Justice Department subpoenas Walz and others in immigration enforcement obstruction investigation

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Federal prosecutors served six grand jury subpoenas Tuesday to Minnesota officials as part of an investigation into whether they obstructed or impeded federal law enforcement during a sweeping immigration operation in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, a person familiar with the matter said.

The subpoenas, which seek records, were sent to the offices of Gov. Tim Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her and officials in Ramsey and Hennepin counties, the person said.

The person was not authorized to publicly discuss an ongoing investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

The subpoenas are related to an investigation into whether Minnesota officials obstructed federal immigration enforcement through public statements they made, two people familiar with the matter said Friday. They said then that it was focused on the potential violation of a conspiracy statute.

Walz and Frey, both Democrats, have called the probe a bullying tactic meant to quell political opposition. Frey's office released a subpoena, which requires a long list of records for a grand jury on Feb. 3, including “cooperation or lack of cooperation" with federal authorities and “any records tending to show a refusal to come to the aid of immigration officials.”

“We shouldn’t have to live in a country where people fear that federal law enforcement will be used to play politics or crack down on local voices they disagree with,” Frey said.

Her, a Hmong immigrant and a Democrat, also acknowledged a subpoena, saying she's “unfazed by these tactics.” The governor's office referred reporters to a statement earlier Tuesday in which he said the Trump administration was not seeking justice, only creating distractions.

The subpoenas came a day after the government urged a judge to reject efforts to stop the immigration enforcement surge that has roiled Minneapolis and St. Paul for weeks.

The Justice Department called the state's lawsuit, filed soon after the fatal shooting of Renee Good by an immigration officer, “legally frivolous.”

“Put simply, Minnesota wants a veto over federal law enforcement,” government attorneys wrote.

Ellison said the government is violating free speech and other constitutional rights. He described the armed officers as poorly trained and said the “invasion” must cease.

The lawsuit filed Jan. 12 seeks an order to halt or limit the enforcement action. It's not known when U.S. District Judge Katherine Menendez will make a decision.

Ilan Wurman, who teaches constitutional law at University of Minnesota Law School, doubts the state’s arguments will be successful.

“There’s no question that federal law is supreme over state law, that immigration enforcement is within the power of the federal government, and the president, within statutory bounds, can allocate more federal enforcement resources to states who’ve been less cooperative in that enforcement space than other states have been,” Wurman told The Associated Press.

Greg Bovino of U.S. Border Patrol, who has commanded the Trump administration's big-city immigration crackdown, said more than 10,000 people in the U.S. illegally have been arrested in Minnesota in the past year, including 3,000 “of some of the most dangerous offenders" in the last six weeks during Operation Metro Surge.

He did not elaborate, though he highlighted the capture of three people with criminal records from Laos, Guatemala and Honduras.

“These are not technical violations. As I mentioned, these are individuals responsible for serious harm,” Bovino said at a news conference.

Julia Decker, policy director at the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota, expressed frustration that advocates have no way of knowing whether the government’s arrest numbers and descriptions of the people in custody are accurate.

“These are real people we’re talking about, that we potentially have no idea what is happening to them,” Decker said.

Good, 37, was killed on Jan. 7 as she was moving her vehicle, which had been blocking a Minneapolis street where ICE officers were operating. Trump administration officials say the officer, Jonathan Ross, shot her in self-defense, although videos of the encounter show the Honda Pilot slowly turning away from him.

Since then, the public has repeatedly confronted officers, blowing whistles and yelling insults at ICE and Border Patrol. They, in turn, have used tear gas and chemical irritants against protesters. Bystanders have recorded video of officers using a battering ram to get into a house as well as smashing vehicle windows and dragging people out of cars.

Bovino defended his "troops” and said their actions are "legal, ethical and moral.”

“What we see when folks get swept up, as you say, oftentimes it's as agitators, as rioters, and now I call them anarchists," he told reporters, not “ordinary citizens, Ma, Pa America.”

Police in the region, meanwhile, said off-duty law enforcement officers have been racially profiled by federal officers and stopped without cause. Brooklyn Park police Chief Mark Bruley said he has received complaints from residents who are U.S. citizens, including his own officers.

Richer reported from Washington. Associated Press reporters Ed White in Detroit; Sarah Raza and Jack Brook in Minneapolis; and Rebecca Boone in Boise, Idaho, contributed.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and his wife, Gwen Walz, attend a vigil honoring Renee Good on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn., outside the Minnesota State Capitol. (Kerem Yücel/Minnesota Public Radio via AP)

A federal immigration officer looks through a window of a home Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026, in Maplewood, Minn. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

A protester writes pro BLM and Anti-ICE rhetoric on the window of her car during an ICE protest and celebration of MLK day, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026 in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)

People arrive for an MLK rally on, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026 in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)

ICE agents make use of the facilities at a gas station, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

NEW YORK (AP) — Channing Tatum is bringing the stage spinoff of his wildly successful “Magic Mike” film franchise to New York City, promising to “turn up the gas” on a show that already generates plenty of heat.

“Magic Mike Live” — which offers plenty of chiseled abs and sex positivity — will open its specially designed, 425-seat immersive experience Oct. 8 at the onetime Copacabana nightclub on the corner of 47th Street and 8th Avenue.

“We’re going to turn the gas up a little bit and make it a little hotter, just pour some gasoline on it. It’s New York. So you’ve got to throw everything at it,” Tatum tells The Associated Press.

“Magic Like Live” flips the traditional, cheesy male revue on its head, putting the women in the audience first at a time when toxic masculinity is under fire. The show features 13 ripped male dancers and a female emcee, combining songs, aerial acrobatics, comedy, plenty of drink service and audience participation, only if wanted.

“It’s kind of like a dance spectacular that has a sexy twist, and sexy for us is a lot of things. Sexy is funny. Sexy is athletic. Sexy is smart. So we try to approach the dance with all of those things in mind,” says Alison Faulk, co-director and choreographer.

“There’s very few spaces that are made with women in mind,” she adds. “This is made with the woman in mind and making her whole night happy and easier and fun, just to like to take a load off. There’s few places like that.”

Some of the songs will include Ginuwine’s “Pony,” which is featured in the films, 50 Cent’s “Candy Shop,” Gallant's “Open Up,” James Brown's “Get Up I Feel Like Being a Sex Machine” and Ro James' “Permission,” as well as original music.

The creators say the new venue is a hybrid between a really beautiful nightclub and a theatrical space, with multiple bars and lounges and seating that ranges from couches to traditional theatrical seats, to barstools, cabaret tables and banquets.

“What we really try to do is to create an evening of surprise and delight that gives you a bit of what you expect and then a whole bunch of things you never thought you’d ever get,” says Vincent Marini, creative director and executive producer. “What we did for the male revue is very similar to what Cirque du Soleil did to circus.”

Tatum, who spent time in a Chippendales-like revue as a young dancer before becoming a movie star, conceived of the nightclub-style shows but warns visitors not to expect a live version of the “Magic Mike” movies.

“One of the biggest reasons why I wanted to make this show was to kill that old version of male entertaining, because I’ve worked in that version and it’s misogynistic and degrading to women,” he says.

“It’s just gross a little bit. I ain’t gonna lie. Like, I did it for like about 10 months and I was like, ‘Wow, this is crazy. This is nuts,’” he adds. “Most of the people that end up loving our show, I think, the most are the people that kind of hate that type of thing the most.”

The success of the films first spawned a Las Vegas stage show in 2017 that now has outposts in London and Berlin and is touring Australia. The version that lands in New York will be tweaked to reflect the city and creators say they've fine-tuned the story.

Tatum says the creators have learned that audiences in different cities act differently — London's were more staid than Vegas, for instance — and that whoever is the emcee can really change the experience by setting the tone.

“This New York production is the culmination of 10 years of work and thought and watching millions of people, men and women go to this show,” says Marini. “We want to come to New York with the very best version of this that we’ve ever done.”

FILE - Channing Tatum appears at the special screening of "Roofman" in New York on Sept. 8, 2025. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)

FILE - Channing Tatum appears at the premiere of "Roofman" in Los Angeles on Sept. 29, 2025. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File)