:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(749x0:751x2)/Pam-Bondi-Tim-Walz-012526-d8c5aaf8df4942ac85f76236d3158d65.jpg "Pam Bondi Tells Tim Walz That Handing Over Minnesota's Voter Rolls Can Help Prevent Another 'National Tragedy': Read Her Full Letter
By Kyler Alvord
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NEED TO KNOW
- AG Pam Bondi wrote a letter of demands to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz that she said can “bring an end to the chaos” after the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis on Saturday, Jan. 24
- In the letter — shared in full below — Bondi urged Walz to partner with the Trump administration by providing a list of Minnesotans receiving welfare benefits, ending the state’s sanctuary policies, and giving the DOJ access to Minnesota’s voter rolls
- After Bondi’s letter was made public, Walz posted on X, “They think they can provoke us into abandoning our values. They are wrong”
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote a letter to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz after the death of another American citizen at the hands of federal agents in Minneapolis, urging the Democratic leader to hand over sensitive state data to the Trump administration in an effort to prevent more “national tragedy.”
The letter, dated Saturday, Jan. 24, characterizes the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti — both carried out by federal immigration officers under the leadership of Kristi Noem’s Department of Homeland Security — as a result of Walz’s governing.
“The State of Minnesota has refused to enforce the law, and the consequences are heartbreaking,” Bondi, 60, begins the letter. She goes on to justify the DHS raids in Minnesota, and accuses state and local leaders of “putting federal agents in danger” by voicing their dissatisfaction and forcing DHS to act alone.
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Bondi depicts anti-ICE protesters as “rioters,” suggesting that ICE and Border Patrol agents have fallen victim to mass “lawlessness in the streets” and need more cooperation from local government. She does not acknowledge recent videos and reports of federal agents instigating violence and relying on force to both squash protests and carry out immigration arrests.
The attorney general then makes three demands of Walz in her letter, which she writes can “bring an end to the chaos in Minnesota”: 1) share state records of everyone who is collecting welfare, 2) repeal state sanctuary policies, and 3) allow the Justice Department to access Minnesota’s voter rolls ahead of upcoming elections.
“The time has come for state and local officials in your state to change course,” she writes. “As the chief law enforcement officer of the United States, I am committed to enforcing federal immigration laws and keeping every American safe. Minnesota can and should be a partner with this administration.”
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Walz, 61, has so far rebuffed the Trump administration’s demands for cooperation, reacting to the fatal shooting of Pretti on Saturday morning with a message on X that read, in part, “Minnesota has had it. This is sickening. The President must end this operation. Pull the thousands of violent, untrained officers out of Minnesota. Now.”
Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care unit nurse who previously worked at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, was accused by DHS of interfering with an immigration arrest and approaching agents with a handgun. Senior DHS official Gregory Bovino alleged Pretti “wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement,” and that he “violently resisted” when agents attempted to disarm him, leading them to fire “defensive shots.”
Video footage of the deadly encounter, which was recorded from multiple angles, seemingly contradicted the DHS’ narrative of what happened. A New York Times analysis concluded that Pretti was standing in the street with other protesters, with a phone in one hand and nothing in the other, when an agent squirted pepper spray at the group. Multiple agents then approached Pretti, who did not appear to be holding or drawing a weapon, and pinned him on the sidewalk.
Pretti was a lawful gun owner, according to Minneapolis police, and a firearm on his waist appeared to have already been unholstered and removed by an agent before he was shot in the back. He sustained at least 10 gunshots fired within five seconds.
“We are heartbroken but also very angry,” Pretti’s parents wrote in a statement of grief on Saturday. “The sickening lies told about our son by the administration are reprehensible and disgusting. Alex is clearly not holding a gun when attacked by Trump’s murdering and cowardly ICE thugs.”
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After Bondi shared her letter of demands with Walz on Saturday in response to Pretti’s shooting, the Minnesota governor — who is no longer seeking reelection in 2026 — doubled down on his belief that federal agents are doing more harm than good in his state.
“They think they can provoke us into abandoning our values. They are wrong,” he wrote on X. “We will keep the peace. We will secure justice for our neighbors. And we will see this occupation end.”
On Sunday morning, Walz released another statement about Minnesota’s desire to self-govern, writing, “Minnesota believes in law and order. We believe in peace. And we believe that Trump needs to pull his 3,000 untrained agents out of Minnesota before they kill another American in the street.”
Read Pam Bondi’s full letter to Tim Walz:
Governor Walz,
The State of Minnesota has refused to enforce the law, and the consequences are heartbreaking.
Americans are watching politicians ignore federal immigration law, criminals attack federal law enforcement, and rioters storm church services. I write to urge a change.
In December 2025, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) launched Operation Metro Surge to protect Americans from the dangers presented by unchecked illegal immigration, including violent crime and drug trafficking. Since the beginning of this operation, law enforcement has put themselves in harm’s way to arrest dangerous criminals, including members of notorious, violent gangs. Criminal illegal aliens convicted of homicide, drug trafficking, sexual assault against a child, rape with a weapon, and other horrific crimes are now off the streets because of Operation Metro Surge.
Unfortunately, you and other Minnesota officials have refused to support the men and women risking their lives to protect Americans and uphold the rule of law. Because Minnesota, Minneapolis, and St. Paul have chosen to ignore federal immigration law by enacting sanctuary laws and policies, the federal agents led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have operated alone. And politicians in your state are not just refusing to help these agents, they are putting federal agents in danger.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said, “ICE: Get the f*** out of Minneapolis. We do not want you here.” You referred to our law enforcement as “Trump’s modern-day Gestapo.” Minneapolis City Council Member Aisha Chughtai stated that the city “must be ready to act as the last line of defense for targeted communities.” Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison has previously compared ICE enforcement to being “under attack by the Nazis.
The results of your state’s policies and politicians’ anti-law enforcement rhetoric are a national tragedy. Violence against ICE officers and agents has increased approximately 1,300 percent.
Vehicular attacks against ICE officers have increased 3,200%. Perhaps most disappointing, the lawlessness caused by these policies has bled into sacred spaces of worship. Parishioners were met by an anti-ICE mob last weekend, as several dozen individuals stormed Cities Church in Minneapolis to interrupt worship services and scream in the faces of frightened Christians and their families. The violence against our officers and the violations of religious liberties cannot be allowed to continue.
The lawlessness in the streets is matched by the unprecedented financial fraud occurring on your watch. And the out of control fraud in your state also implicates election security. It is a tragedy that Americans have lost faith in Minnesota’s ability to keep its taxpayers’ funds secure and its citizens’ [sic] safe.
You and your office must restore the rule of law, support ICE officers, and bring an end to the chaos in Minnesota. Fortunately, there are common sense solutions to these problems that I hope we can accomplish together.
First, share all of Minnesota’s records on Medicaid and Food and Nutrition Service programs, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program data, with the federal government. Allowing the federal government to efficiently investigate fraud will save Minnesota taxpayers’ money and ensure that Minnesota’s welfare funds are being used to help those in need, not enrich fraudsters.
Second, repeal the sanctuary policies that have led to so much crime and violence in your state. Removing criminal illegal aliens from Minnesota neighborhoods will save lives, and state and local officials should support this goal. All detention facilities in your state should cooperate fully with ICE, honor immigration detainers, and permit ICE to interview detainees in custody to determine immigration status. I urge you to reach an agreement with ICE that allows them to remove illegal aliens in custody of Minnesota’s prisons and jails and avoids pushing these interactions into your streets.
Third, allow the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice to access voter rolls to confirm that Minnesota’s voter registration practices comply with federal law as authorized by the Civil Rights Act of 1960. Fulfilling this common sense request will better guarantee free and fair elections and boost confidence in the rule of law.
I am confident that these simple steps will help bring back law and order to Minnesota and improve the lives of Americans.
The time has come for state and local officials in your state to change course. As the chief law enforcement officer of the United States, I am committed to enforcing federal immigration laws and keeping every American safe. Minnesota can and should be a partner with this administration. Do not obstruct federal immigration enforcement; do not allow rioters to take over the streets and houses of worship; do not hinder federal officials from investigating financial fraud and violations of election laws. Whether state and local politicians stand in the way or not, we will work every day to protect Americans and make Minnesota Safe Again. I request that you join us in that effort.
Sincerely,
Pamela Bondi
Attorney General
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