Minnesota charges ICE agent with assault for pointing gun

by · UPI

April 16 (UPI) -- Prosecutors in Minnesota charged an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer with two counts of second-degree assault Thursday for allegedly pointing his weapon at two people.

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said a nationwide arrest warrant has been issued for the agent, Gregory Donnell Morgan Jr.

A news release from the county attorney's office said the incident took place Feb. 5 after Morgan illegally drove his unmarked rental vehicle on the shoulder of a highway, "appearing to attempt to bypass slower traffic."

The statement said a victim driven by the alleged victim also briefly moved onto the shoulder in an attempt to slow down Morgan's vehicle. The alleged victim then pulled back onto the highway and Morgan sped up to pull alongside the other vehicle.

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"Mr. Morgan then visibly slowed his vehicle to match the pace of the victim's vehicle, opened his window and pointed his duty weapon directly at both victims in the other vehicle while continuing to drive illegally on the shoulder," the release said.

The alleged incident took place during a surge of federal immigration enforcement in Minnesota -- dubbed Operation Metro Surge by the Trump administration. The federal government sent about 3,000 agents to the state during the surge.

Moriarty announced the charges in a video posted to Facebook, calling Morgan's alleged actions "extremely dangerous." She said Minnesota State Patrol officials interviewed Morgan the day after the alleged incident, and he told them he and his partner were driving to the Whipple Federal Building in St. Paul after their shift as ICE agents.

"He admitted that he drew his firearm after the victim's vehicle had already rejoined the normal flow of traffic, corroborating details from interviews with the victim," she said.

"Driving while pointing a weapon out of your moving vehicle at the victims who were in another moving vehicle could have led to yet another disastrous incident in a community that has already suffered too many."