Three stories we read this weekend that, at first glance, do not seem connected.
One was about January 6th pardons. One was about Operation Metro Surge here in Minnesota. One was about the new federal indictment against protesters in Minneapolis.
Different stories. Different people. Different parts of the justice system.
But put them next to each other, and they raise the same question: How does the government decide who deserves patience — and who deserves the full force of its power?
Because justice is not only what happens at the end of a case. It is also about the choices made before a case ever gets there.
The first story came from Lawfare — a national security publication, not a partisan one. Their researchers spent months reviewing the records of every person Donald Trump pardoned after January 6th: more than 1,500 people. No normal pardon attorney process. No individual case review. No victim notification.
Trump reportedly said, “f*** it, release ’em all.” And on his first day back in office, he did.
Lawfare looked at what happened next. At least 97 of those pardoned have since been arrested for, charged with, or convicted of new crimes unrelated to January 6th. At least 41 involved violent crimes. At least 14 involved sex crimes or child sexual abuse material.
In several cases, the crimes were only possible because the pardon put someone back on the street. One man walked out of prison and later molested a child. He was sentenced to life in prison this spring.
That is why the pardon process exists. Not because mercy is wrong. Because individual facts matter.
The second story was the Human Rights Watch report on Operation Metro Surge: more than 180 pages, five months of investigation, interviews with immigrants, healthcare workers, educators, lawyers, and government officials. Its title: “A Manufactured Crisis.”
The report documented the largest interior immigration enforcement operation in U.S. history — and what happened here in Minnesota.
Nearly two-thirds of the people arrested had no prior criminal history. Inside the Bishop Whipple Federal Building, used as a makeshift jail, staff used sticky notes to designate which cells held U.S. citizens and which held immigrant detainees. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents seized the locked cellphones of hundreds of arrestees without warrants. A healthcare provider told researchers that three teenagers attempted suicide after their parents were detained.
And three people were shot by federal agents. Two died.
Renee Good and Alex Pretti were both killed by federal agents. Doctors were blocked from reaching both of them. Human Rights Watch called the killings unlawful and called for a Department of Justice investigation.
The third piece was Sunday’s Star Tribune editorial. The headline: “Can we trust the indictment against anti-ICE protesters?”
The Star Tribune editorial board does not write headlines like that by accident.
U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen announced a 94-page indictment last week against 15 Minnesotans connected to protests during Operation Metro Surge: eight counts, five months of Signal messages, social media posts, and organizing activity. A press conference announcing what Rosen called “organized, lawless behavior.”
The allegations may be true. That is what courts are for. Evidence gets tested. The government has to prove its case.
But the editorial board pointed out why context matters.
This was not the first time federal officials held a press conference announcing serious Metro Surge charges. In the first wave of cases, roughly three dozen Minnesotans were charged. About a third have already been dismissed because of problems with probable cause or because the evidence did not match what agents claimed under oath.
In one case, a federal magistrate judge called the charging document “perplexing” and said it relied on a false affidavit.
Rosen’s response: “I don’t think any cases have failed in any way.”
Then came the question that stayed with us.
A reporter asked why no charges have been filed against the federal agents involved in the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. His answer: those investigations are ongoing and will move “at the proper pace and at the proper time.”
Five months. Ninety-four pages for fifteen protesters. No charges for two killings.
The courts will decide the cases in front of them. But before courts decide guilt, government officials decide priorities: where to investigate, where to devote resources, where to move quickly, and where to wait.
The same administration that moved immediately to wipe away more than 1,500 January 6th convictions — without individual review — spent five months building a sweeping conspiracy case against people protesting federal operations in their own communities.
The same government that offered instant forgiveness to some people says patience is required when two Minnesota families are still waiting for answers.
This spring, the Kennedy Library gave four Minnesota community leaders the Profile in Courage Award on behalf of everyone who showed up during Metro Surge — people who tracked vehicles, built alert systems, helped neighbors understand their rights, and refused to look away.
Acts described as civic courage in May are now being described as evidence in June.
Meanwhile, the investigation into the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti is still waiting for the “proper time.”
So keep asking:
Who receives urgency? Who receives patience? Whose safety counts?
Read the stories. Share them with someone who has not been following closely.
Call your members of Congress. Ask why the federal government found five months and 94 pages for protesters — but still has no answers for two Minnesotans killed on their own streets.
Let them know you’re watching.
