The status of criminal investigations against on duty ICE agents working as part of Operation Metro Surge was provided this week in press conferences by officials in both Ramsey and Hennepin counties. The precedent they are setting by investigating and charging on duty federal agents will only compound the six plus years of anti-law enforcement sentiment that progressives have fueled here in Minnesota – a sentiment that has damaged our collective public safety.
Let me be clear – I am not supporting improper behavior by federal agents. If such action occurred, it should be investigated and dealt with, but there is a robust and long-standing process already in place. These local political figures are upending that process and creating a damaging precedent that will make it even more difficult for Minnesota to ever rebound and return to a place of reasonableness, respect for law and order, and justice.
Traditionally, if a citizen made an allegation against an on-duty federal agent to local law enforcement, the local law enforcement agency would document the complaint in detail and collect any evidence that may potentially degrade or disappear if not collected in a timely manner. The local agency would then stop and contact the appropriate federal entity – perhaps the FBI or the Justice Department – and turn over the allegation and evidence it had collected.
The appropriate federal entity would then complete a comprehensive investigation applying all appropriate safeguards to ensure justice for both the citizen and the agent was maintained. If criminal charges were warranted, they would be brought in federal court, where case law dictates allegations against an on-duty federal agent should be litigated. If internal discipline was deemed appropriate, that process would follow seamlessly. If civil action against the federal agent(s) was appropriate, the information collected by the appropriate federal agency would be accessible to that court.
Unfortunately, the politically charged rhetoric over Operation Metro Surge coupled with recent history that seems to value criminally overcharging law enforcement officers in a misguided effort to achieve “justice,” make much of Minnesota’s metro area the last place the federal government should passively allow local officials to upend important and reasoned processes for impartially evaluating allegations of misconduct by federal agents.
Consider this
In the history of our state, no law enforcement officer had ever been charged with a crime related to their fatal use of force while on duty – until 2016.
Since the 2016 death of Philando Castille, eight (8) Minnesota peace officers have been charged with various levels of murder and manslaughter related to their fatal use of force during on-duty incidents – all of them in Ramsey and Hennepin Counties.
The book ends cases from above – the 2nd degree manslaughter charges against Officer Jeronimo Yanez in the death of Castille in 2016, and the 2nd degree murder charges against Minnesota State Trooper Ryan Londregan in the death of Ricky Cobb in 2023, didn’t end well for the county attorneys who brought those cases forward.
In 2017, a jury acquitted Yanez of the charges brought by Ramsey County Attorney John Choi. In 2024, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty was forced to embarrassingly drop all charges against Trooper Londregan after allegations surfaced showing she had ignored evidence and advice from her own attorneys that failed to support murder charges against Londregan. A year later, following more public criticism over the progressive political bent in her decision making, Moriarty announced her decision not to seek re-election after her first term in office concluded.
Ramsey County announcement
On Monday, Ramsey County officials held a press conference to update the public on the status of their criminal investigation into the actions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on Sunday, January 18th 2026, in St. Paul.
The investigation is focusing on possible kidnapping and/or false imprisonment charges. As an experienced investigator, listening to the facts presented, it seems to be a leap to equate the temporary detention of a man during a fugitive immigration investigation, by on duty agents, with kidnapping or false imprisonment – the elements for which just don’t fit the situation. Agents didn’t detain anyone for ransom or profit, or to force someone into involuntary servitude, or to facilitate a crime, and they certainly weren’t acting “without authority” when they temporarily restrained occupants of the house as they conducted their investigation.
That’s not to say that ICE shouldn’t have handled the situation with more care – one of the two fugitives they were seeking was already in custody, and ICE’s reliance on an internal legal opinion authorizing them to use forced entry absent a judicial warrant is worthy of scrutiny, but that scrutiny should happen via established and long standing processes, not criminal charges brought by local prosecutors.
During the press conference, County Attorney John Choi acknowledged the investigation represents “novel territory” in that local law enforcement rarely if ever investigates or considers criminally charging federal agents for actions on duty.
Sheriff Bob Fletcher commented about federal authorities who have refused, up to this point, to respond to inquiries by his investigators, saying, “This is very simple, common sense law enforcement. Share your information with other agencies so they can make a determination if there has been a violation of the law.” Choi also lamented that he wished we were in place where authorities cooperated with one another as they traditionally have.
Choi and Fletcher are both respected law enforcement officials, but their comments calling for cooperation between local jurisdictions and ICE come off as tone deaf given recent history.
For years ICE has worked to establish lines of communication and cooperation with local jurisdictions in Minnesota – only to be repeatedly rebuffed, and to have firewalls established to prevent them from traditional access to information. Minnesota’s political leadership became all too comfortable to proudly espouse that “we don’t work with ICE on immigration matters.”
Well, ICE got the message and recognized that, in Minnesota, if it was to successfully locate and deport those here illegally it needed to carry that mission out on its own. As such, Minnesota leaders should accept responsibility for their part in creating the need for Operation Metro Shield. They need to stop fueling the unnecessary and unhelpful fires against federal agents – fires that are more likely to undermine faith in federal law enforcement and damage local/fed relations, than they are to uncover a prosecutable criminal offense.
Hennepin County announcement
Not to be outdone, on Thursday, Mary Moriarty held a press conference to announce her office had formally charged an ICE agent with two counts of 2nd degree assault – which she described as an “important milestone” in navigating the aftermath of Operation Metro Surge.
According to the formal complaint, on February 5th, 2026, ICE agent Gregory Morgan, was driving east on Hwy 62 returning to the Whipple Building at the end of his shift. Morgan was allegedly driving on the shoulder of the road as the lanes narrow near Portland Ave. when a citizen pulled out into the shoulder to prevent him from passing. Morgan eventually pulled up alongside the citizen’s car and allegedly brandished his duty pistol and identified himself as law enforcement by yelling “police.” Agent Morgan then continue on and returned to the Whipple Building.
The citizen called 911 and reported the incident to the Minnesota State Patrol (MSP). The MSP determined that Morgan was and ICE agent driving a rented truck as part of Operation Metro Surge. The MSP investigated the incident by speaking to the complainant, Agent Morgan, and other witnesses. The case was submitted to Moriarty’s office for review and the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office filed formal charges of 2nd degree assault against Agent Morgan.
There are a couple of concerns with the complaint.
First, the allegations simply do not rise to the level of 2nd degree assault charges. 2nd degree assault is the charge the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office most often uses against offenders who actually shoot someone. Often, when shots are fired, but no one is actually hit, the office will charge the incident as a “reckless discharge of a firearm.” Charging Agent Morgan with two counts of 2nd degree assault, with an attached mandatory minimum 36-month prison sentence, for brandishing his firearm during this on-duty traffic encounter, is another example of politically motivated, selective over-prosecution.
Second, Moriarty’s office requested an arrest warrant rather than a summons for Agent Morgan, claiming it was unlikely that Morgan would respond to a summons. Agent Morgan does not represent a threat, and serving the summons via the Department of Homeland Security would have been the appropriate approach given the circumstances. Treating a federal agent who cooperated and spoke with investigators as if he’s a fugitive is simply unprofessional.
Third, Moriarty’s office placed Agent Morgan’s apparent home address on the complaint – again completely uncalled for, especially given the outward hostility fomented against ICE agents, including the documented incidents of agitators doxing and harassing agents at their homes. This has been the chief driver in ICE agents having to wear face coverings.
Fourth, Moriarty’s office described Agent Morgan in the complaint as the “gunman.” This is just ridiculous.
It’s worth noting, yet wasn’t noted in the complaint, that this was a very volatile time in the metro area with violent anti-ICE demonstrations being carried out daily at the Whipple Building. ICE and other law enforcement vehicles were being routinely blocked in and law enforcement were frequently pelted with objects thrown by protestors. Barricades set up around the Whipple Building were spray painted with violent messages such as “Kill ICE” and “F*** Fascists.” Minnesota’s political leadership openly encouraged the demonstrations, while they dehumanized ICE agents and labeled them as terrorists and a “threat.” These facts are important because they provide important context about the environment ICE agents were working in, and the hostility they faced nearly everywhere they went in the metro area during that time.
The allegations against Agent Morgan, if true, deserve attention – but they deserve attention by the appropriate federal investigative agency, not local prosecutors. The State Patrol should have documented the allegations and then turned them over to the appropriate federal entity for follow-up. Instead, they turned the allegations over to Moriarty, who has been outspoken in her desire to prosecute law enforcement, and who has demonstrated a lack of judgement when doing so.
Agent Morgan will undoubtedly move to bring the case into federal court. If successful, that will help level the playing field. If Moriarty is successful in maintaining the current level of charges in state court, an injustice will take place.
Final thoughts
A huge percentage of the conflicts that occurred during Operation Metro Surge would never have occurred if politicians hadn’t stoked fires and if activists hadn’t been encouraged to take to the streets to obstruct ICE at every turn. These incidents emerged from that environment, and the agents put in the middle deserve far more professional discretion than is being applied.
No one is arguing agents should be immune from oversight and repercussion if they violate policy or break the law. But there are long standing and far more appropriate processes to ensure accountability than the “novel territory” that Minnesota authorities are entering.
Using those established processes would ensure that agents were appropriately insulated from the politically motivated, anti-ICE environment that has been stoked in Minnesota, allowing for a true measure of justice to emerge.
