Kash Patel warns elected officials are not exempt as DOJ subpoenas Walz, Frey
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FBI Director Kash Patel warned that elected officials are not immune from federal scrutiny after the Justice Department issued grand jury subpoenas to five Minnesota government agencies on Tuesday, saying his agency was carrying out President Donald Trump’s mandate to fully enforce the law.
“No one — elected official, private citizen or any other person — can obstruct or impede a law enforcement investigation. No one,” he said on “Hannity.”
Patel’s remarks came after the Justice Department issued grand jury subpoenas to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and several other state officials as part of an investigation into whether they conspired to obstruct federal immigration enforcement operations.
Subpoenas issued by the FBI seek records and communications related to the alleged effort.
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Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Gov. Tim Walz are at the center of a federal investigation into obstruction of law enforcement. (Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty Images; Jerry Holt/The Minnesota Star Tribune via Getty Images)
The investigation follows a massive increase in immigration enforcement operations across the Twin Cities at the direction of the Trump administration. Approximately 3,000 federal immigration officers were deployed; That’s a sizable force in a district where the Minneapolis Police Department has only 600 officers.
The investigation also follows the shooting death of Renee Nicole Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer on January 7. His death sparked widespread protests across Minnesota, leading to numerous clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement.
Top Democratic leaders in the state, such as Walz and Frey, have strongly opposed the enforcement operations sweeping their states. Governor Walz at one point declared that the state was “at war with the federal government.”
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A protester confronts a Homeland Security officer during a protest against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) following a fatal shooting by an ICE agent in Minneapolis on January 11. (Mustafa Bassim/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Appearing on “Hannity” on Tuesday, Patel credited the administration for prioritizing a crackdown on law enforcement in the North Star State and beyond.
“He has provided law enforcement with the resources they need to protect our American communities,” the FBI Director told Fox News. “It also gave us the authority to enforce the law.”
Patel detailed how the federal criminal investigation into subpoenaed Minnesota officials is expected to unfold.
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“When the subpoena comes, “This is not rocket science,” he explained. “Investigations are done by taking records, investigations are then furthered by placing witnesses to a grand jury and making a presentation for a case with our partners at the Department of Justice.”
Fox News learned late last week that federal authorities were investigating Walz and Frey over allegations they obstructed law enforcement operations.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison was among those subpoenaed.
Responding to the news, Walz, Frey and Ellison repeated the same message and said they were not afraid.
Walz, a former rival of President Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential race, called the subpoenas “partisan distraction” and “political retaliation.”
“The State of Minnesota will not be drawn into political theater,” he wrote to Governor X.
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Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison speaks at the Community Empowerment speaker series at the Bridge Center on May 7, 2025 in Detroit, Michigan. (Monica Morgan/Getty Images)
Frey also pushed back, accusing the federal government of using its power as a weapon to intimidate local leaders.
“We should not live in a country where federal law enforcement is used to play politics or oppress local voices with whom they disagree,” he wrote to X.
Ellison called the investigation “highly disorganized” and noted its timing, shortly after his office filed a lawsuit against the administration for its actions in Minnesota.
“Trump uses the justice system as a weapon against any leader who dares to oppose him,” he wrote in his article to X.
FBI Director Kash Patel speaks at a press conference at the White House in Washington, DC, on November 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
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But Patel maintained that the administration’s efforts are aimed at public safety and made clear that the FBI was following Trump’s authority to legislate for all but elected officials.
“This FBI is committed to working with our interagency agencies and Department of Justice partners, under the authority of President Trump, to ensure that Minnesota and every other city in this country is safe,” Patel said.
