Keith Ellison filed a lawsuit to block ICE agents in Minneapolis – and eight days later, the DOJ hit him with a grand jury subpoena.
A federal judge just tossed that subpoena – and the media is calling it a win for democracy.
Here's what they aren't telling you about that Minnesota courtroom.
What Actually Happened in That Minnesota Courtroom
U.S. District Judge Patrick Schiltz – a George W. Bush appointee who clerked for Antonin Scalia – tossed six DOJ grand jury subpoenas targeting Governor Tim Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her, and county officials in Hennepin and Ramsey on Monday.
The subpoenas demanded a year's worth of internal communications – emails, texts, policy documents – from officials the DOJ suspected of obstructing Operation Metro Surge.
https://twitter.com/the_amish_txtr/status/2068780978802147683?s=20
Schiltz ruled the DOJ could not produce "a single plausible investigatory justification" for them.
And that's where the media stops reading.
The judge wasn't saying Walz and Ellison were innocent of obstruction.
He was saying the DOJ built its case so poorly he couldn't find any criminal theory at all.
That's not an exoneration.
That's a paperwork failure.
The Minnesota Democrats Chose Protest Movements Over ICE
Operation Metro Surge launched in December 2025 – 3,000 federal agents deployed to Minneapolis and St. Paul in what DHS called the largest immigration enforcement operation in department history.
Ellison sued to stop it on January 12.
The next day, Trump posted to social media: "THE DAY OF RECKONING & RETRIBUTION IS COMING."
https://twitter.com/marvalous80/status/2069428345574658133?s=20
Walz, Frey, and Ellison didn't stop there.
They held press conferences condemning ICE.
Frey publicly encouraged residents to document federal enforcement activity and know their rights.
That's not passive non-cooperation.
That's an organized counter-operation against federal law enforcement.
And even a Bush-appointed judge said the DOJ's justifications for investigating it were "risible" – his word for laughable.
The 10th Amendment Argument Is a Shield for Sanctuary Politics
Schiltz also ruled the subpoenas violated the 10th Amendment – the principle that Washington cannot force states to enforce federal law.
Minnesota Democrats are calling this a constitutional vindication.
It isn't.
The 10th Amendment has never meant states can actively organize against federal enforcement on American soil.
There is a legal distinction between declining to help and getting in the way – and these officials spent weeks getting in the way.
The DOJ's examples of allegedly criminal conduct were so weak the judge called them "spurious."
Two of the four involved Minneapolis City Council members who weren't even served subpoenas.
https://twitter.com/GrageDustin/status/2042421896440934881?s=20
The other two were county guidance documents telling staff how to interact with ICE agents on county property.
That's what the DOJ brought to court to justify a grand jury investigation of a sitting governor and attorney general.
No wonder the judge laughed them out.
The Question That Still Doesn't Have an Answer
Here's why this matters beyond just this ruling.
Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York spent years refusing to honor ICE detainer requests and courts generally agreed: states aren't required to help.
But something different happened in Minnesota in January 2026.
These officials didn't simply decline to cooperate.
They filed emergency litigation to halt the operation the moment it launched, held coordinated press events attacking federal agents, and publicly organized citizen monitoring efforts while those agents were working the streets.
https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/2067740765908848963?s=20
Whether that crosses from 10th Amendment protection into active obstruction has never been squarely decided by a federal appellate court.
And it still hasn't – because the DOJ handed Walz and Ellison a procedural gift instead of a real case.
The Question Tim Walz Doesn't Want You Asking
The DOJ spokesperson responded Monday: the department "takes the unlawful obstruction of federal law enforcement operations extremely seriously and will continue to act in full compliance with the law."
That's the language of an agency that hasn't decided whether to appeal.
What the ruling doesn't change: Walz is a lame-duck governor who won't seek a third term.
Ellison still faces separate fraud-related questions about his tenure that Vice President JD Vance publicly flagged to the DOJ.
And because Schiltz chose to unseal the ruling, everything Walz and Ellison did during Operation Metro Surge is back in the national spotlight – the lawsuits, the press conferences, the citizen monitoring networks, all of it.
The Trump DOJ just proved it can't win in Minnesota with a sloppily built case.
Whether it comes back with a better one is the question Tim Walz is hoping you forget to ask.
Sources:
- "Judge Quashes Federal Subpoenas Targeting Walz, Ellison, Other MN Leaders," FOX 9 Minneapolis, June 22, 2026.
- "Judge Throws Out DOJ Subpoenas for Minn. Gov. Walz and Other State Officials, Calling Probe Politically Motivated," OAN, June 22, 2026.
- "Judge Rips Trump Administration, Blocks Subpoenas of Walz, Frey Over Immigration Enforcement," Minnesota Star Tribune, June 22, 2026.
- "Federal Judge Quashes Trump DOJ Subpoenas Aimed at Minnesota's Tim Walz, Jacob Frey," The Hill, June 22, 2026.
