Acting Attorney General Jennifer Davenport has joined 21 other attorneys general in criticizing the U.S. Department of Justice’s recent actions toward Minnesota. In a letter sent to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, the coalition denounced what they describe as federal efforts to pressure Minnesota into sharing sensitive resident data and changing its public safety policies.
“Instead of working with state and local leaders to keep the public safe, the Trump Administration has sown chaos, stoked fear, and undermined public safety in Minnesota at every turn. Now the Department of Justice is making things even worse, engaging in coercive tactics that are outrageous and that do nothing to promote public safety,” said Acting Attorney General Davenport. “I stand together with my fellow attorneys general in condemning the Trump Administration’s reckless targeting of Minnesotans, and I call on the Administration to end this shameful chapter immediately.”
The letter was issued in response to a January 24 communication from Attorney General Bondi to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. That communication outlined several demands from federal officials as conditions for withdrawing federal agents from Minnesota. These included requests for Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) data, changes to local public safety policies, and access to personal identifying information about Minnesota voters.
The group of attorneys general argue that these demands threaten state sovereignty by attempting to coerce Minnesota into compliance through means not supported by ongoing litigation or court orders. They also say that many similar actions by the DOJ have already been blocked by courts across the country.
In their statement, Acting Attorney General Davenport and her colleagues reaffirmed their commitment to resisting what they see as unlawful federal interference. They called on federal authorities to stop their campaign against Minnesota.
The effort was led by New York Attorney General Letitia James and includes representatives from Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia.
