Minnesota

The Guardian -  A US appeals court rejected federal justice department’s bid to charge five more people accused of disrupting a Minnesota church service on 18 January, according to court documents made public on Saturday, revealing the lengths the Trump administration has gone to prosecute those involved in the demonstration.

The ruling by the eighth US circuit court of appeals is the latest legal setback for Donald Trump’s justice department as it pursues demonstrators who interrupted a service in protest of a pastor’s apparent connection to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). One judge involved in the case said the department’s request appeared to be unprecedented.

A federal magistrate judge had previously declined to approve arrest warrants for five proposed defendants, including former CNN anchor Don Lemon, who recorded the demonstration while covering it as a journalist, citing a lack of evidence. The judge approved charges for three alleged leaders of the demonstration but struck a proposed charge accusing them of physically obstructing a house of worship.

NY Times -   For the second time in three weeks, local and state authorities in Minnesota say they have been impeded from investigating how federal agents shot and killed someone, cutting off access to crucial evidence and basic facts.

In both cases, Minnesota officials said they sought to have their Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, which typically takes the lead in police shootings, work in partnership with the federal government.

Yet the Department of Homeland Security has blocked local investigators from reviewing evidence gathered following the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Jeffrey Pretti, both Minneapolis residents and U.S. citizens.

Federal authorities shut down an early effort to collaboratively investigate the agent who killed Ms. Good and said that they would handle any investigation into the killing of Mr. Pretti.

The Hill -  President Trump announced he is sending White House border czar Tom Homan to Minnesota on Monday evening in the wake of the second fatal shooting of a protester in Minneapolis.

“I am sending Tom Homan to Minnesota tonight. He has not been involved in that area, but knows and likes many of the people there,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.  “Tom is tough but fair and will report to me,” Trump wrote.

In a separate post, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote that Homan would be managing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations on the ground “to continue arresting the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens.”

She also wrote that Homan would be coordinating with separate federal officials investigating fraud in Minnesota involving state social services.

More on ICE

Senate Democrats are plotting their strategy as a standoff over the DHS funding bill deepens heading into shutdown week. Sources said Chuck Schumer’s message was “restrain, reform and restrict ICE.”

A total of 120 lawmakers have signed on to an impeachment resolution against Noem.  The Obamas and former President Bill Clinton urged Americans to “speak up” and take action.