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The City of East Grand Forks and Polk County have retained attorneys regarding a civil rights lawsuit filed in U.S. Court by a local journalist and author – Timothy Charles Holmseth.

“Please be advised my office has been retained to represent the City of East Grand Forks and it’s employees in the civil lawsuit you have commenced,” said Jon Iverson, an attorney based out of Bloomington.

“It is my understanding Attorney Tom Carlson will be representing the county defendants,” Iverson added.

Holmseth filed the 42 – U.S.C. – 1983 Deprivation of Rights lawsuit on July 22, 2014. The documents for service are being prepared and will be ready soon.

On July 29, 2014 EGF City Administrator David Murphy advised Holmseth he was not going to fill a records request Holmseth made, and rather, would be contacting Attorney Brad Sinclair, a Fargo-based lawyer representing the City on matters regarding the ‘Boardwalk Enterprises” loan fraud scandal.

Sinclair was recently hired to replace EGF City Attorney Ronald Galstad regarding matters and purposes of the ‘Boardwalk Enterprises’ investigation due to conflict of interest issues. Galstad remains the EGF City Attorney but is named as Defendant in Holmseth's lawsuit.

Holmseth contacted Sinclair and objected to the City’s continued pattern and practice of disregarding rules and laws. “As I am sure you know, at only seven days into the process, I have not even come close to approaching the service deadline set forth in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. As far as I know I did not forfeit my rights to public records when I submitted my Complaint to the Clerk,” Holmseth said.

On July 16, 2014 Holmseth requested records from EGF Police Chief Michael Hedlund, a Defendant named in the lawsuit. Hedlund responded with a letter protesting the records request for “Every letter, email, or correspondence received by me from the EGFPD AND, likewise, every response sent to me from the EGFPD. tholmseth@wiktel.com.”

Hedlund said, “It appears that you are asking us to give you copies of every bit of correspondence that we have already sent you”. Hedlund knows the request Holmseth made includes documents Holmseth has never received; Hedlund simply does not want to hand them over.

The reality of the dispute is realized in a subsequent exchange between Holmseth and Murphy. “You object to my requests as if they are inappropriate. You state I request documents that never existed in the first place. You posture as if you are being put out. No, Mr. Murphy, what is inappropriate is me receiving a set of emails through a document request, only to find that all of Lt. Rodney Hajicek’s SENT ITEMS had been strategically removed from the email threads. Yet, there is clearly a conversation occurring somewhere, somehow, because the one Party is engaging in what is clearly an ongoing conversation with Hajicek. The conversation is about me and having me arrested – for nothing,” Holmseth said.

Holmseth also confronted Attorney Sinclair.

“Prima Facie evidence already exists that the City has targeted me and (1) shredded documents for wholly improper purposes, (2) searched a hard-drive without a Warrant from a Judge authorizing the search, (3) kept an investigative journalists’ hard-drive and property at an undisclosed location for four months, (4) destroyed files, (5) hid records for over a year, (6) returned a hard-drive inoperable, (7) filed a completely fabricated statement in a police report, (8) falsely represented to a State District Judge that a working relationship existed between the City and the Minnesota BCA, which was then disavowed in writing by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety and BCA, (9) used BCA evidence stickers in a fake ‘Gang and Drug Task Force Raid’ on an innocent journalist and his minor daughter, which the BCA again disavowed in writing, stating they knew nothing about it (10) interfered with my employment and ability to make a living,” Holmseth said.

The ‘Boardwalk Enterprises’ scandal swept the headlines on April 30, 2014, after an audit revealed an EDHA loan exceeding one half millions dollars had never received a single payment in ten years. The official audit was released but the facts and circumstances surrounding it were discussed in closed session.

What triggered the audit is unknown.

What is known is this.

On December 8, 2013, Holmseth sent a letter to Celeste Grant, deputy auditor, Minnesota State Auditor’s office, and reported the City of EGF. “I believe your auditor would find a great deal more if he dug deeper,” he said.

READ Holmseth letter to Deputy State Auditor

READ redacted COMPLAINT filed in federal court.

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