An ICE agent charged in 2026 with two counts of second-degree assault faces a nationwide arrest warrant after allegedly pointing his weapon at the heads of two civilians in a moving vehicle during the Trump administration’s Operation Metro Surge, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty announced Thursday.
Summary
- Gregory Donnell Morgan Jr., 35, a Maryland resident and ICE Enforcement and Removal officer, allegedly pulled up next to a passenger car on a Minneapolis highway on February 5 and pointed his weapon directly at the driver and passenger.
- This is the first criminal case against a federal immigration official stemming from Operation Metro Surge, which deployed nearly 3,000 federal agents in the Minneapolis-St. Paul was also linked to the shooting of two Americans.
- Moriarty said Morgan acted “in excess” of federal authorities and that “there is no such thing as absolute immunity for federal agents who break the law in the state of Minnesota.”
The ICE agent charged in the 2026 assault in Minnesota marks the first criminal charge against a federal official from Operation Metro Surge, the Trump administration’s largest immigration enforcement effort, which sent about 3,000 agents to the Minneapolis-St. Paul between December and February and left two US citizens dead.
Gregory Donnell Morgan Jr. it is alleged that he drove an unmarked SUV on the highway on February 5 through traffic, then pulled up next to a public car and pointed his service weapon directly at the two occupants as he continued to drive. The victims called 911 and photographed the Utah license plate on the SUV, which investigators tracked down to a rental linked to Morgan’s ICE partner.
Morgan gave a voluntary interview to the Minnesota State Patrol after the incident, telling investigators that he feared for his safety when the victims’ car pulled up in front of him. He pulled out his weapon and shouted “Police! Stop!” Investigators noted that the victims did not hear him because their windows were up and they had no way of identifying him as a police officer.
“For a federal agent, our view is that illegally clapping, getting in a car and pointing a gun at the heads of two members of the public who are doing nothing at the time is beyond their control,” Moriarty said. The charges carry a maximum sentence of up to seven years in prison per count under Minnesota law.
The Federal Response and What This Means for Operation Metro Surge
The Department of Public Safety did not respond to requests for comment. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche previously warned that the DOJ could investigate and prosecute state and local officials who arrest federal agents while acting on official duties. Moriarty said Thursday he’s “not worried about going back” and that his office will hold people accountable under Minnesota law regardless.
Operation Metro Surge was described by DHS as its largest immigration enforcement operation ever. The attack led to the arrest of thousands of people and drew massive protests in the Twin Cities. Two American citizens, Alex Pretti and Renee Macklin Good, were shot and killed by police during the operation. Trump fired Noem in March shortly after the operation ended, and Border Patrol chief Gregory Bovino announced his retirement that month. Minnesota has separately sued the federal government to obtain evidence in three shooting cases.
The Morgan case moved faster than the shooting investigation because, Moriarty said, “there are almost no obstacles surrounding the collection of evidence from the January shootings that exist in this case.” The video and license plate produced a clear line of evidence. The shootings involving Pretti and Good are still under investigation.
The lawsuits come at a time when the administration’s record on immigration has become a central issue, with Democrats using arguments like these to keep pressure on House Republicans whose votes will determine whether the CLARITY Act and other reform laws can pass before the November election.
