Judge: Subpoenas ‘Risible’ and Unconstitutional
A federal judge in Minnesota on Monday quashed six grand jury subpoenas issued by the Trump Justice Department to Democratic Gov. Tim Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison, and four other state and local officials, ruling the demands were an unconstitutional attempt to force them to enforce federal immigration laws. U.S. District Judge Patrick Schiltz, a George W. Bush appointee, called the subpoenas “risible” and said they violated the 10th Amendment by seeking to commandeer state officials for federal purposes.
The subpoenas, served on Jan. 20, 2026, demanded a sweeping range of internal communications – emails, text messages, strategy documents – related to the enforcement of federal immigration laws during the December 2025 “Operation Metro Surge.” That operation sent thousands of federal agents into the Minneapolis – St. Paul area and resulted in more than 4,000 arrests of people without legal status, according to the Department of Homeland Security. It also sparked mass protests and led to the deaths of two U.S. citizens, Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti.
“The dominant purpose of the challenged subpoenas is to coerce Minnesota officials into assisting the federal government with enforcing civil immigration law and to harass and retaliate against them for failing to do so.”U.S. District Judge Patrick Schiltz in his ruling
Retaliation, Not Investigation
In a 29-page opinion, Schiltz found the Justice Department was not conducting a genuine criminal probe but was instead misusing the grand jury process for political ends. “The Department is not conducting any criminal investigation; it is using the grand jury process for other (unlawful) purposes,” he wrote. The connection between the demanded materials and any possible crime was “extremely weak to nonexistent,” he added. The judge also pointed to public threats by President Donald Trump and senior justice officials to prosecute so-called sanctuary states as evidence of a campaign to intimidate political opponents.
The ruling echoes a March 2026 decision by Washington, D.C., Chief Judge James Boasberg, who threw out similar subpoenas against former Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, finding that investigation also lacked a legitimate basis. Together, the cases highlight what critics describe as an escalating weaponization of the justice system under the Trump administration. Schiltz’s opinion noted the subpoenas were “extraordinarily broad” and targeted “largely, if not entirely, constitutionally protected conduct."
State Leaders React
Gov. Walz, the 2024 Democratic vice-presidential nominee, called the ruling “a win for the rule of law and our democracy,” adding, “The U.S. Department of Justice is pursuing criminal investigations into the president’s political opponents. This case was just one example of that, but we see this administration’s lawlessness every day – in Minnesota and across the country.” Attorney General Ellison, who filed the motion to quash, said it “should alarm every American that Donald Trump is weaponizing the criminal justice system against people he disagrees with.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota declined to comment. The subpoenas had also targeted Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her, and the top officials of Hennepin and Ramsey counties. All had refused to assist “Operation Metro Surge,” maintaining that civil immigration enforcement is the exclusive responsibility of federal authorities. The case is among the most prominent judicial rebukes of the Trump-era Justice Department’s aggressive use of grand jury subpoenas to pressure state and local governments.
