Assault charges dismissed against Minneapolis man who says federal agents beat him

Prosecutors are moving to dismiss charges against a man in Minneapolis who was accused of assaulting federal officers.

Paul Johnson is joining a growing list of people who faced similar allegations that the federal government is no longer pursuing in court. For Johnson, his disappointment overshadows any feeling of relief.

"I would have rather gone to court. I would have rather seen them have to show up, have to explain their actions," Johnson said. 

He's describing the federal officers who he said beat him in January during Operation Metro Surge. Johnson showed WCCO a video that he said was given to him by a bystander, appearing to show multiple officers repeatedly striking him in his truck before bringing him down into the snow outside a convenience store in north Minneapolis. 

Johnson said that he had been tracking ICE vehicles in his neighborhood when it happened. He said he was boxed in before agents swarmed his truck, punching him and using pepper spray at close range. 

"There's no doubt in a person's mind when you're being beaten like that that your life very well could be over," Johnson said. 

In a sworn affidavit, HSI Special Agent Richard Berger claimed that Johnson had threatened federal officers with a baseball bat and sprayed a Customs and Border Patrol vehicle with a chemical irritant. Berger stated that Johnson used that same spray on agents when they attempted to arrest him.

In a hearing on a different case in April, U.S. District Court Magistrate David Schultz said that he became "concerned with the veracity" of multiple affidavits related to federal officer assault cases that came from Berger. Schultz said that in multiple instances, Berger "did not have any personal knowledge of the events described in the affidavits that he has submitted to this court as sworn affidavits."

Johnson said he never had a bat and never approached the federal vehicle, but said he did use pepper spray during the altercation in a desperate act of self-defense, as he said he was being attacked. 

"At that point when they had already pepper sprayed me and I felt as though I was going unconscious, I had grabbed mine and sprayed a couple guys out the side of my door," Johnson said. 

Last week, just short of five months after the incident, his defense attorney, Kevin Riach, filed a motion to dismiss the case. Riach said that an evidentiary hearing would quickly show "that the ICE and CBP agents intentionally manufactured a dangerous situation designed to develop a false basis to arrest Mr. Johnson." 

The motion was based on "outrageous" government action that went beyond the arrest itself. Johnson said that he was left shackled to a bed at HCMC for five days, with federal agents guarding him and preventing him from contacting his family. Johnson said he was finally able to shuffle and stretch from his bed to reach a phone inside his hospital room to get word out to his wife. 

"I'm at HCMC. They got me. Get me a lawyer," Johnson said he whispered from under the bed sheets. 

When he later self-surrendered for the charges brought against him, Johnson's defense attorney describes federal officers taking "trophy photos" of him and others. These were then posted by then-Attorney General Pam Bondi on her X account, which Riach said made Johnson a target for doxxing and harassment. 

On Thursday, U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen signed off on a motion to dismiss the charges against Johnson. The U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota acknowledged issues raised by Johnson and his legal team. 

"Based on newly received discovery, the government intends to pursue an investigation into allegations raised in Mr. Johnson's filings, therefore the interests of justice support dismissal of this case," Rosen's motion reads. 

Johnson is among six people featured by Pam Bondi whose cases have now been dismissed. 

U.S. prosecutors in Minnesota on Tuesday announced charges against 15 people they say conspired to "violently oppose immigration law enforcement," though Rosen failed to describe a single example of injuries to federal agents when repeatedly questioned.

When asked what makes the latest slate of indictments different than other cases that have been dropped, Rosen said he doesn't think any cases have "failed in any way."

"Read the indictment and you'll understand the magnitude of this case," Rosen said. "You watch how this case plays out, you watch how the evidence plays out and the evidence will prove it all out."