MINNEAPOLIS — The streets of downtown Minneapolis became a cold, chaotic theater of dissent Friday night as a burgeoning “ICE Out” movement clashed with local law enforcement. By Saturday morning, city officials confirmed that at least 30 people had been detained, cited, and released, while one police officer was treated for minor injuries sustained during the unrest.
The demonstrations, which drew an estimated 1,000 people to the Third Street South corridor, were sparked by the Wednesday killing of 37-year-old Renée Nicole Good. A local poet and mother of three, Good was fatally shot by ICE Agent Jonathan E. Ross during a federal immigration operation. While the Trump administration has characterized the shooting as an act of self-defense against “domestic terrorism,” bystander video appearing to show Good steering her vehicle away from the agent has turned Minneapolis into a powder keg of jurisdictional and social tension.
Chaos on Third Street
What began as a somber vigil near the Canopy Hotel quickly escalated into a confrontation as protesters moved toward the Depot Renaissance Hotel. According to Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara, the evening took a turn when reports surfaced of a vehicle being driven toward a building. While officers found no structural damage, they were quickly surrounded by a “hostile” crowd.
“It was a disciplined and restrained response by our officers,” O’Hara said during a Saturday morning briefing. “But we saw individuals throwing snow, ice, and rocks at our personnel and vehicles. We will not allow the safety of this city to be compromised by those seeking to incite violence.”
The injured officer, who did not require hospitalization, was reportedly struck by a projectile during the dispersal of the crowd. By 1:00 a.m., more than 200 officers, including Minnesota State Troopers and Department of Natural Resources (DNR) agents, moved in to clear the area, resulting in the bulk of the night’s arrests.
The Spark: A City Re-Traumatized
The unrest is not happening in a vacuum. The shooting of Good occurred less than a mile from the site where George Floyd was murdered in 2020, and the heavy presence of nearly 2,000 federal agents in the Twin Cities has many residents feeling like they are living under a state of siege.
The friction is further exacerbated by a bitter public feud between local leaders and the federal government.
- The Federal Narrative: The White House and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem maintain that Agent Ross was “nearly run over” by a “weaponized vehicle.”
- The Local Counter-Narrative: Mayor Jacob Frey and Governor Tim Walz have labeled the federal account “propaganda.” Frey notably called the DHS’s version of events “bulls**t” after reviewing social media footage of the encounter.
A Widening Standoff
The legal battle for transparency is also intensifying. On Saturday, three Democratic members of Congress, including Representative Ilhan Omar, were denied entry to the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building where ICE is coordinating its local operations. Simultaneously, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) announced its “reluctant withdrawal” from the investigation, accusing the FBI of withholding scene evidence and witness statements.
“We have every reason to believe that peace will hold if the truth is allowed to come out,” Governor Walz said, while urging protesters to remain peaceful. “But it is very, very difficult to believe we will get a fair outcome when the state is barred from the room.”
As tens of thousands of people gathered in Powderhorn Park on Saturday afternoon for what organizers are calling the largest anti-ICE rally in state history, the city remains on high alert. With more than 1,000 similar rallies planned nationwide, the “Minneapolis Spark” is no longer just a local crisis; it has become the face of a national reckoning over federal authority.