ICE Agent Charged After Allegedly Pointing Gun at Minnesota Motorists

Prosecutors say the assault case is the first criminal charge tied to Operation Metro Surge.

A Minnesota prosecutor has charged an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer with felony assault after he allegedly pointed a gun at two people during a federal immigration crackdown in the Twin Cities.

This is the first criminal charge case filed against an ICE officer tied to Operation Metro Surge, according to NBC News.

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said Gregory Donnell Morgan Jr. faces two counts of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon, one for each alleged victim. Prosecutors said Morgan was on duty when the incident happened and have issued a nationwide arrest warrant for him.

The incident happened on Feb. 5: Morgan drove his unmarked vehicle on the shoulder of the road to bypass traffic. After the victim pulled out in an effort to slow him down, things escalated. Morgan is alleged to have pulled up to the vehicle and pointed “his duty weapon directly at both victims while continuing to drive illegally on the shoulder,” Moriarty said. Morgan told investigators he felt threatened; the victim called 911.

​The charges add yet another layer of scrutiny to Operation Metro Surge, the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement operation that sent thousands of federal agents into Minnesota earlier this year. That operation led to the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, two U.S. citizens fatally shot by federal immigration officials; viral footage of their deaths ignited sweeping protests around the country.

“I want to be transparent on why these situations are developing at different speeds,” Moriarty said, per NPR. “The state patrol was able to investigate thoroughly, identify Mr. Morgan and conduct an interview with him … Virtually none of the obstacles around evidence collection that exist for the January shootings exist in this case.”

​Moriarty also framed this case as part of a larger effort to hold officials accountable for the harm caused by the operation.

ICE and the Department of Homeland Security had not publicly responded to questions about the charges as of Thursday. The case is likely to intensify debate over immigration enforcement tactics, especially in communities that have spent months living under the intense climate of the federal operation.

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