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DOJ Probes Walz, Frey Over ICE Remarks as On-Air Clash Puts Case Under Scrutiny

Legal experts call the inquiry an overreach into protected political speech.

Overview

  • CBS News reported that the Justice Department is examining whether statements by Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey could violate a federal law against obstructing officials through force, intimidation, or threats.
  • Following the ICE operation in which Renee Nicole Good was killed, Frey told ICE to "Get the f*ck out of Minneapolis," while Walz urged residents to record immigration agents and asked President Donald Trump to "end this occupation."
  • On CNN, host Abby Phillip pressed GOP strategist Scott Jennings to identify explicit threats; Jennings argued some remarks could qualify and said "they’re gonna take these statements to a grand jury," a claim Phillip challenged.
  • Former prosecutors Elie Honig and Harry Litman criticized the probe as targeting core First Amendment political speech and predicted any obstruction case would fail.
  • The investigation remains ongoing with no charges announced, and coverage now focuses on competing interpretations of the officials’ words and the evidentiary bar for criminal threats.