Officials Say Two Gangs Planned a MN State Fair Showdown — A Judge Just Shut It Down

ST. PAUL, MN — Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and Ramsey County Attorney John Choi announced Thursday that they have secured court agreements and injunctions against two gangs and 10 individuals accused of planning violence at the Minnesota State Fair.

Seven of the 10 people named in civil lawsuits Ellison and Choi filed Aug. 5 have agreed not to attend the fair or enter a designated safety zone around the fairgrounds from August 27 through September 8.

Three are allegedly tied to a Minneapolis based gang known as Muddy, and four are allegedly tied to a south metro gang known as The Ville.

If they comply, Ellison and Choi will drop the legal action against them after the fair ends. All seven deny gang membership.

Ramsey County District Court also ruled that three other men, Nasrudin Abdirashid Warsame, known as OG, Bilal Abdi Farah, known as Bemo, and Mustafe Yusuf Omar, known as Mussy, are Muddy gang members.

The court barred all three from associating with other known gang members, confronting or intimidating people, using gang signs, or recruiting or blocking anyone from leaving a gang while at the fair or within the safety zone through September 8.

The court also declared Muddy a criminal gang under Minnesota law, a designation Ellison and Choi had asked the court to make under the state's civil gang nuisance statute.

Ellison said his office chose to intervene after learning of threats that could endanger fairgoers. Choi said the gangs have driven escalating violence in the community and that their planned continuation of it at this year's fair required quick legal action.

Prosecutors pointed to a shooting near the fairgrounds on the last night of the 2024 fair, a brawl near the Midway at the 2025 fair, and Muddy members caught carrying handguns with extended magazines at a Somali Independence Day festival in June as evidence of a pattern of violence.

They also cited social media posts from July and August promoting a large gang fight at this year's fair, including one headlined "Muddy vs Ville."