Anti-ICE protests continued in Minneapolis over the weekend, resulting in dozens of arrests by local law enforcement.
Protesters gathered at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building on Saturday, which was being guarded by officers of the Hennepin County Sheriff’s office.
Throughout the day, demonstrators got increasingly violent – throwing ice chunks and damaging property. That led to local law enforcement declaring the protest unlawful and calling in reinforcements from other agencies like the Minnesota State Patrol.
“While many individuals are peacefully protesting, some agitators have engaged in unlawful behavior,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement. “A deputy was struck in the head and a squad vehicle windshield was broken. This is not the first time our vehicles have been damaged at this location.”
At least 42 arrests were made.
This came after weeks of lack of coordination between local and federal law enforcement, which White House Border Czar Tom Homan was sent to the Twin Cities to address.
The Trump administration and Homan have applauded his mission so far as successful, even condescending to Minnesota officials’ request for some federal agents to be removed.
“We all agree that we need to support our law enforcement officers and get criminals off the streets,” Homan said shortly following his arrival in Minneapolis in late January. “While we don’t agree on everything, these meetings were a productive starting point . . . President Trump has been clear: he wants American cities to be safe and secure for law-abiding residents—and they will be.”
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, both Democrats, have been outspoken in their request that all of the remaining 2,000 Custom and Border Protection and ICE officers be removed from Minnesota.
“Operation Metro Surge is not making Minnesota safer,” Walz said last week. “We need a faster and larger drawdown of forces, state-led investigations into the killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good, and an end to this campaign of retribution.”
President Donald Trump defended the federal immigration enforcement efforts in Minneapolis in an interview with NBC released over the weekend.
“The crime numbers in Minnesota, in Minneapolis in particular, are down 25, 30% because we’ve removed thousands of criminals from the area,” Trump said. “These are hardened criminals . . . Most of them came in through an open border, and we’ve done a great job.”
This all comes just over one month since the Jan. 7 killing of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good during an encounter with ICE officers. A couple weeks after that incident, anti-ICE protests grew following the shooting death of 37-year-old Alex Jeffrey Pretti on Jan. 24 by federal agents.
