ICE agent charged for pulling gun on motorists, Minnesota prosecutor says

A US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer has been charged with assault for allegedly pointing a gun at a vehicle while on duty, Minneapolis prosecutors said on Thursday.

It is the first case in which a federal agent has been criminally charged for their actions during the Trump administration's 10-week immigration crackdown in Minnesota, dubbed Operation Metro Surge, officials said.

Gregory Donnell Morgan, Jr is accused of pointing a gun at motorists who tried to slow him down while he was driving illegally on the shoulder of a state highway in February, prosecutors said.

There is a nationwide warrant for Morgan's arrest as he faces two second-degree assault charges.

On 5 February, Morgan was driving on the shoulder of a highway, appearing to attempt to bypass slower traffic, when another vehicle moved into the shoulder to slow him down, according to Hennepin County prosecutor Mary Moriarty.

Morgan, 35, 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", the prosecutors said.

The driver and passenger in the other car felt threatened and called 911, she said.

The agent was in a rented and unmarked SUV that showed no indication of being an ICE vehicle, Moriarty said during a press conference on Thursday.

After the incident, Morgan told state investigators he and his partner were at the end of their shift, heading back to a federal building at the time. He admitted he drew his firearm after the other vehicle rejoined the flow of traffic, Moriarty said.

Morgan said he "feared for his safety and the safety of others" after the other vehicle swerved and "cut him off", the New York Times reports citing the state complaint.

Moriarty said the charges against the office "reflect an important milestone in our efforts to seek accountability for the harms inflicted on community".

"We will not rest until we get the answers we seek about federal agent conduct across Hennepin County and accountability is delivered wherever appropriate," Moriarty added.

The BBC has reached out to ICE for comment.

Following the fatal shootings of two US citizens by federal agents in January, President Donald Trump dispatched border tsar Tom Homan to Minneapolis to oversee an immigration enforcement surge there.

Homan said in February that Operation Metro Surge had resulted in many illegal immigrants who had committed violent crimes being detained for deportation. But the surge also sparked nationwide protests when Renee Good and Alex Pretti were killed by immigration officers.

A third man, Venezuelan migrant Julio Sosa-Celis, was shot in the leg during an interaction with ICE.

When announcing the charges on Thursday, Moriarty said: "Our work continues on all fronts, from the killings of Ms Good and Mr Pretti, to the shooting of Mr Sosa-Celis, to the incidents being investigated by our Transparency and Accountability Project."