Stewart Huntington
ICT
MINNEAPOLIS — Hours after immigration officers fatally shot another protester, officials warned a growing crowd of demonstrators to disperse or face the consequences as tensions continued to build in the Twin Cities.
An announcement over a loudspeaker midday Saturday told the thousands of protesters in the frigid temperatures that they were now considered to be unlawfully assembled and were ordered to leave the scene.
The announcement came after federal immigration agents shot and killed a man Saturday amid ongoing protests over the Trump administration’s purported crackdown on immigration.
The shooting happened a day after thousands of demonstrators crowded the city’s streets, calling for federal law enforcement to leave. On Saturday, thousands of people gathered in the area where the man was shot near a popular doughnut shop.
The crowds stretched for block after block, calling for Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to leave the state. Law enforcement at the scene also included FBI and state troopers.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said in a social media post that he had been in contact with the White House after the shooting and had urged President Donald Trump to end what the Department of Homeland Security has called its largest-ever immigration enforcement operation.
“Pull the thousands of violent, untrained officers out of Minnesota. Now,” Walz said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Details surrounding the fatal shooting Saturday weren’t immediately clear, but Walz said the man was shot amid the Trump administration’s crackdown.
Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told the AP in a text message that the person had a firearm with two magazines and that the situation was “evolving.” DHS distributed a photo of a handgun they said was on the person who was shot.
Minneapolis officials said they have not been able to confirm the circumstances of the shooting.
The shooting erupted amid widespread daily protests in the Twin Cities since the Jan. 7 shooting of 37-year-old Renee Good, who was killed when an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer fired into her vehicle.
After the shooting Saturday, an angry crowd gathered and screamed profanities at federal officers, calling them “cowards” and telling them to go home. One officer responded mockingly as he walked away, telling them, “Boo hoo.” Agents elsewhere shoved a yelling protester into a car, and a dumpster was set on fire.
Protesters were hit with multiple rounds of tear gas and pepper spray. Aid stations were set up beyond the perimeter for protesters who had been hit by the chemical agents.
The anti-ICE response in the Twin Cities is continuing to grow. People rushing to join the demonstration Saturday brought their own masks and handwarmers, along with pallets of water to help wash away the chemical sprays being shot at the crowds.
This article contains material from The Associated Press.