A large group of protesters opposed to ICE actions attempted to breach a hotel in the Twin Cities, where they believed federal agents were staying, amid growing tensions following the shooting death of Alex Pretti.
The tumultuous scene unfolded outside the Home Suites by Hilton Hotel in Minneapolis on Sunday night. This came just a day after 37-year-old ICU nurse Alex Pretti was shot and killed while being detained by border patrol agents in the sanctuary city.
Videos from the intense protest show demonstrators shattering windows and covering the hotel’s exterior with graffiti. Many protesters chanted and marched in front of the building.
As the protest escalated around 9 p.m., many participants wore masks and created a cacophony by banging on trash bins and ringing bells.
The entrance to the Hilton was vandalized with red spray paint, displaying the message, “ICE OUT OF MPLS.”
One protester, vigorously striking a garbage can, held a sign that read, “No justice, no peace.”
Rioters tried to bust through the front door but were unsuccessful and continued their commotion in the street, according to The New York Post.
Frontlines Turning Point USA (TPUSA), the on-the-ground news service for the conservative nonprofit, wrote on X that the alarming scene continued for more than an hour without police intervening.
Authorities cleared out the crowd of protestors in front of the hotel on Sunday night
A member of the press put their hands up when approached by officers at the demonstration
ICU nurse Alex Pretti was shot and killed while being detained by ICE agents on Saturday
But authorities eventually stepped in to control the crowd and dispersed the far-left protesters using flares and tear gas.
Video from the scene showed at least two people involved being escorted into custody by federal agents.
One federal agent trying to calm the situation appeared to be bleeding from his face, The New York Post reported.
It is unclear if any ICE agents are actually staying at the hotel.
The Hilton where Sunday night’s protest occurred is located just minutes away from the campus of the University of Minnesota.
This demonstration comes after President Donald Trump weighed in on Pretti’s death.
The commander-in-chief told The Wall Street Journal: ‘I don’t like any shooting. I don’t like it.
‘But I don’t like it when somebody goes into a protest and he’s got a very powerful, fully-loaded gun with two magazines loaded up with bullets also. That doesn’t play good either.’
Pretti died during an immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis. Officers claimed that he approached them with a 9mm semiautomatic handgun.
The president said his administration will investigate Pretti’s fatal shooting, as he signaled a willingness to withdraw immigration enforcement officials from Minneapolis.
‘We’re looking, we’re reviewing everything and will come out with a determination,’ Trump told the Journal. ‘At some point we will leave.’
An armed agent faces off with protestors outside of the hotel as they try to disperse the crowd
One protestor held a sign reading ‘no justice, no peace’ at the Sunday demonstration
In the meantime, Trump has urged Minnesota Governor Tim Waltz, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and ‘EVERY Democrat Governor and Mayor in the US to formally cooperate with the Trump Administration to enforce our Nation’s Laws, rather than resist and stoke the flames of Division, Chaos and Violence.’
He continued his Truth Social post by ordering Walz and Frey to ‘turn over all Criminal Illegal Aliens that are currently incarcerated at their State Prisons and Jails to federal authorities.’
Trump also announced that he is asking Congress to pass legislation ending sanctuary cities, which he argued are ‘the root cause of all of these problems.’
‘American cities should be Safe Sanctuaries for Law Abiding American Citizens ONLY, not illegal Alien Criminals who broke our Nation’s Laws,’ Trump wrote.
The Daily Mail has reached out to ICE for comment.
