The Minnesota Attorney General’s Office and Ramsey County Attorney’s Office together have filed lawsuits to keep two rival Somali gangs away from the Minnesota State Fair when it starts later this month.
The two lawsuits filed in civil court came to light on Friday and seek injunctions against “Muddy,” “The Ville,” and 10 named affiliates to keep them from carrying out gang activity inside or outside the immediate area of the fairgrounds.
NEW: Ramsey County is civilly suing the Somali gangs "Muddy" and "Ville" alleging they are "criminal gangs" and constitute a "Public Nuisance."
The lawsuits seek to bar the defendants from engaging in gang related activity and seek to bar them from the Minnesota State Fair… pic.twitter.com/D0V4I4VB35
— CrimeWatchMpls (@CrimeWatchMpls) August 7, 2026
The court documents allege that the “criminal gangs” constitute a “public nuisance” and have been connected to multiple violent incidents across the Twin Cities, including a triple shooting outside the fairgrounds in 2024, chaos and brawls at the State Fair last year, shots fired at Burnsville High School’s graduation last year, and a shooting that occurred during the Metro State graduation near Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul this spring.
A sworn affidavit included in court filings from Ramsey County Deputy and gang expert Ben Seidl outlines the gangs’ structures and violent activities and states that they have regularly used the Minnesota State Fair in recent years to engage in criminal activity and are planning to do so at the 2026 Minnesota State Fair. An image of a social media post that appears to foreshadow gang confrontations at the State Fair was included in the affidavit.
The lawsuits are predicated on a 2007 state law that allows criminal gangs to be classified as public nuisances. The law has been applied a small handful of times over the years to curtail gang activity at certain community events. The relevant statutes provide for civil and criminal penalties in the event a court order or injunction is violated.
The lawsuits ask the judge to prohibit Muddy and The Ville gang members from gathering and “confronting, intimidating, annoying, harassing, threatening, challenging, provoking, assaulting or battering any person” known to be a witness or victim of, or known to have complained about, either gang. The injunctive relief is requested for the entirety of the fair beginning at 8 a.m. opening morning and ending at 6 a.m. the day after Labor Day.
Judge Sara Grewing is set to hear evidence in the two cases at hearings scheduled for this coming Thursday. The named parties are not required to be present at the hearings, but authorities will be required to provide proof of their claims of public nuisance and specific threats to the security of the State Fair and show that the named parties have been formally served with court papers.
Just last month, Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher said the Twin Cities Somali gangs are “out of control” in a pair of YouTube broadcasts following a violent July 4 weekend that included multiple shootings and a murder, which he said were connected to Somali gangs.
Alpha News subsequently obtained a nine-page list referenced by Sheriff Fletcher detailing “East African” violent crimes over the last three years, which detailed 14 murders and more than 100 shootings or violent incidents, many at significant community events.
The Ramsey County Attorney’s Office issued a statement indicating it was limited in what it could say ahead of Thursday’s hearings but offered a statement from Ramsey County Attorney John Choi.
“The evidence filed in our civil cases against two separate gangs is overwhelming as it relates to the concerning level of retaliatory and predatory violence and most specifically the alarming escalation of threats and settling of scores planned to take place at the Minnesota State Fair,” Choi said.
“We cannot tolerate such a possibility, and it is our responsibility to intervene and prevent it without fear or favor. While these civil lawsuits are an important step to disrupting the alleged plans for violent confrontations, we are working with our community and law enforcement partners to fund and develop more robust violence intervention strategies before and after the Minnesota State Fair.”
Alpha News will continue to follow developments in the cases.
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Minnesota Crime Watch & Information publishes news, info and commentary about crime, public safety and livability issues in Minneapolis, the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota.
Crime Watch MN
Minnesota Crime Watch & Information publishes news, info and commentary about crime, public safety and livability issues in Minneapolis, the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota.
