Minnesota ICE Operations and Protests

On Jan. 26, 2026, Maple Grove police declared an unlawful assembly and arrested 13 people outside the SpringHill Suites during a protest targeting a Border Patrol commander, saying the demonstration escalated into property damage and objects were allegedly thrown at officers. Fox News reports the arrestees faced charges including riot, damage to property and obstructing legal process, and identified prior convictions for some — including Justin Neal Shelton’s 2007 first‑degree aggravated robbery conviction involving an assault on a pregnant woman and multiple theft/property‑damage convictions for Abraham Nelson Coleman — while noting among those arrested were University of Minnesota 1L Jaylynn Marie Rodriguez and Rayna Michelle Alston, who reportedly uses the slogan “disrupt disturb resist” on her Instagram.

Roughly 200 protesters filled the Minnesota Capitol on Tuesday, marching to Gov. Tim Walz’s office and chanting anti‑ICE slogans as anger mounts over two recent fatal shootings by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis. Demonstrators shouted "ICE out now," demanded criminal charges for the officers involved, and held signs reading "Justice for Good" and "Justice for Pretti" bearing photos of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, both killed this month by federal agents. The protest, which remained non‑violent inside the building, is part of a broader wave of actions targeting Operation Metro Surge, the Trump administration’s large ICE/Border Patrol deployment in the Twin Cities that local officials say is terrorizing immigrant communities. The article notes President Trump recently described a phone call with Walz as "very good" and said border czar Tom Homan will follow up, while Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said he urged Homan to end the surge and reiterated that the city will not help enforce federal immigration law. The confrontation underscores how lethal use of force by federal agents and mass interior enforcement are fueling direct pressure on state and local leaders, and widening the rift between the White House and Democratic officials over who controls public safety in Minneapolis.

FBI Director Kash Patel urged the public and media not to “cement a false narrative” and to remain calm while the FBI and DHS, working with state and local partners, investigate two killings involving ICE and Border Patrol agents in Minnesota and review Signal group chats that share agents’ movements — involvement the bureau says is limited to instances where users incite violence or threaten officers. Patel also disclosed the FBI arrested four people for vandalizing an FBI vehicle and stealing sensitive information used to threaten agents and their families, and that the bureau led actions charging protesters with federal FACE Act violations after anti‑ICE demonstrators stormed a Minnesota church.