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A chaotic protest in Minneapolis during which federal agents were seen getting physical with demonstrators unfolded as elected officials posted “highly irresponsible” information online suggesting a criminal search warrant was an ICE operation, police say.
Tense moments were captured on video Tuesday as federal agents and the public clashed in the streets of the major city, with State Sen. Omar Fateh claiming on Facebook that “On scene are DHS, ICE, FBI, Sheriffs, and MPD” in what he described as “blatant fascism on display.”
In a follow-up post, Fateh said “While the Mayor has told us ICE is not welcome in our city, what residents saw was their deployment assisted by his MPD.”
However, the federal operation focusing on a Mexican restaurant actually “was related to a criminal search warrant for drugs and money laundering and was not related to immigration enforcement” and “No arrests were made,” according to Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey.
“The information that came out on social media from elected officials was highly irresponsible,” Hennepin County Sheriff Dawanna Witt then said Wednesday. “There were ways for them to have accurate information and instead of getting accurate information, being impulsive and putting out things that could potentially incite riots is senseless.”
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“Yesterday’s incident was a criminal investigation,” she added. “So putting out the rhetoric that that was a raid, it was not a raid. Putting out the rhetoric that it was an immigration enforcement, the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office does not participate in immigration enforcement. Elected officials have a responsibility to the constituents to put out accurate information. They don’t have to agree with it, but do not mislead the public, causing more harm to our communities.”
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara added that “Ultimately, you can say what you want and point fingers and blame people for different things, how it happened, whether they should or shouldn’t have or whatever, but the bottom line is if a tragedy happened at Lake and Bloom yesterday, it doesn’t matter who is at fault. The community loses. The feds lose. We all lose, and we are left behind.
“The feds can leave, we are left behind to deal with the consequences,” O’Hara continued. “And what I saw yesterday as they were trying to leave, aside from just the verbal things that were being said, but with things being thrown at them – in some cases heavily-armed federal agents getting into hand-to-hand situations with people who are protesting – is not good.”
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Video clips showed protesters screaming at the federal agents. In one scene, a masked man wearing an ATF Police uniform tossed a demonstrator to the ground after he tried to get in front of a van that was leaving the area.
“Trump has created an environment of understandable fear, created an atmosphere where distrust isn’t just a norm. In fact, sometimes it’s appropriate,” Frey told reporters Thursday while speaking alongside Witt and O’Hara.
Homeland Security did not immediately respond Thursday to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
In a statement provided to the Minnesota Star Tribune, Jamie Holt, the ICE Homeland Security Investigations special agent in charge for St. Paul, said “Federal investigators conducted a groundbreaking criminal operation today — Minnesota’s first under the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) umbrella — marking a new chapter in how we confront complex, multidimensional threats.
“From drug smuggling to criminal labor trafficking, this operation showcases the breadth of our collective missions and the strength of a united front,” the statement added, noting that “This HSI led investigation wouldn’t have been possible without the extraordinary collaboration of our state partners and federal HSTF partners.”
Witt told reporters Wednesday that “It is not okay for people to obstruct law enforcement when we are trying to obtain evidence.”
“It’s not okay to try to prevent them from leaving. It is not okay,” she added. “It did not look good — I get that — and we will deal with some of the things that happened that even I don’t agree with, which is why I have an appointment already set up with some of our federal leaders. That could have been done better.”
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