Attorney General Bonta Joins Multistate Coalition Condemning U.S. DOJ Threats Against Minnesota

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today joined a coalition of 21 attorneys general in denouncing the U.S. Department of Justice’s (U.S. DOJ) latest attempt to coerce the State of Minnesota. In a letter to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, the coalition condemn the Trump Administration’s effort to exploit the situation in Minnesota by pressuring state leaders into turning over sensitive resident data and dismantling longstanding public safety policies. Attorney General Bonta and the coalition warn that these demands represent a threat against states’ rights and likely conflict with ongoing litigation and court-ordered protections.

“The Trump Administration went low, and now they're digging themselves even deeper. Their attempt to strong-arm Minnesota into turning over its residents’ data is both unprecedented and deeply troubling,” said Attorney General Bonta. “This is coercion, plain and simple. U.S. DOJ’s demands for private data and state records attempt to circumvent the many protections and orders that states like California have already secured in court. It’s extortion — and a violation of state sovereignty. I stand with attorneys general across the country against this Administration’s illegal efforts to threaten the safety, autonomy, and well-being of more states and communities.” 

On January 24, 2026 — in the wake of several shootings by federal agents — Attorney General Pam Bondi sent a letter to Minnesota, which accused the state of enabling widespread fraud and demanded a series of actions in exchange for the withdrawal of federal agents from Minnesota. The demands included requests that Minnesota turn over sensitive Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) data, dismantle critical local public safety policies, and grant the federal government access to Minnesota voter information.

These recent demands intrude on state sovereignty and threaten individual privacy. The demands also ignore several protections and orders that states like California have already obtained in court over SNAP data, Medicaid data, federal funding tied to immigration enforcement requirements, and voter roll data. With so many of the Trump Administration’s actions already blocked by courts across the country, the attorneys general argue that the Administration is attempting to exploit a tragic situation and force an outcome that it could otherwise not achieve in court.

Attorney General Bonta and the coalition make clear that their states will continue to stand firm against unlawful federal interference and will defend both state sovereignty and the rights of their residents. The coalition urges the Administration to end its dangerous and unlawful campaign and stand down its alarming demands.

Attorney General Bonta has vigorously challenged the Trump Administration’s unlawful efforts to build a mass surveillance database using the personal and sensitive data of Californians. In July 2025, Attorney General Bonta sued the U.S. Department of Agriculture for demanding that states turn over personal and sensitive information of millions of SNAP recipients. He subsequently secured a preliminary injunction blocking the unlawful data grab, and more recently, filed a motion to enforce the court’s order and reject the Trump Administration’s renewed demand for the data. Also in July, Attorney General Bonta led a multistate coalition in filing a lawsuit against the Trump Administration arguing that the mass transfer of Medicaid data for immigration enforcement purposes violated the law. He later secured a preliminary injunction blocking that data from being used for immigration enforcement purposes, which was subsequently narrowed by the court. That litigation is ongoing. Attorney General Bonta, on behalf of Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber, Ph.D., has also defended against the Trump Administration’s attempt to gain unrestricted access to the State’s voter rolls and secured dismissal of the federal government’s lawsuit with prejudice.

Attorney General Bonta has also fought back against the Trump Administration’s unlawful militarized immigration enforcement and defended public safety. Last week, Attorney General Bonta led an amicus brief in support of Minnesota’s lawsuit challenging the Trump Administration’s extraordinary campaign of lawlessness during its deployment of federal agents to the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and Saint Paul. The Attorney General previously led a coalition in filing an amicus brief opposing unlawful immigration stops and arrests in the Central Valley and led a multistate coalition in filing an amicus brief in support of a temporary restraining order to stop ICE and CBP from engaging in unconstitutional stops in Los Angeles. Attorney General Bonta and Governor Newsom also recently secured a decision by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California ending the continued federalization and deployment of California National Guard troops in and around Los Angeles. 

In sending this letter, Attorney General Bonta joins the attorneys general of New York, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia.