At Least 50 Arrested During Anti-ICE Protest Outside Federal Building In Minnesota, As Twin Cities Resistance Continues

The disastrous and increasingly unpopular federal occupation of the Twin Cities, where ICE and Border Patrol agents have spent several months terrorizing communities, racially profiling and arresting people without proper warrants — according to local leaders, local police, video footage, federal judges, protesters, non-protesters, and the general public in Minnesota — has continued to draw massive protests across the state.

Over the weekend, at least 50 protesters were arrested outside the B.H. Whipple Federal Building, which the New York Times described as “a facility that has become both a staging ground for immigration agents and a hub for demonstrations against the crackdown in the Twin Cities.” The Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office reported that the latest anti-ICE protest took place on Saturday, and the department noted that while “many individuals” protested peacefully, “some agitators” hurled chunks of ice at agents, and at least one sheriff’s deputy got caught in the crossfire, as did the windshield of the deputy’s patrol vehicle.

“This is not the first time our vehicles have been damaged at this location,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement. “Dispersal orders have been issued. Individuals must leave the area immediately. Failure to comply will result in enforcement action.”

The protest was declared to be an unlawful assembly once tensions began to escalate into violence.

“The Minnesota State Patrol respects the right to lawfully and peacefully demonstrate. Our role is to balance those rights with our responsibility to protect people, property and critical infrastructure,” said the Minnesota State Patrol, which was requested to assist and support the sheriff’s department during the demonstration.

It’s important to note that this particular protest may have turned aggressive due to the presence of racist white nationalist Jake Lang, who went viral last month after getting himself attacked by a crowd of Minnesotans who, apparently, didn’t appreciate him shouting racial slurs and white nationalist nonsense at a mixed-race crowd during his failed white supremacist rally.

From the Times:

Videos circulating on social media help piece together the events that transpired. The far-right provocateur Jake Lang had posted on social media that he would hold a news conference at the building at noon. A video shared on his social media page shows him in the back of a moving U-Haul truck, screaming into a microphone as the song “Ice Ice Baby” blares from the truck.

“We will not be replaced by Somalians,” Mr. Lang yells, adding: “American men, stand now or be replaced. Stand now or be replaced. This is our country. Muslims go home.”

Around six men stand beside Mr. Lang. One man holds a wooden cross. Another man wearing all black appears to clutch a paintball gun, with its long barrel pointed at protesters following the vehicle. Bags of ice lie by their feet.

It’s unclear if the ice that was allegedly hurled at officers was the same ice Lang brought to symbolize his support for ICE — which, by the way, perfectly illustrates the capacity MAGA conservatives have when it comes to cleverness — but what is clear is that Lang seems to make a habit out of inviting violence by spewing racist hate speech through a megaphone.

Last week, we reported that the Trump administration’s so-called border czar, Tom Homan, announced that some 700 federal agents have been removed from the state, leaving a couple thousand more that many would agree can’t be removed fast enough. It’s about time for this madness to end. Long past time, actually.

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