Anti-ICE demonstrators clashed with federal agents outside a Minneapolis hotel, leading to multiple arrests after officers used tear gas and flashbangs to disperse the crowd. Video shows Border Patrol agents pointing rifles at protesters and reporters, and footage appears to show an agent shoving a journalist. The incident followed the fatal Border Patrol shooting of 37-year-old Alex Pretti during an immigration operation, which has intensified scrutiny of federal actions in the city.
Tear Gas and Flashbangs After Border Patrol Shooting: Clashes Outside Minneapolis Hotel Lead To Multiple Arrests
Multiple people were arrested in Minneapolis overnight as agitators arrived at a hotel and clashed with federal agents.(AP Newsroom)
Multiple people were arrested overnight after anti-ICE demonstrators confronted federal agents outside a Minneapolis hotel, prompting officers to deploy tear gas and flashbangs to disperse the crowd. The confrontation came in the wake of a weekend Border Patrol shooting that left a local man dead and intensified scrutiny of federal immigration operations in the city.
What Happened
Video from the scene shows Border Patrol agents pointing rifles at protesters and members of the press near the entrance to the Home2 Suites on University Avenue. Demonstrators said they believed Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel were staying at the hotel. Several people near the front of the crowd blew whistles and rang bells while others tried to force their way through the hotel’s doors.
As tensions rose, federal agents pushed the crowd back and warned they would detain protesters and journalists. Footage obtained by reporters appears to show an agent shoving a member of the press to the ground. Some demonstrators used a shovel to remove a hotel placard, and others threw snowballs as security personnel worked to barricade the entrance.
Official Response
The Minnesota Department of Public Safety said state officers were called to assist Minneapolis police after the hotel sustained property damage. The agency said the Minnesota State Patrol and Department of Natural Resources were initially encircling the group to make arrests because the demonstration "was not peaceful," but that federal agents arrived without prior communication and deployed chemical irritants to clear the crowd. The statement added that the State Patrol and DNR were no longer on scene after the federal action.
Context: The Border Patrol Shooting
The clashes followed the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Alex Pretti, an American citizen and ICU nurse, who was killed Saturday by Border Patrol agents while recording federal immigration operations in Minneapolis. According to video and witness accounts, Pretti appears to have been attempting to assist a woman who had been knocked down by agents when he was sprayed with an irritant, pushed to the ground, and struck. Video also shows an agent removing Pretti’s lawfully owned firearm from his waistband before other agents fired multiple shots that killed him.
The officer-involved shooting has intensified calls for transparency and accountability around federal immigration enforcement in Minneapolis and comes amid recent unrest following the ICE-involved killing of Renee Nicole Good earlier this month.
What’s Next
Local and federal authorities are facing increased public scrutiny, and investigations into the shooting and the hotel confrontation are ongoing. Journalists, demonstrators and city residents have called for clearer coordination between federal and state agencies to prevent similar clashes.
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