FBI officially refuses to give local investigators any evidence in Minneapolis shootings
The FBI has officially notified Minnesota officials that it will not provide evidence from the shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti to local law enforcement.
In a statement on Monday, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) said the FBI had contacted it about three shootings by Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agents.
"The FBI formally notified the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) on Feb. 13 that it will not provide the BCA with access to any information or evidence that it has collected in the Jan. 24 shooting death of Alex Pretti," the statement said. "The BCA reiterated the request to receive information, access to evidence, and cooperation in the Jan. 7 shooting death of Renee Good and the Jan. 14 shooting of Julio Sosa-Celis. It remains unclear if there will be any cooperation or sharing of information related to those two shootings."
"While this lack of cooperation is concerning and unprecedented, the BCA is committed to thorough, independent and transparent investigations of these incidents, even if hampered by a lack of access to key information and evidence," the statement added. "Our agency has committed to the FBI and Department of Justice that should its stance change we remain willing to share information that we have obtained with that agency and would welcome a joint investigation. We will continue to pursue all legal avenues to gain access to relevant information and evidence."
The BCA said it would continue to investigate the shootings without the FBI's cooperation.
"Anyone with information about the shooting of Alex Pretti, Renee Good or Julio Sosa-Celis is urged to contact the BCA at 651-793-7000 or by email at bca.tips@state.mn.us," the agency noted.
Trump holds terror funds hostage to muscle states into rewriting voting rules: NYT
States are being pressured into rewriting their election rules to receive terrorism grants, according to a New York Times report.
The Trump administration is demanding that states overhaul how they run elections, a few months before the midterms, or forfeit tens of millions in federal counterterrorism funding, The Times reported.
The changes include transitioning to hand-marked paper ballots, verifying the citizenship of voters, and conducting manual audits of 5 percent of ballots, which is "likely to cause significant delays in counting, cost millions of dollars and, in some cases, fall far short of what would be considered an adequate audit for races with narrow margins," The Times noted.
The measures demanded by the Trump administration "will actually harm election security," David Becker, who directs the Center for Election Innovation and Research, told The Times.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which is part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), wants states to provide "proof of compliance" to receive counterterrorism funding, The Times reported. FEMA is threatening to withhold 20 percent of certain terrorism-preparedness grants, totaling roughly $1 billion a year. Those grants pay for security barriers, cybersecurity protections, planning, and drills, The Times reported.
According to the Times, the grants largely flow to populous states, and New York is slated to receive about $204 million through those grants in fiscal year 2026. Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) accused the Trump administration of putting residents at risk to advance a political agenda, The Times reported.
Courts have repeatedly blocked similar attempts, ruling that the Constitution gives the executive branch no authority over elections, which states run and Congress oversees. The Times noted, pointing out that two Trump executive orders seeking sweeping election changes have largely been struck down.
Becker told The Times that he expects the election rules the Trump administration is pushing to collapse in court. DHS said in an unsigned statement that election security was a top priority, according to The Times.
