Justice Department declined to comment.
The Trump administration has sent nearly 3,000 federal agents to Minnesota.