The Attorney General's Office is asking for evidence of brutality and misconduct on the original raid on December 20, 1998.
If you have any this is the time to speak up!!!! Send all you got (copies) to:
Office of the Assistant Attorney General
c/o Bill Lann Lee
P.O. Box 65808
Washington, D.C. 20035-5808

Telephone Number for Bill Lann Lee (Acting)
(202) 514-2151

JUN 6 2000

Mr. Kurt W. Allen

Dear Mr. Allen:

This is in response to your letter to the Attorney General in which you allege that the Minnesota Department of Public Safety acted improperly in forcibly removing citizens who were demonstrating against a State highway project, and request that the Department of Justice commence a civil investigation into whether Minnesota State police officers engaged in misconduct. Your letter encloses a petition signed by a number of individuals, requesting that the Department undertake such an investigation. Your letter also attaches letters indicating that residents are concerned that the State highway project violates applicable environmental laws.

The Department of Justice will review and consider these allegations in order to determine whether any further action is warranted. Pursuant to federal law, the Department may criminally prosecute any law enforcement officer who willfully deprives a private individual of his or her constitutional or federal statutory rights. Federal law also authorizes the Justice Department to obtain civil remedies when a law enforcement agency is engaged in a pattern or practice of misconduct. Under 42 U.S.C. ~ 14141, the Department may file suit when a law enforcement agency is engaged in a pattern or practice of constitutional or federal statutory violations, and under 42 U.S.C. ~ 3789d(c), the Department may file suit when an agency receiving grants from the Department is engaged in a pattern or practice of discriminatory law enforcement. We will consider the information you have provided along with any other information we receive, in determining whether a civil rights investigation is warranted.

In regard to your concerns about the project’s environmental compliance, we are referring your letter to the United States Department of Transportation. It is the responsibility of the Department of Transportation, in the first instance, to ensure that the funds it provides to states are not used to violate environmental laws

Thank you for writing to the Department of Justice about this matter. Please do not hesitate to contact the Department if we can be of assistance in other matters.

Sincerely,
Bill Lann Lee
Acting Assistant
Attorney General
Civil Rights Division