Feds: South Minneapolis law enforcement action was related to seizure of 900 pounds of meth
Law enforcement officers found 900 pounds of methamphetamine in a Burnsville storage locker recently, which led them to raid eight Twin Cities metro locations seeking evidence related to the drug find, as well as evidence of bank fraud, illegal guns and human trafficking, according to a federal court filings.
The details of the raid were revealed in a federal indictment announced on Tuesday against a 27-year St. Paul woman for 'assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers' during a protest at one of the search locations, Las Cuatro Milpas in south Minneapolis.
The indictment is filled with details that would seem to be tangentially related to the alleged assault on an officer, but shed light on the larger operation.
The attempt to execute a search warrant in south Minneapolis led to a contentious confrontation last week between a bevy of law enforcement agencies and demonstrators, who feared an ICE raid amid the agency's increasingly militarized tactics. The indictment also confirms that the operation was not related to immigration per se but was an ongoing investigation of major drug trafficking.
Federal officials say they found the meth — valued between $22-25 million — in Burnsville and were then granted eight search warrants for locations in Bloomington, Inver Grove Heights, Northfield, Burnsville and Minneapolis. They found two gold-plated guns, documents, digital evidence and images from the Brian De Palma film, 'Scarface,' which is a common homage of narco-traffickers, according to the indictment.
At Las Cuatro Milpas on East Lake Street last week, officers showed up to serve the warrant wearing the uniforms of ICE, DEA, FBI, the criminal investigation arm of the IRS. The Hennepin County Sheriff's Office was also present as was the Minneapolis Police Department, though only for crowd control.
An ICE spokesperson said the 'groundbreaking' operation was Minnesota's first under President Donald Trump's Homeland Security Task Force, which he established via executive order on the first day of his second term.
The overwhelming show of force motivated people in the community — fearing an immigration raid — to protest. The demonstration led to clashes with police A slew of local elected officials questioned the effectiveness and purpose of the law enforcement operation. Gov. Tim Walz called it 'chaotic.' Attorney General Keith Ellison said 'it seemed like the point was to inflict terror and fear into the community.'
Minneapolis City Councilman Jason Chavez told MPR's Cathy Wurzer that the operation was intended to intimidate residents. 'It felt like a very tactical decision to escalate, cause pain and trauma, to the people that live here in the heart of south Minneapolis, and it felt like an intentional decision to unfortunately scare the people that live here.'
Despite the new information on the south Minneapolis operation, federal law enforcement is still likely to face skepticism in the Twin Cities following the raid, especially given the Trump administration's escalation of immigration enforcement in Los Angeles, which now includes use of the U.S. military.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBS News
6 minutes ago
- CBS News
Mayor Eric Adams calls for changes to NYC sanctuary laws after federal lawsuit
Mayor Eric Adams is seeking changes to the city's sanctuary laws after the Justice Department filed a suit seeking to strike them down. Adams, however, is facing fierce resistance from the City Council as members seek to stop him from expanding the role of federal immigration agents in the city. The mayor told CBS News New York he thinks it's important to have sanctuary laws to protect undocumented individuals, but that modifications are necessary to go after people who commit crimes. He cited the shooting of an off-duty U.S. Customs and Border Patrol officer in Manhattan as one reason for needing change. The DOJ charged two suspects in that case and alleged both are Dominican Republic nationals in the U.S. illegally. "I think we need to tweak the current laws to allow us to coordinate with the federal government when it comes down to removing those dangerous people from our streets," Adams said. "It is mentioned in the lawsuit ... the individuals who shot him, the shooter and his co-conspirator, they had a number of violent arrests, and so there is a level of anger and frustration that New Yorkers have." Even before the DOJ sued New York City, the Adams administration had issued an executive order allowing immigration agents to work on Rikers Island. But the City Council sued and won a temporary restraining order preventing the order's implementation. "I said it to the City Council last year that we need to reexamine it, and they say we, they, refuse to do so. So they're protecting individuals like the shooter and that's wrong," the mayor said. "New York City's elected officials have a responsibility to protect our city and serve New Yorkers, not Trump's political agenda," a City Council spokesperson said. "We must be completely united in defending New York City against these frivolous legal attacks that seek to undermine our city and public safety." Adams said his ability to work with the Trump administration's border czar, Tom Homan, has reduced the amount of immigration arrests in the city. "ICE has not been in our schools, our houses of worships. ICE has not been at our shelters, in any other facilities. And so the goal is to work with a presidential administration," he said. Adams argued immigration enforcement in New York City since President Trump took office is far less than any other major U.S. city. He said there's been an 11% increase in enforcement in New York City, a 161% increase in Miami, a 69% increase in Los Angeles and a 57% increase in Chicago. "I can't speak for other cities. Mayors have their own policies and procedures, but here in New York City, where we can collaborate going after dangerous, violent people, we have shown a willingness to do so," he said. President Trump, meanwhile, stepped up pressure on other cities with sanctuary policies, making it clear New York is not the only place that will be hit with lawsuits if elected officials refuse to cooperate with the federal government. "That's DOJ going against New York. But we're going against a lot of other places too. We want to bring safety to our cities," Mr. Trump said. "We've started numerous lawsuits with other cities. We want to bring safety. We've got to get the criminals out and we're doing it in record numbers." New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams wants the mayor to fight the federal government's lawsuit, not call for tweaks so the city can cooperate in getting violent criminals off the street. "The mayor who opened the doors for ICE, and is only now beginning to notice their abuses, is now faced with another moment to step up, show he cares about the city, and clearly condemn this dangerous suit," Williams said. "He's advocating for the shooters," Adams said. "How about advocating for the good people in the city that should not be the victims of crimes, even if they're documented or undocumented. So I would like for him to go to the hospital and stand over the bed of that officer that was shot and tell him that he supports him. I think he should try doing that for once."
Washington Post
36 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Judge dismisses DOJ lawsuit against Illinois, Chicago over ‘sanctuary city' policies
A federal judge on Friday dismissed 'in its entirety' the Trump administration's lawsuit against Illinois, Cook County and the city of Chicago over 'sanctuary city' policies that the Trump administration has said impede its efforts to crack down on undocumented immigrants. U.S. District Judge Lindsay C. Jenkins for the Northern District of Illinois Eastern Division said the Trump administration 'lacks standing' to invalidate the state, city and county laws that limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, adding in her ruling that 'contrary to the United States's arguments, the Sanctuary Policies here do not comparably regulate [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] operations or meddle with the contractual rights of private individuals working with ICE.' 'The individual defendants are dismissed because the United States lacks standing to sue them with respect to the Sanctuary Policies; Cook County Board of Commissioners is dismissed because it is not a suable entity separate from Cook County … The United States's complaint is dismissed in its entirety without prejudice,' Jenkins wrote. Since returning to office, President Donald Trump has moved aggressively to crack down on immigration, targeting what he calls 'sanctuary cities,' whose policies limit local cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, and threatening legal actions against local and state authorities who do not comply. In February, the Trump administration sued Illinois and Chicago for interfering with the federal immigration crackdown, arguing that the city's Welcoming City ordinance and the Illinois Trust Act reflects 'an intentional effort to obstruct the Federal Government's enforcement of federal immigration law and to impede consultation and communication between federal, state, and local law enforcement officials that is necessary for federal officials to carry out federal immigration law and keep Americans safe.' The lawsuit also named Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D), Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (D), the Cook County Board of Commissioners, Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling, and Cook County Sheriff Thomas Dart. This is a developing story.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Surgery center workers who scuffled with ICE agents facing federal charges
Two California surgery center workers are facing federal charges after being accused of scuffling with ICE agents. The July 9 incident captured on video shows the two workers standing in the way of agents, as they tried to detain a man who ran into the surgical building. To identify the workers, federal agents staked out the Los Angeles-area SCA Health Ontario Advanced Surgery Center for three days following the July 8 confrontation, in which masked, plainclothes ICE agents chased a suspected illegal immigrant into the building. Federal officials on July 25 said Jose de Jesus Ortega and Danielle Davila have been charged with assaulting a federal officer and conspiracy to prevent by force and intimidation a federal officer from discharging his duties. Ortega was arrested on July 25, and authorities said they're still pursuing Davila. The video, which went viral, shows two surgery center workers in scrubs yelling and blocking one of the agents from detaining the man. Federal officials criticized what they said was a "false narrative" in the media and online that portrayed the detainee as a patient at the clinic. According to authorities, the ICE agents saw the truck stop outside the building, and when they approached the men, the men ran. According to court records, the agents had no specific knowledge that the man who ran into the clinic was living in the country illegally, and had been following the truck in which he was riding as part of a "roving patrol" in their unmarked vehicle. "The illegal alien arrested inside the surgery center was not a patient," United States Attorney Bill Essayli said in a statement. "He ran inside for cover and these defendants attempted to block his apprehension by assaulting our agents. It doesn't matter who you are or where you work, if you assault our agents or otherwise interfere with our operations, you will be arrested and charged with a federal crime." In a July 9 social media post, Homeland Security officials said the man who agents were chasing is Honduran national Denis Guillen-Solis. They said he was living illegally in the United States. "He ended up near the Ontario Advanced Surgical Center where hospital staff assaulted law enforcement and drug the officer and illegal alien into the facility," DHS said in the post. "Then, the staff attempted to obstruct the arrest by locking the door, blocking law enforcement vehicles from moving, and even called the cops claiming there was a 'kidnapping.'" The video is among the latest examples of people delaying or obstructing ICE agents carrying out President Donald Trump's mass-immigration initiative, which has also sparked widespread protests. The identities of the two ICE agents involved in the surgery center detention were not released. Federal officials say ICE agents are increasingly being assaulted or targeted by community members, which requires them to remain anonymous. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Feds charge surgery center workers recorded in scuffle with ICE agents
