ICE in Minnesota — Day 68: Day of Protests, One Month Since Feds Killed Renee Good

Minneapolis – Operation Metro Surge continues unabated in the Twin Cities, with more than 2,000 agents still running amok in the metro as observers stay hot on their trail.

At the Whipple Federal Building, state and local forces — particularly the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Department and the Minnesota State Troopers — have been providing the safety for federal agents traveling to and from the operation’s headquarters and detention processing center. This is happening while Sheriff Dawanna Witt debates increased cooperation with federal immigration enforcement agencies.

This, while immigrant communities and local businesses continue to strain under the increased pressure of the federal occupation. While masked ICE agents roam Twin Cities streets violent, drunk and unaccountable, community members continue to fear leaving their homes and businesses are seeing their incomes plummet.

Continuing our news briefs documenting ICE in Minnesota, below are updates.

Saturday, February 7: Day 68

Jake Lang throws Nazi salute, assaults crowd at Whipple building – Violent J6er and far-right agitator Edward Jacob “Jake” Lang arrived ahead of his scheduled rally time at the Whipple building. He drove by in the back of a U-Haul to agitate the crowd of protesters who gathered there to oppose him. As they drove through, others in the back of the U-Haul peppersprayed protesters and fired paintball guns at them, indiscriminately hitting press and protesters alike. As the U-Haul turned to exit onto the highway, Lang faced the crowd and gave two Nazi salutes before the truck disappeared.

The rally was initially intended to be held at the Minnesota State Capitol until Lang was charged with felony property destruction for destroying protest art erected in front of the building by a veterans’ advocacy group. Lang, whose bail stipulated he stay away from the Capitol, redirected his energy to a “press conference” at Whipple. Despite this, less than 10 of his supporters showed up at the Capitol as well as counter-protesters, where a fight broke out and one person was arrested, the Star Tribune reported.

Hundreds gather in Powderhorn Park for Renee Good memorial – Powderhorn Park in South Minneapolis filled with hundreds of supporters Saturday who went to grieve the killing of Renee Good. The memorial was held exactly one month after federal agents killed Good.

State police arrest more than 40 dildo-throwing protesters at Whipple – State troopers arrest more than 40 protesters after a deluge of colorful dildos thrown at sheriff’s deputies, squad cars, and vehicles assumed to be driven by ICE agents. According to the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, chunks of ice were mixed in with the penile projectiles, and one deputy was hit in the head and a vehicle had its windshield broken. Hundreds of protesters gathered at Whipple in the late morning on Saturday to attend a number of protests occurring there, including opposing violent J6er Jake Lang. A video on social media showed MnDOT plows preventing emergency medical vehicles from being able to reach the facility (Plantdaddy on Bluesky, 2/7). Unicorn Riot video coming soon.

Protesters gather downtown to oppose Trump Admin and ICE’s constitutional violations – Among the many protests against ICE today across the Twin Cities metro, hundreds of activists gathered outside the Hennepin County Government Center and called out the Trump Admin and ICE for violating the constitution.

Indigenous community holds human rights rally outside of Whipple building – Hundreds gathered for an Indigenous-led civil and human rights rally called Not on Native Land to protest what is being done by federal agents on historically native land. Speakers invoked the history of the land and of white settlers genociding Native Americans, the role of Bishop Henry Whipple and the role Fort Snelling.

Hundreds attend VA memorial for Alex Pretti – The Minneapolis VA hospital chapel held a memorial Saturday for Alex Pretti, who was killed by federal immigration agents last month, the Star Tribune reported.

Healthcare workers demand changes to the living conditions of detainees inside Whipple – Doctors and other healthcare workers gathered outside the Whipple building Saturday to protest the inhumane conditions immigrant detainees have been subjected to inside of the federal building, the Star Tribune reported. Additionally, they also called for immigration enforcement agents to be kept away from clinics and hospitals to avoid deterring people who need help but are too afraid of being detained to show up.

Minnesota now has daily deportation flights – Airplanes transporting detainees are now leaving the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport (MSP) on a daily basis, National Public Radio reported Friday. The flights are transporting shackled detainees out of state and into the network of detention centers around the country as a part of the country’s largest immigration surge. According to MN50501, since Jan. 1, there have been at least 2,537 people taken on 47 deportation flights out of Minnesota to detention facilities in Texas, Nebraska, and beyond. See our report on MSP detention flights (UR 12/4/25).

Protesters continue barricades despite city’s opposition – Minneapolis residents continue constructing make-shift barricades (Daviss on Bluesky 2/7) and roundabout-like gathering points on streets across the city despite pleas from the city not to block traffic, the Star Tribune reported. On social media one person said they saw ICE turn around and avoid entering a neighborhood due to encountering one of these setups (Bluesky 2/7). A filter blockade was also up in Saint Paul’s Midway neighborhood.

Fifth Circuit backs Trump detention policies – Late on Friday night a three-judge panel on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 that the Trump Administration’s policy since last July to detain people it is trying to deport, even without criminal records, is lawful, which goes against hundreds of lower court rulings rejecting this interpretation. Judges Edith Jones and Kyle Duncan backed the ruling while Judge Dana Douglas opposed it. Most of the district court judges who’ve sided with Trump were appointed by him (Politico 2/6; Steve Vladeck 2/7; Bloomberg Law 2/6; Lawdork on Bluesky 2/6). An amicus brief from the MacArthur Justice Center outlines how this policy departs from existing case law (pdf 1/27).

Lead ICE attorney in Minnesota retires amid burnout, court order violations – Chief Counsel Jim Stolley retired after 31 years in government (CNN 2/7; NY Times 2/7; MSNOW 2/7). Half the Minnesota U.S. Attorney civil division has left, including chief Ana Voss and Joe Thompson who was managing the fraud cases that served as a primary excuse to start Operation Metro Surge. “Attorneys who only recently passed the bar exam” are now managing cases. Thomas Calhoun Lopez resigned after managing 900 cases in 25 years. Three government attorneys were only admitted to the Minnesota U.S. District court in recent days. DHS has violated nearly 100 court orders since the operation began (Fox9 2/7). A 2021 report from the National Immigration Project (pdf) had a statement from an attorney that Stolley would “blacklist and refuse to engage with immigration attorneys.” At least two of the attorneys are apparently military JAG officers (emptywheel 2/7).

Detainee injured by agents says he was beaten with metal rod – Alberto Castañeda Mondragón was seriously injured during an arrest; the government claimed he ran into a brick wall and somehow received eight skull fractures on the “front, back and both sides” and five brain hemorrhages (AP, 2/7). The day after Jonathan Ross killed Renee Good, he says he was beaten at a St. Paul shopping center and again at the Whipple Building. Striking the head with telescoping batons is only acceptable in situations that would permit the use of firearms in American police use-of-force policies. A judge ruled that his arrest was unlawful. He was treated at Hennepin County Medical Center in the presence of ICE officers. He has a GoFundMe for medical bills and short-term expenses. DHS refuses to discuss the case (AP 2/7).

DC leadership blocked local investigation – Prosecutors in Minnesota had apparently obtained a signed warrant to investigate Renee Good’s killing, but orders came from Washington, including FBI director Kash Patel, to prevent this investigation from proceeding (NY Times 2/7, Archive; emptywheel 2/7).

Mother of Wisconsin soccer player detained in Bloomington, sent to Texas – A Madison-based mother, Irma, accompanied her son Martin to the Twin Cities; she was grabbed by agents near the Bloomington Walmart. Irma holds a valid work permit and is under “order of supervision” which is not a deportation order. ICE chose to send her to Camp East Montana in El Paso (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel 2/5 – Archive).

Diseases spreading at deadly El Paso detention facility – The hastily constructed “Camp East Montana” facility, the largest in the country, is experiencing at least two cases of tuberculosis and 18 cases of Covid-19 according to U.S. Rep Veronica Escobar who visited the site on Friday (Texas Tribune 2/7). Approximately 3100 people were held there as of the end of January, and “around one-third of detainees have a chronic illness and around 200 to 300 detainees require daily insulin” according to Escobar (X video 2/6).

55-year-old Geraldo Lunas Campos, died on January 3 at the facility and a witness said “at least five guards held him down and one put an arm around his neck and squeezed until he was unconscious” (AP 1/22, ACLU 1/16). Visitors to detainees from Minnesota were denied access in January (El Paso Matters 1/18).

Victor Manuel Diaz, who was detained in Minneapolis, died there on January 14 and ICE claimed this was a suicide. In total there were six deaths in ICE detention facilities within just the first two weeks of 2026 (MPR 1/20). Escobar reported $1.24 billion was allocated to Acquisition Logistics, LLC to run the facility (Press release 12/19/25), part of a secretive Pentagon process (AP 8/28/2025). The ACLU reported other beatings in December (El Paso Matters 12/8/25, Human Rights Watch 12/8/25). In the first generation of concentration camps (turn of the twentieth century) “the vast majority of deaths were caused by disease and malnutrition. Most of the victims were women and children” (Andrea Pitzer on Bluesky, 2/1; Kelly Hayes 2/7). An 18-month-old baby was denied medication at the Dilley facility in Texas after hospitalization (NBC News, 2/7), where 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos was also previously detained.

Previous ICE Blog Update: ICE in Minnesota – Day 67: Agent Shares Political Reasons of Operation, University Students Lock Down

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