Hennepin Co. prosecutors fight removal of ICE criminal case to federal court
ICE agent charged in Highway 62 gun incident surrenders to Hennepin County
A federal agent is facing serious charges after an incident on a Twin Cities highway, but his attorney says there’s more to the story than what’s in the court documents. Gregory Morgan Jr. surrendered to Hennepin County authorities more than three months after the Feb. 5 encounter on Highway 62. and more than a month after he was charged. FOX 9's Leon Purvis has more.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Hennepin County prosecutors have filed their objections to a motion by an ICE agent facing criminal charges for an alleged gun-pointing incident on Highway 62, who is seeking to move the case to federal court.
ICE agent facing charges
The backstory:
Gregory Donnell Morgan Jr. is accused of pulling a gun and pointing it at another driver during an incident on Highway 62 in February.
According to the charges against Morgan, he was in a Ford Expedition driving illegally along the shoulder of Highway 62, on his way back to the Whipple federal building, near the Portland Avenue exit. The victim in the incident moved in front of Morgan and that's when the encounter began.
The victim said after blocking Morgan, they moved back into the legal lane and Morgan pulled up alongside them. While next to them, the victim said Morgan pulled out a gun and pointed at both victims in the vehicle.
Local perspective:
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty announced charges against Morgan during a news conference in April. Morgan became the first ICE officer to be charged with a crime for actions that occurred during the ICE surge in Minnesota.
Morgan turned himself in to face the charges in May. Last week, his legal team filed the motion to have the case moved to federal court.
His team made arguments under way what is known as the Supremacy clause of the constitution. The Supremacy clause offers certain protections to federal officers for acts performed while on duty.
In order to move the case, Morgan has to prove he was acting in the scope of his
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What are their arguments?
Dig deeper:
In his motion to move the case, Morgan made three key arguments:
- Morgan is leaning on the Supremacy clause in his arguments, saying brandishing his weapon was a necessary response to a direct "threat" to him as a federal officer.
- Morgan argued that he was acting "under the color of his office" and responding to direct orders from his supervisor. Morgan claims he was attempting to assist a federal team that was in a "hostile neighborhood." Morgan claims he brandished his weapon to protect himself after the civilian vehicle swerved and brake-checked him.
- Morgan also points out that the fact that he was in an unmarked rental vehicle made it difficult for the other driver to recognize that he was federal law enforcement. That also meant he didn't have the tools other law enforcement vehicles have, like lights and a siren that he could have used when driving on the shoulder. Morgan claimed he was also concerned the other driver may have been targeting Morgan's vehicle because activists had been "crowdsourcing" information on ICE vehicles.
The other side:
In a response being filed on Wednesday, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty's Office rejected the arguments.
Prosecutors characterize Morgan's behavior as a simple act of road rage outside the bounds of his official capacity.
Attorneys say that there's no evidence that Morgan was on their way to an emergency situation as they ended up just going back to the Whipple building to end their shift. But, the Hennepin County Attorney's Office argues that even if Morgan was en route to an emergency response, that does not give him "carte blanche to assault anyone he subjectively deemed to be a threat."
Prosecutors also argue that Morgan's status as a federal officer does not give him the authority to "aggressively menace citizens with a gun."
As for the Supremacy clause, Moriarty has argued since Morgan was charged that his actions were neither necessary nor proper, thus do not meet the standard to be removed to federal court.
What's next:
Whether or not the case gets moved to federal court, the Hennepin County Attorney's Office will still handle the prosecution of the charges.