Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said Americans "should be worried" after protests in Minnesota escalated and disrupted a St. Paul church service, alleging some local officials encouraged demonstrations. The Justice Department has served grand jury subpoenas to the governor’s office, the state attorney general and the Minneapolis mayor’s office as part of its inquiry. The unrest follows the Jan. 7 shooting death of Renee Good during a confrontation with an ICE agent; DHS defended the agent’s actions while Minnesota officials launched an independent probe. Governor Tim Walz criticized the subpoenas as politically motivated.
Deputy AG: Americans 'Should Be Worried' As Minnesota Protests Escalate; DOJ Issues Subpoenas To Local Offices
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche attends a news conference at the Justice Department in Washington, D.C., Nov. 19, 2025.(Getty Images)
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche warned Americans they "should be worried" as protests in Minnesota have intensified, including the disruption of a church service in St. Paul. Blanche said federal investigators believe some demonstrations have been encouraged by local officials and that the Justice Department has acted in response.
The Justice Department on Tuesday served grand jury subpoenas to several Minnesota offices, including the governor’s office, the state attorney general’s office and the Minneapolis mayor’s office, according to reporting on the probe.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Gov. Tim Walz are at the center of a federal probe into impeding law enforcement.
Speaking on "The Ingraham Angle," Blanche said federal authorities had warned local leaders before opening the inquiry and accused some officials of encouraging rioters and impeding federal officers. "We said for the past two weeks that the federal government and this administration would not tolerate local officials doing what they were doing and have been doing," Blanche said.
On the church disruption: Blanche criticized the responses from state and city leaders, saying citizens did not see the governor or mayor express genuine horror at the incident and instead heard what he described as a feigned call for peaceful protest.
The unrest stems in part from the Jan. 7 shooting death of 37-year-old Renee Good during a confrontation with an ICE agent. Activists have used Good’s death to organize demonstrations against immigration enforcement in Minnesota; some of these protests have led to clashes with federal personnel.
A protester confronts a Homeland Security officer during a Jan. 11 protest against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement after a fatal shooting by an ICE agent in Minneapolis.
The Department of Homeland Security defended the agent’s actions, saying officials believe Good attempted to "weaponize her vehicle" against agents. Minnesota state officials have disputed that characterization and announced a separate, independent investigation in addition to the federal probe.
Governor Tim Walz reacted to news of the subpoenas on X (formerly Twitter), accusing the Justice Department of politicizing investigations and calling the tactic authoritarian. Walz also noted that an investigation into the agent involved in Good’s shooting is ongoing and disputed the framing that the agent is not under scrutiny.
Federal and state authorities now face parallel inquiries and political criticism as questions remain about both the circumstances of Renee Good’s death and the response of local officials to the resulting demonstrations.
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