Several individuals were taken into custody in Minneapolis after a tense confrontation between protestors and federal agents unfolded at a hotel. The conflict arose following the weekend’s fatal shooting of an American citizen by Border Patrol agents. In an effort to disperse the crowd, federal agents resorted to using tear gas and flashbangs.
During the incident, Border Patrol agents were observed aiming rifles at both protesters and journalists gathered near the hotel’s entrance. Demonstrators had converged on the location, suspecting that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents were staying there.
Videos captured the scene, showing protestors blowing whistles and clanging bells as those at the forefront of the crowd attempted to breach the hotel’s front doors.
Activists opposed to ICE tried to gain entry into a Minneapolis hotel. (FNTV)
“Where is the local police department?” questioned one agent to a group of reporters.
Ultimately, agents managed to push back the crowd, issuing warnings that both protestors and journalists could be detained. Footage from the scene reportedly shows an agent pushing a journalist to the ground.
Some agitators used a shovel to remove the placard from the hotel and others threw snowballs as security worked to barricade the entrance to the building.
The group eventually stopped trying to reach the inside, but remained at the entrance as officers held the doors shut.
Multiple people were arrested in Minneapolis overnight as agitators arrived at a hotel and clashed with federal agents. (AP)
The Minnesota Department of Public Safety said arrests were made because the demonstration was “not peaceful.”
“The Minnesota State Patrol and DNR were called to assist Minneapolis police with damage to hotel property at Home2 Suites Hotel on University Avenue,” the agency wrote on X.
“While they collaboratively worked to encircle the group for arrests because the demonstration was not peaceful, federal agents arrived without communication and deployed chemical irritants, clearing the group. The State Patrol and DNR are no longer on scene,” it added.
Anti-ICE agitators were seen attempting to enter a Minneapolis hotel where they suspected ICE agents were staying. (FNTV)
The confrontation follows the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old American citizen, who was killed Saturday by Border Patrol agents while recording federal immigration operations in Minneapolis.
Pretti, an ICU nurse, appeared to be attempting to assist a woman agents had knocked down when he was sprayed with an irritant, pushed to the ground and beaten, according to video and witness accounts. An agent was later seen pulling Pretti’s lawfully owned firearm from his waistband before other agents fired several shots, killing him.
The shooting follows recent unrest over the ICE-involved killing of Renee Nicole Good in the same city earlier this month.
