A warrant has been issued for an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer who allegedly pointed his government-issued firearm at one other automotive and its passengers whereas driving on responsibility, prosecutors in Minnesota’s Hennepin County stated Thursday.
The case comes as native and state prosecutors and investigators have opened a flurry of instances in Minnesota over ICE officers’ conduct throughout the Trump administration’s “Metro Surge” immigration operation earlier this 12 months, throughout which a number of folks, together with Alex Pretti and Renee Good, have been shot and killed by Department of Homeland Security officers.
County Attorney Mary Moriarty introduced the 2 second-degree assault fees in opposition to the person, Greg Morgan, throughout a press convention Thursday.
In early February whereas driving again to shut out his shift, Morgan was driving on the shoulder of the highway, Moriarty stated. A separate automobile briefly went into the shoulder forward of Morgan earlier than returning to the lane.
Moriarty stated that Morgan then drove his automotive as much as the opposite automotive and pointed his government-issued firearm out of his window and on the two passengers.
When requested about claims from the Trump administration that ICE officers get pleasure from absolute immunity whereas on responsibility, Moriarty responded that “there is no such thing as absolute immunity for federal agents who violate the law in the state of Minnesota or any other state.”
Prosecutors stated throughout the press convention they have no idea the place Morgan is true now or whether or not he’s nonetheless employed as an officer for ICE. There has been no communication with DHS concerning the incident and fees, Moriarty stated.
In a singular flip for such a case, Morgan was interviewed by Minnesota state patrol investigators on the time and, in line with Moriarty, “admitted that he drew his firearm after the victim’s vehicle had already rejoined the normal flow of traffic.”
In different instances involving ICE officers in Minnesota, federal officers have blocked state investigators from accessing evidence, together with denying entry to brokers and refusing to share their identities.
A notable instance occurred as state investigators tried to interview federal brokers concerning the Pretti’s killing however have been denied entry. State prosecutors have sued DHS, demanding they flip over all proof gathered within the Pretti investigation.
On Thursday, Moriarty additionally stated Morgan had advised investigators “that he yelled ‘police’” on the passengers, who had their home windows up and didn’t know, in line with prosecutors, that Morgan was an ICE officer.
“All they saw was the gun pointed at their heads,” she added.
NCS has reached out to DHS for remark and is making an attempt to contact an legal professional for Morgan.
Moriarty prefaced the information by explaining why the case was being introduced previous to fees within the shootings of Pretti, Good and others by DHS officers in addition to a number of different cases involving federal officers’ alleged abuse in Hennepin County.
“I know the community is following the decisions of this office very closely, and I want to be transparent on why these situations are developing at different speeds,” she stated.
The county legal professional stated her workplace is conducting 17 investigations associated to ICE and have carried out over 50 interviews. But she famous that the case in opposition to Morgan was capable of transfer extra rapidly as a result of of highway cameras and his interview.
“So we continue to do investigation on those cases” Moriarty stated. “We’re making really good progress on them.”