Midwest

Pam Bondi dispatches federal prosecutors to Minnesota following Somali fraud allegations

Published

2 weeks ago

January 9, 2026

Pam Bondi dispatches federal prosecutors to Minnesota following Somali fraud allegations

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Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the Justice Department will send additional federal prosecutors to Minnesota amid an expanding fraud investigation tied to Somali-run nonprofit operations.

“The Department of Justice is dispatching a team of prosecutors to Minnesota to reinforce our U.S. Attorney’s Office and put the perpetrators of this widespread fraud behind bars,” Bondi told Fox News on Wednesday.

Bondi vowed “severe consequences in Minnesota” and said the department stands “ready to deploy to any other state where similar fraud schemes are robbing American taxpayers.”

A DOJ official told Fox News the department is already planning a similar surge of prosecutorial resources in other states.

TRUMP ADMIN PUTS MINNESOTA ON NOTICE, MOVES TO AUDIT MEDICAID AND CLAW BACK FUNDS TO PROTECT TAXPAYERS

Attorney General Pam Bondi conducts a news conference at the Department of Justice on Dec. 4, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Bondi’s remarks, first reported by the New York Post, come as the department continues a welfare fraud investigation that broke open under former Attorney General Merrick Garland.

In 2022, Garland announced the first wave of indictments in what he said was a $250 million scheme perpetrated by a Minnesota-based nonprofit called Feeding Our Future, which was found to have exploited taxpayer-funded child nutrition programs. Garland described it at the time as the “largest pandemic relief fraud to date.”

The DOJ under Bondi has continued to investigate and prosecute those involved with Feeding Our Future and tangential schemes involving alleged juror bribery and healthcare fraud. Bondi recently said the scale of the fraud is greater than previously known and that more criminal charges are coming, likely with the help of the additional prosecutors now set to work in the DOJ’s Minnesota office.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested Somali illegal immigrant Abdul Dahir Ibrahim, convicted of fraud, and connected to several high-profile Minnesota politicians, including former Democratic vice-presidential nominee Gov. Tim Walz. (ICE)

To date, the department has charged 98 people in fraud-related cases in Minnesota and secured 64 convictions. The vast majority of defendants have been of Somali descent.

The Trump administration, including the White House, the DOJ and the Department of Homeland Security, have targeted the roughly 100,000 Somalis in Minnesota as a community ripe for immigration enforcement and possible denaturalization. Critics say only a fraction have engaged in fraud and that President Donald Trump is spearheading a xenophobic campaign against upstanding Somali Americans.

Health and Human Services said this month that it froze billions of dollars in federal funding for childcare programs and other social services in five Democrat-led states, including Minnesota, while it investigates their use of taxpayer dollars.

REP TOM EMMER: WALZ OVERSAW BILLIONS IN STOLEN TAXPAYER MONEY — NOW COMES ACCOUNTABILITY

Quality Learning Center in Minnesota was found at the center of an alleged childcare fraud scandal in the state. (Madelin Fuerste/Fox News Channel)

A viral video posted by YouTube creator Nick Shirley in December amplified the attention on fraud in Minnesota. The video, showing Shirley visiting Somali-run daycare centers and finding that they were closed, has attracted millions of views on social media.

Some of the daycare centers have since disputed the suggestions in Shirley’s video and said they have never committed fraud.

Fox News’ Bill Melugin contributed to this report.

Ashley Oliver is a reporter for Fox News Digital and FOX Business, covering the Justice Department and legal affairs. Email story tips to ashley.oliver@fox.com.

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Midwest

Minneapolis posts anti-ICE video promoting ‘peaceful protest’ and unity

Published

3 hours ago

January 21, 2026

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Minneapolis posts anti-ICE video promoting ‘peaceful protest’ and unity

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The city of Minneapolis on Friday posted an anti-ICE video promoting “peaceful protest” and unity as confrontations between agitators and immigration officers continue to flare across the Twin Cities.

The 84-second video shared on the Minneapolis City YouTube page opens with a Minneapolis business sign that reads: “We love our Somali neighbors.” Throughout the video, multiple anti-ICE protest slogans are seen, including signs that read “Abolish,” “Ice out of our neighborhood” and “neighbors say ICE out.”

“Those who spread fear want attention,” a voice-over says in the video. “The best way to fight back and keep each other safe is not to give into them. Live your lives. Take care of one another. Support local businesses. Put your energy into peaceful protests and community support. Steer clear of the hate.”

The video then shows interviews with members of the community, including with faith leaders and images of Mayor Jacob Frey testifying last week at a Democratic Immigration hearing.

FEDERAL JUDGE RESTRICTS ICE AGENTS AMID ONGOING MINNEAPOLIS AREA PROTESTS

Pro-immigration protesters, many holding signs telling ICE to leave, rally in front of Minneapolis City Hall, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

The caption of the video reads: “We know folks across Minneapolis are feeling scared, angry and uncertain. What those spreading fear and hate want most is attention – to agitate and escalate violent confrontation.”

The caption goes on to say that the community should continue to “meet this moment together with peace, unity, and the welcoming values that make Minneapolis so special.”

Protesters gather in front of the Minnesota State Capitol in response to the death of Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in St. Paul. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Tensions flared in Minneapolis after 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good was fatally shot on Jan. 7 by an ICE officer while allegedly blocking an immigration operation in the city and driving toward the officer.

TRUMP ACCUSES TIM WALZ AND ILHAN OMAR OF USING ICE PROTESTS TO DISTRACT FROM MASSIVE STATE FRAUD

Agitators across the Twin Cities have followed and harassed federal agents as they carry out operations, with some throwing snowballs at agents or screaming obscenities through bullhorns from just feet away. Some clashes have resulted in immigration officers deploying pepper spray and tear gas.

Law enforcement detain a man outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building during a protest on Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

President Donald Trump’s administration is preparing 1,500 troops for potential deployment to Minnesota, a senior U.S. official confirmed to Fox News Digital.

The official says the U.S. Army’s 11th Airborne Division, which is based in Alaska and specializes in cold-weather and mountain warfare, has given prepare to deploy orders.

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Minneapolis and St. Paul are already hosting some 3,000 federal agents deployed there after a massive fraud scandal rocked the state late last year.

Fox News Digital’s Alexandra Koch and Anders Hagstrom, along with Fox News’ Jennifer Johnson contributed to this report.

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Detroit, MI

Newly released report details gunman calling 911 minutes before deadly Michigan church attack

Published

5 hours ago

January 20, 2026

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Newly released report details gunman calling 911 minutes before deadly Michigan church attack

Julia Avant

January 20, 2026 / 11:11 PM EST
/ CBS Detroit

The Grand Blanc Township Police Department on Tuesday, Jan. 20, released a recording of a 911 call believed to be of the gunman of the deadly attack on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Michigan.

The recording, obtained by CBS News Detroit, was believed to have been made minutes before the shooting and fire near the church on Sept. 28, 2025.

Four people were killed, and several others were injured in what the FBI has called “an act of targeted violence.” The suspect, 40-year-old Thomas Jacob Sanford, was fatally shot by police.

“No, listen to me,” said the 911 caller believed to be Sanford, “I’m going to talk, and you are going to listen to me, then I’m going to hang up.”

According to the recording, the caller mentioned bombs located at three other churches and never mentioned the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc Township. Police say the first 911 call came in at 10:25 a.m., a few minutes after the 911 call from Sanford.

During the last press conference held by police on the day of the attack, investigators said they received additional threats. It’s unclear if they were referring to this call.

Investigators say Sanford drove his truck into the church on McCandlish Road and exited his truck, firing several rounds from an assault rifle at churchgoers before setting the church on fire.

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Milwaukee, WI

Milwaukee school committee moves forward plan to narrow police role in schools

Published

6 hours ago

January 20, 2026

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Milwaukee school committee moves forward plan to narrow police role in schools

How police operate in Milwaukee schools appears set to change.

A Milwaukee School Board committee passed on Jan. 20 a resolution aimed at narrowing the types of situations that police officers can become involved in at district buildings. It comes 10 months after the program was brought into the city’s public schools, following a state law that forced the hand of officials.

The resolution compels Superintendent Brenda Cassellius to implement a district policy that reflects its asks, which broadly restricts police from intervening in non-criminal situations that more closely reflect school discipline issues, like rude or disruptive behavior or loitering in hallways.

A Milwaukee Journal Sentinel review of the first three months of the program found police were at times responding to situations like that, along with others including fights between students. School resource officers issued 92 citations during that time.

“Without clear and strict guardrails, it’s easy for SROs to become the default response to all behavior challenges,” Missy Zombor, president of the board, said during remarks at the meeting.

The School Board’s Committee on Legislation, Rules and Policies moved the resolution forward to the full board for final passage on Jan. 22.

Under the resolution, police would be expected to stay out of the following situations: Rude or disruptive behavior, excessive noise, loitering in hallways or bathrooms, dress code violations, use of profane or lewd language, and possession of legal items prohibited by school policies.

It also would put into place reporting requirements for the program. That includes quarterly reports breaking down incidents by demographic information, issuances of citations and specific actions by school resource officers, including searches, seizures and restraints.

Before the meeting, a demonstration consisting of about 35 students and community members took place outside of the district office. In support of the resolution, they chanted mottos like “counselors not cops” and “up with education, down with intimidation.”

Many there later spoke in support of the resolution during the public comment of the committee meeting. That spanned over an hour with each speaker in support of the resolution.

Many students described feeling unsafe with officers in the schools and criticized the state law that mandated the program.

Students Brenette Tunney, Elijah Shorts and Anneliese Schultz told the Journal Sentinel they were in support of the resolution. Each is a member of Youth Empowered in the Struggle, a student group that advocated for the resolution.

Tunney, a student at Hamilton High School, described her school becoming a “scary place” since the program began.

“I’ve never seen them do something actually helpful in school at all,” she told the Journal Sentinel before the meeting.

Those comments come as police and some school officials have lauded the program publicly, saying it made the district safer and said officers have tried to be mentors or counselors to students.

Members of Voces de la Frontera, Milwaukee Turners and Black Leaders Organizing for Communities spoke in support of the resolution.

Krissie Fung worked with students to prepare for giving comments on the program and Zombor on crafting the resolution. She is a member of the Fire and Police Commission, the city’s oversight committee for the two department.

Fung said the resolution was about letting students “coexist with SROs in schools as safely as possible.”

“In my opinion, current gaps in policy and lack of transparency for students and parents are a liability,” Fung said.

The committee meeting came hours after hundreds of Milwaukee students walked out of class in protest of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

David Clarey is a public safety reporter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He can be reached at dclarey@gannett.com.

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