{"id":8707,"date":"2026-05-23T08:42:32","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T13:42:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wdepradio.com\/?p=8707"},"modified":"2026-05-23T08:42:35","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T13:42:35","slug":"judge-bars-ice-agent-from-carrying-weapons-while-assault-case-proceeds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wdepradio.com\/?p=8707","title":{"rendered":"Judge bars ICE agent from carrying weapons while assault case proceeds"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cI knew it. I knew politics were going to come into this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That was the first thing defense attorney Ryan Pacyga had to say after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Gregory Morgan Jr.\u2019s first appearance before a Minnesota judge Friday afternoon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pacyga was talking about when a Hennepin County prosecutor mentioned the troubles they\u2019ve been having getting records from the Department of Justice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Hennepin County attorney\u2019s displeasure or fight that they\u2019re having with the Department of Justice and other cases that shouldn\u2019t have come into the \u2014 to today\u2019s hearing,\u201d Pacyga said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In April, prosecutors charged Morgan with two counts of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon<\/a> for an incident in February during Operation Metro Surge. In court filings, prosecutors said Morgan pointed his gun at two Minnesotans in another car.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Morgan turned himself in<\/a> and posted bond on Thursday. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conditions of release<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Friday\u2019s court appearance lasted maybe 15 minutes. The only real question was about what conditions would accompany Morgan\u2019s $100,000 bond that keeps him out of jail while the case is prosecuted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the end, at least one condition will impact his job as an ICE agent: Prosecutors asked Judge Paul Scoggin to ban Morgan from possessing any firearms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Morgan\u2019s attorney asked for a compromise, banning him from guns while traveling or in Minnesota but letting him have his service weapon in Maryland, where Morgan still works as an ICE agent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scoggin said he wasn\u2019t going to alter his normal procedure in cases where the presumed penalty is more than a year behind bars and ordered a full gun and ammunition ban.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pacyga said he\u2019s not sure what that will mean for Morgan\u2019s job yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll have to confer with ICE and determine how important that is or isn\u2019t to them, right? So, I don\u2019t know what that\u2019s going to be,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Minnesota defense attorney Eric Nelson, who defended Derek Chauvin<\/a> during his murder case, said a ban on carrying a weapon doesn\u2019t mean a complete ban on working as a law enforcement officer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhether it\u2019s a state or federal officer, if there\u2019s a prohibition on possessing firearms \u2026 he could just simply be placed on an administrative duty,\u201d Nelson said. \u201cHe\u2019s presumed innocent of the charges, and if he \u2026 successfully defends against the charges, he would be allowed to return to work and possess firearms.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scoggin also banned Morgan from traveling outside of the country and having contact with any of the witnesses, including his partner that day who works in the same building as Morgan in Maryland.  The judge made it clear the ban on contact was about having conversations or discussing the case, not on seeing each other in passing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The conditions placed on Morgan may only be temporary. Under Minnesota state law he has the right to pay a higher bond to secure an unconditional release. His attorney said Friday that\u2019s a decision Morgan will make at a later date. It would cost him another $10,000 out of pocket.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The prosecution had just one thing to say about Friday\u2019s first appearance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are glad that this process has started, and look forward to debating this case in court,\u201d said Morgan Kunz from the Hennepin County Attorney\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Federal vs. state<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Local legal experts told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS this case is, in large part, a political fight starting with why the state charged Morgan in the first place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis \u2026 generally would have been brought by federal authorities against a federal officer,\u201d said Bradford Colbert with the Mitchell Hamline School of Law. \u201cWe are, I think it\u2019s fair to say, in uncharted territory as far as how this is going to progress.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said the last U.S. Supreme Court ruling that would have an impact on a case like this came a century ago, in the 1920s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere should be a cooperation between the state government and the federal government, but that is just not happening,\u201d Colbert explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The defense says its next step is to ask a judge to move the case from state to federal court. They have 30 days to do that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe remain undeterred,\u201d Pacyga said. \u201cWe\u2019re just going to keep following the process and trust the court process. We\u2019re going to trust the judges down the road, and if this case ever gets to a jury, we\u2019re going to trust the jury.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pacyga wouldn\u2019t elaborate on why they\u2019re seeking a change of venue, but Nelson suggested it likely has to do with the expected defense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe would have to claim a federal defense, which would be, in this case, potentially qualified immunity, or that he was acting within the scope of his federal job, federal duties and is entitled to greater protections under federal law,\u201d Nelson explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But moving the case to federal court could have some odd implications for the case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s kind of setting up a federal-state fight in that regard. I think that\u2019s an important concept,\u201d Nelson said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey can remove it to federal court, where it will be heard by a federal judge, but prosecuted by a state prosecutor, which again, which is a really unusual area,\u201d Colbert said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cI knew it. 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