ICE in Minnesota – Days 57-62: Masses Protest ICE While Violence Continues and Feds Indict Journalists
Minneapolis, MN – In the week after the third shooting, and second killing, by federal law enforcement in the Twin Cities, the landscape has somewhat shifted while the federal occupation under Operation Metro Surge has continued its violent ways; tens of thousands of community members continuing a wide array of protests. Dozens of activists have been targeted and arrested for federal felonies while federal agents continue to threaten, beat, and arrest observers. Nationwide protests intensified as Americans have been shocked by the conduct of federal agents and their executive branch leadership.
After Border Patrol agents shot Alex Pretti to death, the complex movement against ICE in the Twin Cities continued to pressure the federal government to stop its immigration enforcement operation in the state. The persistent pressure has resulted in the removal of “Commander at Large” Greg Bovino, new directives restricting ICE from interacting with observers, and confusion and fear among ICE agents.
Border czar Tom Homan has stepped in to manage Operation Metro Surge and report directly to President Trump. His arrival is framed as a pivot to new tactics while agents continue their roving violence. Twin Cities ICE watchers and community organizers remain determined to confront ICE operations in the metro area and across the state.
Below are some key updates spanning the last several days of ICE activity in Minneapolis and beyond.
Sunday, February 1: Day 62
Roundabout blockade block parties continue in multiple intersections in south Minneapolis – New block parties were erected across the southside to provide an extra safety net for community members impacted by violent masked federal agents. How it works — according to the Minneapolis Spring, an outlet spotlighting grassroots movement to defend Minnesota — is “community defenders stop an out of state vehicle at the filter blockade, run the plate through a database, and confirm whether the vehicle is affiliated with abductors before letting it through.” Follow the filter blockades on X, Bluesky, and Instagram.
Agents who killed Alex Pretti unmasked as Jesus Ochoa and Raymundo Gutierrez – ProPublica reports that the men who fatally shot Pretti on Saturday, January 24 in Minneapolis are Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and Customs and Border Protection officer Raymundo Gutierrez.
Operation Metro Surge continues its violence across the Southside – Early in the morning, federal agents unleashed crowd control munitions on community members calling attention to agents stalking Powderhorn Park Recreational Center. At least one observer was beaten and arrested – see video here.
Saturday, January 31: Day 61
Federal judge denies Minnesota’s request to stop Operation Metro Surge – U.S. District Court Judge Katherine Menendez admitted in a 30-page ruling Saturday (pdf) the Department of Homeland Security has engaged in activities that have harmed Minnesotans, but that state and local officials did not provide sufficient evidence to prove Minnesota was being unfairly targeted by the federal government. The Biden-appointed judge added that it would be difficult to know at what point a federal law enforcement presence would become unconstitutional and that she was “particularly reluctant to take a side in the debate about the purpose behind Operation Metro Surge.”
Roundabout blockades formed throughout the Southside – Community members in South Minneapolis created roundabout barricades in the middle of multiple intersections on Cedar Ave. to form a filter on the high-traffic road that would allow community members through while stopping or slowing down federal agents. On 34th and Cedar and 32nd and Cedar, community handed out leaflets to drivers who passed through and at one point confronted Minneapolis Police Department officers who came to talk with them. The barricade was taken down at the end of the day with plans to resume the next.
First local police intervention against federal agents during Operation Metro Surge – St. Peter Police Department Chief Matt Grochow prevented federal agents from detaining one of the city’s residents on Saturday, according to Minnesota Public Radio. Federal agents drew firearms on an observer in St. Peter, roughly 50 miles to the south west of Minneapolis, forced her from her vehicle and drove away. After the woman’s husband called Grochow, federal agents turned the woman over to the local police, who gave her a ride home.
Bike ride for Alex Pretti – Angry Catfish Bicycle, a bike shop frequented by Alex Pretti, led an 8.3 mile memorial bike ride a week after federal agents killed Pretti, which saw hundreds of people bike through South Minneapolis, according to Minnesota Public Radio. The ride, which began just north of the location where Pretti was killed, inspired 250 similar memorial bike rides in 14 countries.
Target stores in the Twin Cities see anti-ICE sit-ins – Protests at multiple locations of the Minneapolis-based retailer took place Saturday throughout Minnesota as people took aim at the retail giant in hopes of pressuring the influential company to take a firm stance against immigration enforcement in the state. At the Target in Richfield, where two employees with U.S. citizenship were detained earlier this month, more than 100 protesters marched around the store for 30 minutes before local police escorted them out, according to Bring Me The News. At the downtown Target, protesters sang songs and softly chanted.
Among many other protests against ICE today, sit-ins at Target stores were held nationwide this afternoon, calling on the corporation to "stop collaborating with ICE." Protesters with signs sang songs & chanted softly as customers passed by. This video is from the downtown Target in Minneapolis.
— Unicorn Riot (@unicornriot.bsky.social) January 31, 2026 at 4:56 PM
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Bovino mocked MN U.S. Attorney’s Jewish religious observance, officials say – The day before six prosecutors in Minnesota resigned over Renee Good’s killing, Greg Bovino on a Jan. 12 phone call, “used the term ‘chosen people’ in a mocking way” and “asked, sarcastically, whether [U.S. Attorney Daniel] Rosen understood that Orthodox Jewish criminals don’t take weekends off” (NYT 1/31 – Archive). Bovino was the “commander” of Operation Metro Surge at the time. German media has called attention to how Bovino’s choice of dress resembled WWII-era Nazi officers (Guardian 1/23), part of a decades-long intensification of martial appearance among border police (Politico 1/24).
Whipple Building human rights crisis – A report showed that the overflowing processing facility within the federal building at Fort Snelling includes a lack of access to attorneys, no space to lay down, no bedding, nonfunctional bathrooms, one sandwich a day, medical care denied, and no system for privileged phone calls to attorneys. The site was used as a deadly concentration camp for holding Native Americans in Fort Snelling’s early days (Star Tribune 1/31). ICE has routinely denied access to processing and long-term detention facilities; several members of Congress were denied entry to Whipple on January 10 (Sahan Journal 1/10) despite a December court order (AP 12/17/25). Members of Congress are legally entitled to inspect these facilities (ICE policy doc 2/2025, Public Law 116-93, page 214).
Homan “pivot” aimed at easing pressure in Congress, not “meaningful shift” – Federal agents have kept grinding away in the Twin Cities, according to crowdsourced reporting data. There are some reports “battles are raging” inside DHS (The Atlantic 1/29 – Archive) “with blurred leadership roles and no clear chain of command.” Homan, it’s claimed, is trying to pursue the same “ideological goals [as Bovino]… without the social-media trolling and the show-me-your-papers approach.” Messaging on “de-escalatory measures” were a “step toward placating Democrats” in Washington (Punchbowl News – 1/27 – Archive). What’s “really going on” is “Trump is looking to defuse anger among congressional Democrats for purposes that don’t portend a meaningful shift” according to Greg Sargent (TNR – 1/28 – Archive). Senate Dems have “coalesced around a lackluster list of reforms” (TNR 1/30 – Archive) although some politicians like U.S. Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) have bluntly called to “defund and abolish ICE” (Press release 1/30). Negotiations will continue for two weeks under a continuing resolution.
Liam Conejo Ramos and father ordered released – “With a judicial finger in the constitutional dike, it is so ORDERED” by Western Texas U.S. District Judge Fred Biery, who directed the five-year-old arrested in Minnesota to be released (AP 1/31, Politico 1/31). Ramos case stems from “the ill-conceived and incompetently-implemented government pursuit of daily deportation quotas, apparently even if it requires traumatizing children,” wrote Biery. Referencing the Declaration of Independence and the “authoritarian king” of England, he added, “for some among us, the perfidious lust for unbridled power and the imposition of cruelty in its quest know no bounds and are bereft of human decency. And the rule of law be damned” (pdf, 1/31). More about Minnesota’s federal judges sparring with the executive branch below.
Protests around country, Labor Against ICE march in Portland attacked – Hundreds of protests were called all over the U.S. on Saturday (NPR 1/31, Guardian 1/31). After thousands of union members and their families gathered at Elizabeth Caruthers Park and headed to the South Portland ICE facility, federal agents fired around seven flashbangs and a lot of tear gas according to one commenter; children were heard screaming and had to be treated for chemical exposures. President Trump claimed that federal agents would not attack protesters nationwide in a statement on Saturday.
Friday, January 30: Day 60
Second national day of action against ICE in MN – Thousands protested one week after the first “ICE out of MN” national day of action last Friday, marching in downtown Minneapolis. A benefit concert headed by Tom Morello and Rise Against, along with Bruce Springsteen and others at First Avenue kicked off a mass mobilization through the metro area. (Video by Tmillsfilms)
Work stoppage launched in Twin Cities, across the country – Students, labor organizers and anti-ICE protesters in Minnesota headed the effort to stop economic activity Friday in an effort to pressure ICE to end its operations in Minnesota. People in the Twin Cities and beyond abstained from work, school, and business to leverage their collective power to influence federal policy.
Journalists Georgia Fort and Don Lemon arrested for covering church protest – The two reporters were named in an indictment last week for covering the widely-publicized protest against a church headed by an ICE leader. They were not arrested at the time despite church protesters having been detained last week. Lemon was arrested in Los Angeles Thursday night, while Fort was taken into custody at home in Minneapolis early Friday morning. Three other activists were also arrested: co-founder of Black Lives Matter Minnesota and Bush Fellow Trahern Crews, Senate candidate Jamael Lundy and Ian Austin, a veteran-activist from Philadelphia.
Full story: Independent Journalists Georgia Fort and Don Lemon Arrested by Feds Along With Three More Activists
Department of Justice opens civil rights investigation into Pretti’s killing – Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the investigation Friday morning, marking a shift from the original position that the FBI would lead a probe into the fatal shooting of the 37-year-old ICU nurse (CNN 1/30, Politico 1/30). The investigation will determine if DHS agents violated the law when they shot Pretti to death, per CNN.
Multiple detained, at least one arrested by Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office at the Whipple building following protest – Several protesters were detained by the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office Friday after hundreds kicked off the day of action against ICE by gathering outside of the building and marching up to the northeast driveway. The protest demanded the government drop the charges against 22 people given federal felonies. Dozens of federal agents in riot gear gathered at the gate, but it was the sheriff’s office that would use crowd control munitions at least once and later detain multiple individuals.
Minnesotans gather on Bde Maka Ska in South Minneapolis, form the letters ‘SOS’ – More than a thousand Minnesotans gathered on the frozen surface of Bde Maka Ska, forming the widely-recognized distress symbol ‘SOS’, in an event formed in the wake of federal agents killing Alex Pretti, according to Fox 9.
Minnesota resident has travel privileges revoked after ICE agents entered her face into database for observing – Three days after observing active federal immigration agents, Minnesota resident Nicole Cleland had her Global Entry and TSA Precheck privileges revoked, according to Ars Technica. A vehicle Cleland was following, which she believed to be driven by federal agents, stopped and, along with two other vehicles, blocked her way forward on the road. A Customs and Border Patrol agent exited the vehicle she had been following and approached Cleland, addressing her by name, which he told her was because the agents were using facial recognition software.
The app Mobile Fortify is connected to the Customs and Border Protection system that takes photos at U.S. border crossings (404Media, 6/26/25) and often gives incorrect results (404Media, 1/19). Palantir software called ELITE is also being used by ICE to find people to target (404Media, 1/30). Senators are pushing for answers on these software purchases (404Media, 1/29).
Senate considers slashing ICE funding – The Senate narrowly voted against (49-51) a proposal by U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) to repeal $75 billion of ICE funding and reroute it to Medicaid. Two GOP senators, Susan Collins (ME) and Lisa Murkowski (AK), voted for the measure. The money was allocated last summer in the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” for the next four fiscal years (CommonDreams 1/30). The senators who voted for the measure represent a majority of the American population, which shows support for massive ICE funding is declining. Polls show that public support for ICE has plummeted, with around 6 in 10 Americans disapproving (CNN 1/30, FoxNews 1/30, Pew Research 1/29).
Judges angry over ICE defying court orders – Federal judges in Minnesota have had their dockets flooded during Operation Metro Surge, and the executive branch has decided to ignore what those judges tell them to do in many of these cases (Politico 1/30). “There has been an undeniable move by the Government in the past month to defy court orders or at least to stretch the legal process to the breaking point in an attempt to deny noncitizens their due process rights,” Minnesota U.S. District Judge Michael Davis warned (pdf). Patrick J. Schlitz, Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court, issued an incensed ruling (pdf, 1/28) and listed 74 cases with 96 violations (pdf, 1/28). Minnesota U.S. District Judge John R. Tunheim issued a Temporary Restraining Order against arresting lawfully resettled refugees (IRAP, 1/28).
Thursday, January 29: Day 59
Feds initiate car chase, hospitalizing one – A three-car pileup in North Minneapolis early Thursday left the driver of one car hospitalized, KARE 11 reported. Federal immigration agents were pursuing someone driving a van when the crash happened in the intersection of Penn Avenue North and West Broadway Avenue.
Twin Cities, country prepare for Jan 30 walkouts – One week after labor organizers headed a general strike in Minnesota, a push is underway to take the movement national. Friday, Jan. 30 saw nationwide participation in strike-style walkouts, wherein people will abstain from work, school, and shopping with the goal of pressuring the DHS and ICE to halt their operations in Minnesota and beyond. (Some dubbed this a “general strike” although “labor nerds bristled at this description” [Kim Kelly, 1/31]).
ICE watchers remain undeterred by violence, chemical weapons – Despite increased violence and property destruction carried out by ICE against rapid responders, neighborhood organizers remain on the streets monitoring ICE activity. Several such volunteers shared firsthand experiences of being beaten, threatened, attacked with chemical weapons and detained by ICE (The Guardian, 1/29).
Tom Homan announces “drawdown” for ICE operations in MN; DOC calls out false statistics – Trump’s border czar said in a press conference Thursday morning that he plans to facilitate a shift in immigration enforcement that would see increased cooperation with county jails to turn in arrested immigrants as opposed to street-level ICE activity, CBS reported. The Minnesota Department of Corrections pushed back on “misinformation” from DHS, (Kare11 stream 1/22, DOC news bulletin 1/26, KAAL ABC6 1/22). The DOC said “it quickly identified 68 cases in which individuals were lawfully transferred from [DOC] custody directly to ICE, only for DHS officials to falsely claim these same individuals were ‘arrested’ by waves of federal agents deployed into Minnesota communities.” This misinformation from DHS would be an example of “juking the stats,” as characters on HBO’s police series The Wire often put it.
Activists arrested over protesting a pastor who leads the local ICE office hold press conference – A week after being arrested for protesting in Cities Church, where the pastor David Easterwood is also the director of the local ICE field office, activists spoke about their experiences being targeted for arrest by federal agents and further contextualized their protest. Live video stream by KingDemetrius Pendleton.
Full story: White House Generates Racist AI Image After ‘Politically Motivated’ Arrest of Activists Over Church Protest
Minnesota Legislature committee meets on impact from federal operation — A meeting titled “Immigration Enforcement Actions in Minnesota: Constitutional Analysis The Impacts of ICE Actions on Minnesotans” was held for four hours at the State Capitol about what’s been happening, including the legal circumstances (YouTube / Senate Media Services, 1/29). Speaker organizations included the ACLU of Minnesota, Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota, Detainee Rights Clinic at the University of Minnesota Law School, the Sacred Defense Fund, Coalition of Asian American Leaders, city officials from St. Louis Park and Richfield, the Lake Street Council, OutFront Minnesota, and Gender Justice.
Wednesday, January 28: Day 58
Police mass arrest up to 70 people at third noise demo at the Graduate by Hilton hotel – Amid barricades and boarded windows, dozens of police guarded the besieged hotel that’s been housing ICE and Border Patrol, according to demonstrators who have repeatedly protested outside the building in recent weeks. A total of 67 people were arrested by state troopers and conservation officers from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, with the assistance of the Minneapolis Police Department and the University of Minnesota Police Department.
Full Story: State and Local Police Make Mass Arrest After Noise Demo at Hotel Housing ICE Agents
Conspiracies Bloom After Right Discovers Public Signal Groups – Right-wing social media influencers are drawing tenuous parallels between the usernames found in Minneapolis neighborhood Signal groups and claiming they are the handles of public figures involved in an insurrectionist conspiracy enveloping Minnesota, Unicorn Riot reported this week. The sentiment has been picked up by right-wing influencers like Cam Higby, who claimed in a long thread on X to have “infiltrated” the public Signal group chats of volunteer groups working to alert neighbors, specifically around schools, of ICE’s presence around the Twin Cities.
Full Story: Conspiracies Bloom After Right Discovers Public Signal Groups
Agents who shot Alex Pretti put on leave – Two Customs and Border Protection agents who shot and killed Pretti Saturday were put on leave, contradicting the administration’s earlier statement that they were reassigned to another location, Politico reports. The reversal falls in line with the agency’s and administration’s shifting stance and backpedaling in the aftermath of Pretti’s killing and Minnesota’s resistance to Operation Metro Surge.
Hundreds gather on Nicollet Avenue to honor Alex Pretti – Several hundred people gathered at the site where federal agents killed Alex Pretti in South Minneapolis, leaving flowers at a vigil that was created in the exact spot Pretti was killed, according to Minnesota Public Radio.
Vigil at VA for Alex Pretti – At the VA Medical Center in Minneapolis, where Alex Pretti worked as a nurse, his co-workers, along with hundreds of other medical professionals, gathered for a vigil in his honor. Flowers, signs, and candles were placed along the fence outside. People who worked directly with Alex spoke fondly about their time together and about his character, “He was a hero, he was a good nurse.”
ICE directed not to interact with “agitators” – Reuters reports new orders from top agency officials directing ICE agents not to engage with people observing or protesting their operations, according to emails the outlet reviewed. The shift in stance comes in the days after Pretti was killed and the Trump administration began wavering in its hardline stance of supporting ICE operations no matter the agents’ conduct.
ICE detains St. Paul activist Thao Xiong – Thao Xiong, a community organizer was taken into ICE custody Wednesday morning outside the Hallie Q. Brown Center, Pioneer Press reported. Xiong has been an active organizer and had recently been advocating for an end to prison slavery in the state. Xiong was detained on city-owned property despite recent efforts to separate city property from federal immigration enforcement.
Feds announce 16 arrested for allegedly assaulting federal agents – U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that 16 people were being charged with allegedly assaulting federal law enforcement for resisting or impeding federal agents. The 16 people turned themselves in and were released after their pictures were taken and plastered onto social media by Bondi. Each of the individuals had previously been processed at the Whipple Building and released with no charges, according to the Star Tribune. Many of the 16 were legal observers and were beaten violently by federal agents, Paul Johnson was one of them. Johnson previously ran for mayor of Minneapolis after his best friend Travis Jordan was killed by Minneapolis Police officers responding to a mental crisis call in 2018. Johnson said he was dragged from his car and beat by agents. He spent several days in the hospital with a traumatic brain injury and injured shoulder — see his fundraiser here. The day after being released from the hospital, Johnson found he had a warrant and upon turning himself in, was charged with assault. Another charged is Nasra Ahmed, who was violently arrested in the parking lot of her apartment building and held for two days.
Tuesday, January 27: Day 57
Bovino leaves Minnesota – The Trump administration removed the Border Patrol commander from the state in the aftermath of agents under his command killing Alex Pretti. Opponents of the federal occupation of the Twin Cities have cited his demotion back to regional commander as a victory, and analysts are pointing to the reversal as a crack in the administration’s strategy.
Judge orders ICE leader to appear personally in court if detainee not released – On Monday, Chief Judge Patrick J. Schiltz said the Trump administration had failed to follow orders to hold hearings for detained immigrants and ordered ICE acting director Todd Lyons to appear personally, CBC reported, if habeas petitioner Juan Tobay Robles wasn’t released (Clearinghouse.net, Sahan Journal 1/27). In his ruling, the judge called on Lyons to appear and explain why he should not be held in contempt of court for his failure to follow court orders. However, ICE later released Robles which let Lyons off the hook from appearing on Friday; Schlitz issued another order on Wednesday, as noted above (pdf).
Tom Homan arrives in MN – Trump’s border czar arrived in the state Tuesday as part of the administration’s reshuffling of its operations in Minnesota after Border Patrol agents killed Alex Pretti Saturday, the Star Tribune reports. The change in leadership comes after the president and Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey, alongside Governor Tim Walz, had a call, during which the president said he would consider removing some federal troops from the state, NPR reported.
Earlier in January, Homan declared on Fox News that he was pushing for “a database where those people that are arrested for interference, impeding, and assault, we’re going to make them famous. We’re going to put their face on TV. We’re going to let their employers, in their neighborhoods, in their schools, know who these people are … They want to broadcast the ICE officer that was nearly killed all over the internet. We’re going to broadcast every one of these people we arrest.” (DailyBeast 1/16). “Trophy photos” have been reported in the Whipple Building (MPR, 1/18). Agents were spotted using social media on the same phones that they use to photograph detainees (Guardian, 1/29) and arrestee photos at Whipple with ICE agents facing away from the camera have continued to surface.
Approximately 26 people arrested at noise demo outside hotel – The protest was staged outside a Marriot in Maple Grove, MN thought to be housing Greg Bovino, according to Minnesota Public Radio. Protesters banged on pots and pans and blew whistles in what they called a “goodbye” noise demo marking Bovino’s exit from the state. Local police violently arrested several demonstrators after deploying chemical weapons.
ICE agents morale down, scared of retaliation – Agents inside ICE have been dealing with paranoia, low morale and fear as a result of Minnesota’s resistance to their operations, as reported by Ken Klippenstein. Multiple agents told the reporter that the situation on the ground was devolving due to fears among ICE agents working in Operation Metro Surge that they may be targeted and retaliated against. That’s been compounded by the administration’s mishandling of Alex Pretti’s killing, which every agent who Klippenstein has spoken with thinks was unjustifiable.
Previous ICE blog update: ICE in Minnesota – Days 51-56: Bovino Removed After Pretti Killing; Noise Demo Drives Out Agents; ‘ICE Out’ Day of Action in Twin Cities
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