Deputy attorney general makes announcement over fatal shooting in Minneapolis as fierce protests there continue

The US deputy attorney general announced on Friday that the justice department has opened a federal civil rights investigation into the fatal shooting of Minneapolis nurse Alex Pretti last Saturday by immigration officers, as fierce protests continued on the streets there.

“We’re looking at everything that would shed light on that day,” Todd Blanche, deputy to attorney general Pam Bondi, said at a press conference on Friday morning in Washington DC.

US deputy attorney general tells reporters that White House had ‘nothing to do’ with review of files and ‘did not tell department what to redact’

• US justice department releases more than 3 million new pages of Epstein files

Among the files released by the US justice department today is a copy of Ghislaine Maxwell’s police booking intake form from July 2020.

It includes a picture of Maxwell in what looks like a prison orange jumpsuit, along with personal details including her full name and a redacted address in Bradford, New Hampshire.

files that contain personally identifiable information of victims or victims’ personal and medical files, and any similar files that, if disclosed, would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy

any depiction of child sexual abuse material or child abuse images

anything that would jeopardize an active federal investigation

anything that depicts or contains images of death, physical abuse or injury

files covered by various privileges, including deliberative process privilege, work product privilege, and attorney client privilege

Todd Blanche, the deputy attorney general, announces on Friday that the DoJ is releasing more documents tied to Jeffrey Epstein

• Ex-CNN anchor Don Lemon arrested on charges connected to Minnesota church protest

Among those arrested by federal agents for a protest earlier this month at a Minnesota church is Georgia Fort, an independent journalist who was covering the demonstration.

“Agents are at my door right now. They’re saying that they were able to go before a grand jury sometime, I guess, in the last 24 hours, and that they have a warrant for my arrest,” Fort said in a video posted to Facebook, apparently shortly before she was taken into custody.

This is all stemming from the fact that I filmed a protest. As a member of the media, we are supposed to have our constitutional right of the freedom to film, to be a member of the press. I don’t feel like I have my first amendment right as a member of the press, because now federal agents are at my door, arresting me for filming the church protest a few weeks ago.

Don Lemon is an accomplished journalist whose urgent work is protected by the First Amendment.

There is zero basis to arrest him and he should be freed immediately.