Late Friday evening (January 9), around 10:30 local time, the city of Minneapolis announced that a protest against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was declared illegal, leading to the arrest of multiple protesters who refused to disperse.
Several law enforcement agencies rushed to the intersection of 3rd Street and Park Avenue in Minneapolis, where the demonstration was taking place, demanding the protesters to leave or face arrest.
Around 11 pm on Friday, a few suspects were arrested after refusing to comply and were escorted from the scene in handcuffs. There seemed to be no resistance from them during the arrests. Throughout the evening into the early hours of the morning, sporadic crowds remained in the area, triggering multiple warnings about the illegal assembly.
The deployment of police forces in downtown Minneapolis on Friday evening was notably different from the law enforcement scene earlier in the day. Earlier, outside the Henry W. Bishop Federal Building, federal law enforcement officers had used non-lethal rounds and chemical tear gas against hundreds of protesters.
At around 1 pm local time, tensions rose as a truck carrying cement roadblocks and two trucks with large wire fences entered the federal property area. Minutes after federal personnel set up the roadblocks, a confrontation erupted between a female protester against ICE, holding a red heart-shaped balloon and wearing a gas mask, and a male supporter of ICE.
The female protester attempted to prevent the man, carrying the American flag, from expressing support to the ICE personnel at the scene. The heated argument between the two led law enforcement officers to fire multiple rounds of non-lethal ammunition into the crowd.
As the crowd quickly dispersed, some protesters and media personnel were hit in the chaos, including John Fredricks, a photographer from “Epoch Times.” Fredricks was struck in the leg by a non-lethal round, while another independent journalist sustained a foot injury. Other individuals at the scene scattered due to the tear gas lingering in the air. The extent of injuries among protesters and media personnel is currently unclear.
As night fell, the crowd gradually dwindled. By 8 pm on Friday, the number of protesters had decreased to around a dozen.
Federal law enforcement officers present at the scene included ICE members, Border Patrol agents, and Federal Protective Service officers.
Protests have continued to erupt locally since Wednesday. On January 7, during an immigration enforcement action, a protester named Renee Nicole Good was fatally shot by an immigration officer when she allegedly drove her car into law enforcement officers.
Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs at the Department of Homeland Security, Tricia McLaughlin, stated that a “thug” weaponized her car and intentionally attempted to harm federal agents, an act classified by the federal government as “domestic terrorism,” empowering the federal agents to act in self-defense.
Slow-motion footage from the scene also showed that the ICE agent did not resort to firing his weapon until the vehicle was driving towards him.
However, protesters and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey have refuted the Department of Homeland Security’s account.
On Wednesday, the Minneapolis city government issued a notice urging all employees to be mindful of government officials’ attire.
“In light of several federal agencies being present in the city, please be familiar with the attire of Minneapolis city employees,” the announcement read. “Officials in city uniform will never inquire about your immigration status nor participate in any federal immigration enforcement actions. Our officers will not wear masks to conceal their identities.”
Accompanying the notice were a series of photos depicting the attire of city officials.