ICE agent charged with assault during Operation Metro Surge released after posting $100,000 bail

Jeff Day, Star Tribune on May 21, 2026

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MINNEAPOLIS — Gregory Morgan Jr. stood in front of a phalanx of cameras Thursday before turning himself in to local law enforcement on charges that he assaulted two Minnesotans during Operation Metro Surge.

He nodded along as his attorney, Ryan Pacyga, said that Morgan — an eight-year veteran of law enforcement who had not worked in detention or removal operations until he came to the Twin Cities at the order of his superiors — welcomed his day in court and the pursuit of truth.

“Greg Morgan is not a caricature, he is not a headline,” Pacyga said.

Morgan, who remains on duty as an Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, agent, traveled from his home state of Maryland to Minnesota after weeks of communication between Pacyga and the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office to surrender on the charges. A nationwide arrest warrant was issued for Morgan in April after he was charged with two counts of second-degree assault for allegedly pointing his gun at two motorists who blocked him as he drove on the shoulder of Hwy. 62 near Portland Avenue.

Pacyga said that ICE and the Justice Department were paying for Morgan’s legal expenses. Minutes later, Morgan posted $100,000 bond and was released ahead of a first court appearance Friday in downtown Minneapolis.

The news conference served as a defense of Morgan’s humanity in the face of worldwide attention over the actions of federal agents during Operation Metro Surge, which left two Minnesotans killed and uncounted numbers in fear.

That fear extended to law enforcement, including agents like Morgan, Pacyga said.

“Many good ICE officers were being harassed and even threatened by members of our community and by people from other communities that came here during Metro Surge to exact some sort of revenge on ICE officers,” he said. “I think it’s fair to say citizens and ICE officers were concerned for their safety during Operation Metro Surge. Greg Morgan is no exception to that.”

In telegraphing some elements of his potential defense, Pacyga explained that Morgan was on duty when the alleged incident happened and remained on duty for several hours afterward.

“I have proof of that,” Pacyga said.

That will play a role in Pacyga’s planned motion to have the case moved from Hennepin County District Court to the U.S. District Court of Minnesota. He also said that Morgan told his direct supervisor about the incident immediately after it happened.

Still, his most direct argument against the allegations from the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office stemmed from the incident itself.

Pacyga said there were things that led up to the incident on the highway and that the drivers “aggressively swerved” at Morgan. In pointing to the unique legal defenses that law enforcement can mount when it comes to their actions while on duty, Pacyga noted that Morgan did not know the intentions of the driver when the incident began.

“But it happened fast, it was alarming and it was during an extraordinarily tense period in our Twin Cities metro area,” Pacyga said. “Human beings under stress can perceive danger differently and make split-second decisions in rapidly evolving situations.”

He added that Morgan “meant no harm and he did not intend to cause fear to those people.”

Hennepin County Attorney spokesperson Daniel Borgertpoepping said, “We stand by the contents of the criminal complaint.”

The case will serve as the first test for how the courts handle the unique legal scenario of a federal agent being charged with a crime by state officials. Pacyga said that Hennepin County Judge Paul Scoggin, a longtime veteran of the bench with expertise in criminal cases, is scheduled to oversee Morgan’s first appearance, even though it is not on any publicly available calendar.

While the the Trump administration has resisted sharing investigative evidence with prosecutors and law enforcement in Minnesota, Pacyga said he hopes it will work with him to gain evidence related to Morgan’s case.

“I would hope so, because all I want is the truth,” he said. “I want a jury to have the truth, if it goes that far, and I want judges to have the truth. And you know what else I want to have the truth? The public. And Greg Morgan wants them to have the truth, as well.”

After the news conference, Morgan walked into the Public Safety Facility and went to the public counter where a man stood alongside him and posted his bond. The nationwide warrant for his arrest was rescinded. He was then taken in for processing by the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office before being released ahead of his court date.