A Minnesota state prosecutor announced Monday an investigation that could lead to charges against federal agents, including Greg Bovino, for misconduct during an immigration enforcement campaign.
Hennepin County Prosecutor Mary Moriarty said at a news conference that her office is already investigating 17 cases, including one in which Bovino, a border patrol officer, threw a smoke canister at protesters on Jan. 21.
His office is also investigating the shooting deaths of U.S. citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti, 37, by federal agents on Jan. 7 and 24. And she is “confident” that they will be able to bring charges in the cases that led to nationwide demonstrations and criticism of federal use-of-force immigration policies.
Another case on Jan. 7 involved federal agents making an arrest outside a high school and deploying chemical irritants while students and staff were in the area.
“Make no mistake: We are not afraid of the legal fight and we are committed to doing it right,” Moriarty said. The immigration enforcement operation known as “Metro Surge” caused immeasurable harm to our community.
DHS, which oversees immigration enforcement, responded in a statement Monday night that such enforcement is a federal responsibility and that states cannot prosecute federal agents.
“What these states are trying to do is illegal and they know it,” the statement said. “Federal officials acting in the exercise of their duties are immune from liability under state law.”
The statement added that local officials should consider how their actions have endangered federal law enforcement agents.
A message to Bovino seeking his response was not immediately returned.
Bovino, who emerged as a key figure in the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement operations, is known for applying aggressive tactics to crackdowns in Minneapolis-St Paul, Chicago and Los Angeles. In Chicago, federal agents frequently used chemical irritants as crowd control measures in residential neighborhoods, and a judge ordered Bovino to wear a body camera and appear daily in court to answer questions about the crackdown. That order was revoked before his first mandatory appearance.
Officers at times took a forceful approach to corralling protesters in Minneapolis-St Paul, detaining numerous people who blew whistles and recorded the arrests.
Bovino was eventually removed from his lead role in the Minnesota effort after federal agents shot and killed Good and Pretti.
Moriarty’s office has created an online portal where photos, videos and eyewitness accounts can be uploaded from any point during Operation Metro Surge.
The Trump administration has defended federal agents, but Moriarty is making clear that his office is “collecting evidence about all kinds of possible crimes,” said Rachel Moran, a professor of criminal and police law at the University of St Thomas School of Law in Minneapolis.
In cases where officers unjustifiably used chemical weapons, threw people to the ground or broke car windows, Moran said as examples, prosecutors may be investigating assaults or property damage.
“These would be situations in which the State has to determine: is there evidence that the agents acted illegally and outside the scope of their authorized duties?” Moran said. “I think the officers did illegal things here. I saw it.”
Although federal agents conducted immigration checks in the Twin Cities, Moriarty’s investigation will only focus on incidents in Hennepin County, which includes Minneapolis and many of its suburbs.
He said Monday that his office is prepared to sue the federal government to obtain the evidence it requested for the investigations of Good and Pretti if it does not hear from them by Tuesday.
“The question is: Should we file charges in federal court?” Moriarty said. “Do we expect the federal government to obstruct us? I would say they already are.”
The Department of Justice (DoJ) opened a civil rights investigation into Pretti’s death, but said it saw no reason for a civil rights investigation into Good’s death. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) prohibited state investigators from accessing evidence in his case.
The Justice Department and FBI did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
While Moriarty addressed the challenges his office would face in bringing charges against federal agents, he said they are committed to transparency and accountability.
Mark Osler, who served as criminal division director for a year under Moriarty in 2023 and 2024, said that regardless of whether there are charges, he believes the public can expect more clarity.
“One of the most important functions that the prosecution has… is to tell the truth, to surface what really happened at a given time,” said Osler, a law professor at the University of St Thomas. “We’ll all know more than what we saw in those initial videos when she’s done. I’m sure of that.”
