DHS Arrests Armed Man After Assault On ICE Agent During Minn. Riot
Federal authorities arrested an armed man in Minneapolis on Wednesday night after he allegedly assaulted a federal immigration officer while carrying a firearm and a box of ammunition, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
The arrest came just hours after a separate and far more serious confrontation in which a federal agent was attacked by an illegal migrant from Venezuela, who allegedly struck the officer with a shovel. DHS said the migrant was shot in the leg during the encounter—an incident officials say helped ignite violent riots across the city, Fox News reported.
“Last night during a riot in Minneapolis, a U.S. citizen was arrested for assaulting officers while carrying a firearm,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News Digital.
According to McLaughlin, the suspect arrived at the protest armed and openly threatening law enforcement. “The individual showed up to the protest with a gun and a box of ammunition in a bag. The individual threatened violence against law enforcement officers while pointing at his bag,” she said.
As tensions escalated, authorities moved to restore order. “After law enforcement deployed crowd control measures to calm an increasingly volatile crowd, the individual kicked a metal smoke canister at officers. He then pushed an officer, and he was arrested for assault,” McLaughlin explained.
During the arrest, the suspect admitted he was armed. DHS recovered a firearm and ammunition and confirmed the man did not possess a concealed carry permit.
“This is not the peaceful protesting that the First Amendment protects,” McLaughlin said.
Minneapolis has remained on edge amid repeated confrontations between federal agents and radical agitators. The unrest erupted following the Jan. 7 death of 37-year-old Minneapolis resident Renee Nicole Good, who was shot and killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent during a physical confrontation.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem labeled Good a “domestic terrorist,” alleging she used her vehicle as a weapon after obstructing ICE officers on a public roadway.
Rather than backing law enforcement, Minnesota’s Democratic leadership responded with open hostility. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey told ICE to “get the f— out of Minneapolis” during a press conference following Good’s death. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz echoed the criticism, posting on X that he had reviewed the video footage and accusing DHS of operating a “propaganda machine.”
President Donald J. Trump, now serving his second term, issued a stark warning on Thursday, signaling he may invoke emergency powers if the violence continues and federal officers remain under attack.
“If the corrupt politicians of Minnesota don’t obey the law and stop the professional agitators and insurrectionists from attacking the Patriots of I.C.E., who are only trying to do their job, I will institute the INSURRECTION ACT, which many Presidents have done before me, and quickly put an end to the travesty that is taking place in that once great State,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
Invocation of the 1807 Insurrection Act would authorize the president to deploy National Guard forces to restore order and suppress violence.
Meanwhile, the legal battle over federal enforcement intensified. A federal judge on Wednesday declined to immediately block the Biden administration’s stepped-up immigration operations in Minnesota, citing insufficient time to fully review the legal claims.
U.S. District Judge Katherine Menendez, a Biden appointee, heard arguments in a lawsuit filed by the State of Minnesota and the cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, which seek to halt ICE and other federal agents from conducting enforcement sweeps statewide. The plaintiffs allege warrantless arrests, excessive force, and constitutional violations.
Menendez said the legal questions were complex and that limited precedent exists regarding the scope of federal immigration authority in such circumstances. She ordered the Justice Department to respond by Jan. 19 and allowed state officials until Jan. 22 to submit additional arguments, with a ruling expected later this month.
As riots intensify and elected officials side with agitators over law enforcement, the Minneapolis unrest is fast becoming a national flashpoint in the fight over border security, rule of law, and the federal government’s duty to protect its agents.