DOJ files complaint against 7 Minnesota federal judges over political bias

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has accused federal judges in Minnesota of judicial misconduct for speaking to The New York Times about criminal and civil cases, some of which remain ongoing, regarding last winter’s US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Operation Metro Surge in Minneapolis. The complaint alleges that seven judges provided to the paper biased and untruthful remarks about the Trump administration, ICE, and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), seemingly to further their own political agendas.

As a result, US Attorney General Todd Blanche requested the judges recuse themselves from all DHS-related cases due to the “obvious bias that they have shown.” Six of the seven judges were actively on the bench in the US District Court for the District of Minnesota during the ICE surge and were overseeing cases. The DOJ accused the judges of judicial and ethical misconduct, according to the complaint, which was filed in the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.

The complaint pertains to a NYT article published on September 17, titled “Trump’s Minnesota Surge Threatened Democracy, Judge Warns.” Judge Patrick Schiltz, who was chief judge during Operation Metro Surge, sat down for a 90-minute interview. In the piece, Schiltz claimed that the Trump administration’s actions “created a grave threat to the rule of law,” without which “you have either anarchy or you have authoritarianism. You have Russia or you have China or you have North Korea.” Schiltz has claimed that he has not violated any ethics rules.

Judge Schiltz also told the paper that the Trump DOJ had a “complete disregard for court orders” and “violated” them. He accused the Justice Department of “unusual behavior” and added that “this never happens.” Blanche refuted the allegations.

Additionally, Judge Tunheim claimed to the Times that ICE was not arresting "dangerous criminals on the street.” This, despite DHS reporting that thousands of foreign nationals with criminal records were apprehended during the winter surge.

Five other “members of Minnesota’s federal bench” also “agreed to speak to the New York Times about last winter’s tumult,” the article stated. The five additional judges were not publicly named. The article added that it is “unusual for federal judges to give extensive interviews that reflect on periods when their rulings have made headlines.

The DOJ said in a press release that judges are ethically prohibited from commenting publicly on cases pending in any court and making political or policy statements concerning matters that are or have been before them.

“Seven federal judges in the District of Minnesota talked to the New York Times about cases, some of which are on-going, in a manner that the Department of Justice views as a clear violation of their ethical duties,” said AG Blanche. “Their conduct has undermined public confidence in an impartial judiciary in Minnesota."

Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter added: “Our complaint alleges that federal judges in Minnesota used their official judicial office to pander to the press about immigration policies. Judges who covet publicity rather than follow the rule of law by adjudicating cases or controversies undermine the public’s confidence in an impartial jury.”

Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward, Jr. accused the judges of "disregarding their ethical duties and launching a partisan press campaign” to “advance their policy preference” that allows “criminal illegal aliens to run free in Minnesota.”

ICE Operation Metro Surge ran in Minnesota from December 2025 to February 2026, primarily targeting the Minneapolis metro. More than 3,600 illegal immigrants were apprehended, according to DHS. National attention grew following the January fatal ICE- and Border Patrol-involved shootings of anti-ICE agitators Renee Good and Alex Pretti. Violent demonstrations lasted for weeks, which sparked heightened tensions between federal officers and rioters, most of whom were anarchists. The Trump admin ultimately pulled out due to the negative media attention following the two self-defense shootings.