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BALTIMORE, MD – Attorney General Anthony G. Brown today joined a coalition with 21 other attorneys general in denouncing the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) latest attempt to coerce the State of Minnesota. In a letter to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, the coalition condemned the Trump administration’s effort to exploit the situation in Minnesota by pressuring state leaders into turning over sensitive resident data and dismantling longstanding public safety policies. The attorneys general warn that these threats likely conflict with ongoing litigation and court-ordered protections.
“The Trump administration is holding Minnesotans hostage, forcing their State to fulfill its outrageous demands before the federal government will withdraw its immigration agents,” said Attorney General Brown. “We cannot allow these unlawful ultimatums to become the new normal. Our Office stands with Minnesota because if this can happen there, it can happen anywhere.”
Attorney General Brown and the coalition sent today’s letter in response to Attorney General Bondi’s January 24 letter to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, which accused the state of enabling widespread fraud and demanded a series of actions that were purportedly in exchange for the withdrawal of federal agents from Minnesota. The demands included requests that Minnesota turn over sensitive Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) data, dismantle critical local public safety policies, and grant the federal government access to Minnesota voter information.
The attorneys general warn that Attorney General Bondi’s letter threatens the constitutional balance of power between the states and the federal government. They assert that the demands intrude on state sovereignty and are intended to coerce the state of Minnesota. With so many of DOJ’s actions already blocked by courts across the country, the attorneys general argue that the administration is attempting to force an outcome that it could not achieve through the courts.
Attorney General Brown and the coalition make clear that their states will continue to stand firm against unlawful federal interference and will defend both state sovereignty and the rights of their residents. The coalition urges the administration to end its dangerous and unlawful campaign against Minnesota immediately and withdraw its alarming demands.
Joining Attorney General Brown in sending this letter are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaiʻi, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.
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