Hundreds of anti-ICE protesters clashed with and dispersed a smaller group of far-right demonstrators who had planned to march in an immigrant neighborhood in Minneapolis on Saturday. The incident follows heightened tensions in the city stemming from the fatal shooting of Renee Good by a federal immigration agent earlier this month.
Protest in Minneapolis
Demonstrators opposing US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol gathered near City Hall and confronted the rival group, pushing them toward a municipal building and ultimately forcing them to retreat to a nearby hotel.
Protesters threw water balloons and snowballs at the right-wing demonstrators despite temperatures reaching -4 degrees Fahrenheit (-20 degrees Celsius) with the wind chill. Police maintained a distance, and no serious injuries were reported.
Right-Wing Rally Organizer
Right-wing influencer Jake Lang, who organized the pro-ICE rally, later claimed on social media he was stabbed, but Minneapolis police stated no report was filed and they received no complaints of injury.
Lang is among over 1,500 individuals pardoned by US President Donald Trump following criminal convictions related to the January 6, 2021, riot at the US Capitol. He faced charges including assaulting a police officer with a baseball bat.
The social media personality, who recently announced a run for US Senate in Florida, is known for making anti-Muslim and antisemitic comments. Prior to the event, Lang posted on social media about his intention to “burn a Quran” on the steps of City Hall, but it did not appear that he followed through with this plan.
Pro-ICE rallies in Minneapolis have frequently targeted the city’s Somali immigrant population, the majority of whom are Muslim.
Anti-ICE Protest Organizers
The anti-ICE rally was organized by the People’s Action Coalition Against Trump.
Residents had pledged to blockade the neighborhood to prevent the marchers from entering the area after pro-ICE protesters announced their plans to march near where many Somali immigrants live.
“We’re out here to show Nazis and ICE and DHS and MAGA you are not welcome in Minneapolis,” protester Luke Rimington told the AP news agency. “Stay out of our city, stay out of our state. Go home.”
Political Context
Trump has sent thousands of immigration agents to the Minneapolis area, citing alleged misuse of federal funds and focusing on the state’s Somali immigrant community.
Minnesota’s Democratic Governor Tim Walz has mobilized the National Guard to support law enforcement in the state, officials said in a statement.
The state’s Democratic leadership has clashed with the Trump administration over the crackdown, leading to a Justice Department investigation into Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey for allegedly impeding federal immigration enforcement through their public statements.
A US judge restricted federal agents on Friday from interfering with peaceful protesters, even as Trump backed away from a threat to invoke the Insurrection Act over the demonstrations.
Edited by: Sean Sinico
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