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SEE IT: Feeding Our Future fraudsters bought mansions and Mercedes with $250M in stolen meal funds

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No case in Minnesota’s sprawling fraud scandal captures the scale of taxpayer abuse like the Feeding Our Future scheme, in which the program’s director signed off on sham meal services for the poor only to have the men around her splurge on mansions, luxury cars and lavish lifestyles.

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Fox News Digital has obtained the court exhibits used at trial, including photos of the properties, vehicles and designer goods prosecutors say were purchased with stolen federal nutrition dollars.

The scheme was headed by Aimee Bock, the founder and executive director of Feeding Our Future, an organization responsible for ensuring that needy kids didn’t go hungry during the COVID pandemic.

Bock presided over a network that claimed to have served 91 million meals, for which the scammers fraudulently received nearly $250 million in federal funds. Bock, who was convicted by a federal jury on March 19, 2025, of wire fraud, conspiracy and bribery for her role, was dubbed the scheme’s «mastermind» by federal prosecutors.

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FEDERAL PROBE TARGETS ALLEGED MINNESOTA SOMALI FRAUD ‘NETWORK’ AS COVID-AID CRIME RINGS PERSIST

Prosecutors say Aimee Bock, founder of Feeding Our Future, and Salim Said helped orchestrate one of the largest pandemic-relief fraud schemes in U.S. history. Both were found guilty of diverting federal child-nutrition funds into luxury homes, vehicles and other personal spending, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. (Sherburne County Sheriff’s Office)

Bock approved the meal sites, some of which were fake, and then certified the claims, signing off on the reimbursements from the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE). At least 78 people have now been indicted in the ongoing investigation.

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Court exhibits used in the case against Bock and Salim Said, a local restaurant owner, captured some of the opulent spending Said splurged his ill-gotten gains on.

For instance, Said used $250,000 in stolen nutrition funds to buy a large home in Plymouth, while another $2.7 million wire transfer linked to the fraud was routed into a Minneapolis mansion-style office building, prosecutors said, that served as the headquarters for his company, Safari Group.

The property stood in stark contrast to the daycare centers and after-school programs the federal money was supposed to help.

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The exhibits also showed that Said used fraud proceeds to buy a black 2021 Mercedes-Benz GLA and a 2021 Chevy Silverado.

Said operated Safari Restaurant, a small Minneapolis eatery that claimed to be serving more than 4,000 meals per day to the poor, according to federal exhibits, while his company and co-conspirators opened additional sites, as well as dozens of shell companies, which received more than $32 million in Federal Child Nutrition Program funds, prosecutors said.

MINNESOTA LAWMAKERS VOW NEW CRACKDOWN AFTER $1B FRAUD MELTDOWN THEY SAY WALZ LET SPIRAL

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DOJ exhibit showing the Minneapolis property prosecutors said Safari Group bought with laundered funds.

A Minneapolis property at 2722–42 Park Avenue South that prosecutors said was purchased with a $2.7 million wire transfer tied to the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme and used as the headquarters for Salim Said’s Safari Group. (Department of Justice)

Plymouth Minnesota home shown in DOJ exhibit tied to a $250,000 laundering transaction.

The Plymouth home prosecutors said Salim Said purchased using a $250,000 payment traced to laundered Feeding Our Future funds. (Department of Justice)

According to the indictment, Said’s spending spree stretched far beyond the cars and houses shown in the courtroom exhibits — with additional real estate, electronics, cash transfers, restaurant buildouts and other luxury goods purchased through shell companies he controlled. Other members of the Safari group were also accused of funneling nutrition dollars into luxury cars and designer goods.

Federal prosecutors did not accuse Bock of personally buying big-ticket items with the fraud proceeds. 

Instead, they said she built and protected the network that enabled others to spend the money. The exhibits show she approved the sites, signed the checks and kept investigators at bay, leaving her inner circle to splurge while she ran the system that made it all possible.

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The only money movement directly tied to Bock in the exhibits was a picture of her making a $30,000 cash withdrawal, evidence, prosecutors said, that she was involved in a kickback scheme by accepting cash payments from meal-site operators in exchange for site approvals and reimbursements. 

A series of reimbursement checks she signed for alleged fraud sites were also shown, evidence prosecutors said captured her role as the scheme’s «gatekeeper,» though not a big personal spender.

Empress Malcolm Watson Jr., whom the Minnesota Department of Revenue describes as Bock’s boyfriend, appears in some of the exhibits, including a photo of him inside a Rolls-Royce with Bock standing next to him. He’s pictured in another photo standing in front of a Lamborghini.

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DEM-APPOINTED EDUCATION OFFICIALS FACE NEW SCRUTINY AS FEEDING OUR FUTURE SCANDAL WIDENS, TRUMP TARGETS FRAUD

Aimee Bock standing beside a Rolls-Royce with Empress Malcolm Watson Jr. in DOJ exhibit.

Aimee Bock beside a Rolls-Royce with Empress Malcolm Watson Jr. Prosecutors said the image illustrated the lifestyle surrounding the network but did not accuse Bock of buying the vehicle. (Department of Justice)

The latter exhibit also shows designer bags, jewelry and a white Mercedes-Benz — items prosecutors labeled as «Handy Helpers Spending» to illustrate the lavish lifestyle surrounding Bock’s network. Prosecutors made no claim that Bock bought the items herself and one co-conspirator even testified that Bock warned them not to splurge, telling them that luxury purchases would «become obvious.»

Watson earned more than $1 million for work he did as an employee of Bock’s for-profit childcare consulting business, as well as work his own remodeling company performed for that business, according to the Minnesota Department of Revenue. Prosecutors say Watson spent more than $680,000 on travel, jewelry, vehicles, cash withdrawals, or transfers to other accounts.

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Watson has not been charged in the Feeding Our Future cases. He was charged with six tax-related felony offenses in September for allegedly underreporting his income for 2020 and 2021, failing to file a return for 2022 and failing to pay the income taxes he owed for those years. Watson allegedly owes more than $64,000 in unpaid income tax. He is currently being held in the Anoka County jail on a felony probation violation unrelated to the tax case.

Black 2021 Mercedes-Benz GLA shown in DOJ exhibit with the $60,000 check tied to its purchase.

A 2021 Mercedes-Benz GLA prosecutors said Salim Said bought with fraud proceeds using a $60,000 check. (Department of Justice)

Black 2021 Chevy Silverado shown in DOJ exhibit next to the $47,000 check used to purchase it.

A 2021 Chevrolet Silverado that prosecutors said Salim Said bought with stolen federal nutrition funds using a $47,000 check. (Department of Justice)

DOJ exhibit collage showing luxury bags, jewelry, cash, a Lamborghini and a white Mercedes labeled as Handy Helpers Spending.

Government exhibit show designer bags, jewelry, cash piles, a Lamborghini photo and a white Mercedes prosecutors labeled as «Handy Helpers Spending» to illustrate the lavish lifestyle inside the network surrounding Aimee Bock. Prosecutors made no claim that Bock personally bought these items. (Department of Justice)

At trial, Bock’s attorneys claimed she was an unwitting administrator who trusted the wrong people and followed United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) rules during a chaotic pandemic. The USDA supplied the federal child nutrition funds via the MDE. 

Her defense team said she believed the meal sites were legitimate and was being blamed for systemic oversight failures.

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‘SCHEMES STACKED UPON SCHEMES’: $1B HUMAN-SERVICES FRAUD FUELS SCRUTINY OF MINNESOTA’S SOMALI COMMUNITY

Prosecutors countered that Bock personally approved many of the worst offenders, including the Safari network.

The DOJ also introduced slides showing emails and communications where Bock accused the MDE of racism when regulators questioned suspicious claims. In 2021, when the MDE grew suspicious and tried to stop the flow of funds, Feeding Our Future sued, alleging racial discrimination. A judge ordered the state to restart reimbursements — a ruling prosecutors said enabled the scheme to escalate.

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«Bock lied to MDE and falsely accused state officials of racism to keep the money flowing,» one of the slides reads.

Another slide quoted a witness telling jurors, «Aimee Bock was a God,» describing how much power she held over the network.

Aimee Bock at a bank counter in DOJ exhibit showing a $30,000 cash withdrawal.

The exhibit shows Aimee Bock at a bank counter making a $30,000 cash withdrawal, evidence prosecutors said was tied to the bribery and kickback allegations in Count 40. (Department of Justice)

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The government presented multiple slides showing that witnesses testified that Bock understood the numbers were fake or impossible and approved them anyway.

«That math ain’t mathin’,» said Cerresso Fort, the owner of SIR Boxing, describing figures he told jurors could not have been real.

Although the Safari Group was the single largest cell in the operation, prosecutors said more than a dozen additional networks operated under Feeding Our Future’s umbrella. 

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Taken together, these groups submitted more than $250 million in fake invoices, making the conspiracy one of the largest pandemic-era frauds in the United States.

DOJ conspiracy diagram showing Aimee Bock and Safari Group members involved in Feeding Our Future fraud.

A DOJ conspiracy diagram presented at trial shows Aimee Bock at the top of the network, with Salim Said and Safari Group operators below her. Prosecutors said Bock approved the claims that funneled millions to the men in her network. (Department of Justice)

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Reporter’s Notebook: GOP weighs ‘nuking’ filibuster to pass Trump’s SAVE Act

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You’ll hear volumes from congressional Republicans about the importance of passing the SAVE America Act in the coming days. The bill requires proof of citizenship to vote.

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«We need to make it easy to vote and hard to cheat in America,» said Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio.

«The SAVE America Act is an important bill,» said Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., on Fox News. «So we’ve got to figure out how to get it passed.»

TRUMP-BACKED VOTER ID BILL FACES GOP RESISTANCE AS TILLIS VOWS TO STOP IT

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Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., said that Senate Democrats wouldn’t take the shutdown seriously until flight delays and cancellations started to stack up.  (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)

And that is the conundrum facing Senate Republicans — figuring out how to get it passed.

The SAVE America Act is the touchstone of President Donald Trump’s legislative agenda. In fact, the president warned he wouldn’t sign any other bill into law — except perhaps a DHS funding measure — until Congress aligns with his demands.

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Republicans agree on the importance of the SAVE America Act, but Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D. is promising everything but passage.

«I will be bringing the SAVE America Act to the floor, and we will be having a full and robust debate,» said Thune.

That’s because Republicans can’t break a Democratic filibuster.

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«This is one of the worst things we’ve seen in America in a very long time,» said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

SCHUMER SWINGS AT HEGSETH OVER KING CRAB MEALS FOR THE TROOPS, BUT BIDEN-ERA RECEIPTS SHOW SIMILAR TAB

Sen. Chuck Schumer

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., arrives for a news conference outside the U.S. Capitol on March 5, 2026. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)

«The real reason this president wants this bill to pass is to reduce the number of people voting in the November election,» said Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill. 

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It takes 60 votes to break a filibuster. Republicans only have 53 votes in the Senate. So some Republicans advocate parliamentary ballistics to obliterate the filibuster.

«I would nuke the filibuster to pass the SAVE America Act,» said Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan. 

Cold War rhetoric permeates this entire debate. In fact, conservatives implored Thune to launch a pre-emptive first strike to terminate the filibuster before Democrats again win control of the Senate — be it this fall or a decade from now.

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«It’s really about the only way I can see preventing them from nuking the filibuster once they gain the majority in the Senate,» said Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis.

Other Republicans want to force Democrats to filibuster the old-fashioned way — until they’re exhausted. 

«They should have to go hold the floor like it used to be in the old days. They can go and talk as much as they want. But sooner or later they’re going to run out of time,» said Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo.

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If everyone finally fades after days or weeks of debate, then the Senate doesn’t need a test vote to break a filibuster — needing 60 yeas. That means they can pass the bill with a simple majority: 51.

Lots of Republican senators are now invoking the 1930s Frank Capra classic «Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.» That’s where Jimmy Stewart plays an idealistic senator who filibusters until he collapses in the Senate chamber.

«They should have to go out there, hours on end, like a Jimmy Stewart moment,» said Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo.

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But most Republicans reject the Jimmy Stewart approach. They’re not so much worried about unlimited debate during a talking filibuster, but the unlimited amendment process.

«The talking filibuster, I think will be a goat rodeo. I mean, it could take two or three weeks. The Democrats will tee up all kinds of problematic votes,» predicted a skeptical Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C. «I haven’t had anybody describe to me the project plan. Here are the number of days. This is how we counter people. We’ve got all of our political flanks covered. And this is how we succeed at the end.»

But there won’t be an unlimited amendment process. While Thune will allow the debate to go on for a while (Fox is told perhaps a week or more, perhaps around the clock), he will maintain «ball control.» Thune won’t immediately tee up a test vote to end debate, needing 60 yeas. But Thune will immediately block all amendments from both sides.

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Like everything on Capitol Hill, it’s about the math. And while there will be a lot of talking about the SAVE Act and the talking filibuster, there’s not enough support on the GOP side of the aisle to unspool the Senate’s filibuster rules and precedents. 

«Many of us don’t believe that we should undo the filibuster because it holds the rights of the majority. And one day we’ll be back in the minority,» said Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va. «It’s a real splitter here.»

Capito added that there was a «will» to deal with the SAVE America Act. But the parliamentary machinations it would take to blow up the filibuster to pass the bill do not exist.

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«There’s not enough numbers to get it done,» observed Capito.

Trump and other conservatives are starting to dial up pressure on Thune.

THUNE GUARANTEES VOTER ID BILL TO HIT THE SENATE DESPITE SCHUMER, DEM OPPOSITION: ‘WE WILL HAVE A VOTE’

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Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., argued that Democrats were continuing their push to keep DHS closed because it was «politically advantageous.» (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)

«I think he’s a wonderful person. I do,» the president said of the South Dakota Republican on Fox News Radio. «But it’s not that he doesn’t want to do it. He doesn’t think he can do it. And that’s bad.»

Despite criticism directed at Thune, some Republicans are defending him.

«It’s not John Thune that’s killing it. It’s members of the Republican Party that are not convinced that a talking filibuster can be used to pass this,» said Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo. «It will be an infliction of tremendous delays on other matters before the U.S. Senate without the positive results of passage of the SAVE Act.»

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It’s significant that the president has not called out Thune over his reluctance to end the filibuster to pass the SAVE America Act. However, Trump routinely demanded that former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., do just that during his first term. The president often lambasted McConnell’s stewardship of the Senate, despite the Kentucky Republican establishing a new precedent to inhibit filibusters of Supreme Court nominees. McConnell’s maneuver on the filibuster assured the confirmations of Supreme Court Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett.

But so far, no sharp criticism of Thune.

Still, some Republicans believe Senate magic could salvage the SAVE America Act.

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«I’ve seen John Thune pull rabbits out of his hat before,» said Lummis. «And I’m hoping there’s a rabbit in his hat on this one.» 

The Senate takes a test vote just to start debate on the bill Tuesday afternoon. That needs a simple majority. It’s possible that Vice President JD Vance may need to break a tie to launch debate on the bill.

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Vice President JD Vance talking on a cell phone while walking toward the West Wing.

Vice President JD Vance talks on his phone as he walks to the West Wing of the White House, March 6, 2026, in Washington. (Alex Brandon/AP Photo)

But the Senate doesn’t have the votes to blow up the precedents like McConnell did with the Supreme Court in order to pass the SAVE America Act, nor are there the votes to execute a full-blown «talking filibuster,» bypassing the need for 60 yeas. 

Consider the firestorm that could rain down on Senate Republicans from their base if the GOP fails to pass the SAVE America Act. Trump has held his tongue so far, but it’s possible there could be recriminations from him, too.

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Europa se planta: rechazó el reclamo de Donald Trump para que entre en la guerra y libere el Estrecho de Ormuz

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“Esta no es nuestra guerra”, dijo la canciller europea Kaja Kallas tras unas pocas horas de debate. La Unión Europea no cede al chantaje estadounidense y rechaza enviar una misión naval militar para reabrir el Estrecho de Ormuz, cerrado por la amenaza iraní de atacar los buques que lo atraviesen. O, como dijo el jefe del Gobierno alemán Friedrich Merz, “esta no es una misión de la OTAN”.

El presidente Donald Trump dijo el domingo en una entrevista al diario británico ‘Financial Times’ que la OTAN, paraguas de seguridad europeo frente a Rusia, tendría “muy mal futuro” si los europeos se negaban a ayudar a Estados Unidos enviando sus buques de guerra a Ormuz. Las normas de la OTAN prevén que todos sus miembros ayuden al miembro atacado (no si él ataca sin acuerdo de los demás) y sólo en el espacio europeo y americano del Atlántico Norte.

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Desde primera hora de la mañana todos los diplomáticos y funcionarios consultados veían el pedido de Trump como un chantaje inadmisible. Recordaban que el año pasado Estados Unidos dio por derrotado a Irán y que la semana pasada volvió a darlo por derrotado. Ahora ven cómo las fuerzas estadounidenses en el Golfo Pérsico son incapaces de mantener abierto el Estrecho de Ormuz, esencial para la economía mundial porque por él pasa alrededor del 20% del petróleo mundial.

Las mismas fuentes recordaban que Trump había iniciado la guerra sin un plan para manejar Irán, sin una estrategia de salida, sin probablemente los medios necesarios ya dispuestos y sin consultar -ni siquiera avisar- a sus supuestos socios europeos. “Y ahora quiere que le arreglemos el problema”, según un diplomático.

Las instituciones europeas, temiendo que los cancilleres del bloque, que se reunieron este lunes en Bruselas, arrastraran los pies y dejaran la decisión para los líderes, que tienen su cumbre de inicio de primavera este jueves y viernes, lanzaron un globo sondo a primera hora.

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Kallas dijo a su llegada a la reunión que la Unión Europea podría enviar esa misión, cuando ya no hubiera combates, como una especie de fuerza de mantenimiento de la paz y la seguridad en el Estrecho de Ormuz. No ahora. Kallas adelantó que podría copiarse el modelo de la misión europea para permitir la salida del cereal ucraniano por el Mar Negro. Y recordó a Trump que la OTAN no tiene que activarse en este caso porque Ormuz está fuera del ámbito de actuación de la Alianza Atlántica.

Kallas sí reconocía, antes de que los cancilleres le hicieran cambiar de opinión, que “el cierre del Estrecho de Ormuz beneficia a Rusia para financiar esta guerra. Así que definitivamente tenemos que hacer más al respecto. Y ahí el principal tema será cómo mantener abierto el Estrecho de Ormuz”. Kallas respondía así a las declaraciones de Trump, que en la entrevista con el diario británico también había dicho que los europeos «tendrían que estar ahí porque su energía pasa por el Estrecho». En realidad, el 85% del petróleo que sale del Golfo Pérsico por Ormuz va a Asia y el Índico.

Una alternativa europea podría haber sido ampliar o cambiar el mandato de la Operación Aspides, la que mantiene Europa en el Mar Rojo para asegurar la navegación ante las amenazas de los hutíes. No es una misión de ataque, sólo protege buques. Pero tampoco aceptaron eso este lunes los cancilleres.

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Los gobiernos fueron rechazando desde la noche del domingo la idea de una misión militar. El presidente francés Emmanuel Macron dijo ya el domingo que “no se dan las condiciones”. Francia es quien lleva la voz cantante europea porque es quien más medios navales puede movilizar.

París envió su portaaviones de propulsión nuclear y un grupo de combate con varios buques de guerra al este del Mediterráneo, donde le acompañan fragatas griegas, holandesas o españolas. Se trata de mostrar presencia militar cerca de la región, pero no en el Golfo Pérsico. Y de proteger, en caso de necesidad, a la isla de Chipre, miembro de la Unión Europea, con unas Fuerzas Armadas escuálidas y que recibió ataques con drones porque tiene una base militar británica.

El canciller francés Jean Noel Barrot, dijo que no había planes para ir al Golfo Pérsico: “El grupo de ataque del portaaviones francés permanece en el Mediterráneo oriental. La postura de Francia no ha cambiado, es defensiva y protectora. Dejen de sembrar el pánico”.

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El canciller alemán Johan Wadephul dijo que su país “no participará en este conflicto. Queremos participar en las negociaciones, porque la seguridad del Estrecho de Ormuz y del Mar Rojo sólo se logrará mediante una solución negociada y eso requerirá dialogar con los iraníes”.

La jefa del Gobierno italiano, Giorgia Meloni, que se juega la próxima semana buena parte de su capital político en un referéndum sobre una reforma judicial que según los sondeos podría perder, también se mostró contraria.

El español José Manuel Albares dijo: “No hay que hacer nada que añada todavía más tensión, más escalada. Lo que hay que hacer es que cesen los bombardeos, que cesen los lanzamientos de misiles sobre todos los países de Oriente Medio y que volvamos a la mesa de negociación”.

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Minnesota bill would ban warrants allowing police to collect data from devices near a crime scene

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A bipartisan group of Minnesota lawmakers has proposed a bill seeking to ban warrants allowing law enforcement to gather data revealing which cellphones and other devices that were near a crime scene at a specific time.

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Democrat state Sen. Erin Maye Quade introduced a Senate bill to ban those warrants in most cases, with Sens. Omar Fateh, also a Democrat, and Eric Lucero, a Republican, joining as original sponsors.

The bill would also allow anyone whose information was obtained during the search to sue law enforcement.

Lawmakers argue the warrants should be prohibited except in emergency situations. They said reverse location warrants, sometimes called «geofence» or «dragnet» warrants, are too broad and violate Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches and seizures.

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YOUR PHONE IS NOW A CRIME SCENE IN YOUR POCKET

Lawmakers argue the warrants should be prohibited except in emergency situations. (Getty Images)

Critics of the warrants say authorities can gather data on thousands of people near a particular area, including those who attended an event that could be of interest to law enforcement, such as a protest.

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«We do believe that we have to balance our constitutional rights and public safety so that we’re not essentially sending law enforcement in to search for a needle in a haystack by exponentially increasing the size of the haystack,» Maye Quade said during a hearing on March 9.

Law enforcement groups, including the Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association and the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, contend that the bill is too broad, although both have suggested a willingness to negotiate with lawmakers about data privacy concerns.

«We recognize and share the Legislature’s commitment to protecting individual privacy and civil liberties. However, as drafted, this bill would impose an outright prohibition on investigative tools that are lawful, court-supervised, and, in many cases, critical to solving serious crimes and protecting public safety,» the Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association said in a letter to lawmakers.

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Senate lawmakers first discussed the bill in the Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Committee on March 9. House lawmakers discussed a companion bill, originally proposed by Rep. Sandra Feist, a Democrat, in the Judiciary Finance and Civil Law Committee on Feb. 24.

This comes amid an ongoing case at the national level, in which the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in April on the constitutionality of reverse location warrants.

Between 2018 and 2020, the number of reverse location warrants in Minnesota jumped from 22 to 173.

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Google Maps is deleting location history

The Senate bill would allow anyone whose information was obtained during the search to sue law enforcement. (Kurt «CyberGuy» Knutsson)

In 2023, Google said it would stop storing location data in a way that would make it susceptible to reverse location warrant requests. By July of last year, the company said all location history data previously stored on its servers had been wiped or moved to on-device storage.

But groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union and Electronic Frontier Foundation have raised concerns about whether that change is enough.

The warrants appear to still be used in Minnesota, as law enforcement groups argue they play a key role in solving investigations.

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Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Superintendent Drew Evans said a ban on those warrants «would have a major detrimental effect on public safety in Minnesota.»

«There are numerous examples of case investigations where reverse location data has saved lives, even just recently,» Evans said in a letter to lawmakers, although he added that he supports «reasonable safeguards for data privacy protections» and would be «more than willing to collaborate on possible solutions to implement more safeguards while still preserving such an important technological tool.»

As written, the Senate bill would prohibit warrants to collect information on devices that searched for a specific keyword, phrase or website. It would also ban similar collection of GPS coordinates, cell tower and Wi-Fi connectivity data.

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GRASSLEY: BIDEN DOJ BYPASSED CONSTITUTIONAL SAFEGUARDS BY SUBPOENAING SENATOR PHONE RECORDS

Police officers in protective gear move into a downtown street as a crowd gathers nearby.

Minneapolis police in tactical gear arrive on the street in downtown Minneapolis as protesters gather on Jan. 17, 2026, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Jim Vondruska/Getty Images)

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Lucero said during the March 9 hearing that the bill should not be viewed as anti-law enforcement, arguing it promotes pro-constitutional principles.

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«We simply want to make sure that those time-tested principles are protected in the new digital realm,» Lucero said.

Lucero referenced the Fourth Amendment, which protects against unreasonable searches and seizures unless a warrant specifies a particular place and the person or thing to be seized.

«Reverse search warrants are the antithesis of that,» he said.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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