Anti-ICE demonstrators chase off outnumbered far-right activists at Minneapolis rally

MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota – Hundreds of anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) protesters in Minneapolis chased off a small group of far-right activists who had vowed to march to a neighbourhood where many immigrants live on Jan 17, stoking tensions in a city on edge after the killing of Ms Renee Good
by a federal immigration agent 10 days ago.

Waving signs and screaming chants that called for ICE and Border Patrol agents to leave Minneapolis, the protesters gathered downtown near City Hall.

Scores of them moved forward, forcing about 10 far-right demonstrators against the outside of the municipal government centre within minutes.

Some in the crowd tossed water balloons that soaked the right-wing demonstrators as temperatures hit -20 deg C with the wind chill.

Police maintained their distance as the duelling protests played out.

About an hour after the rallies began, the tiny contingent of right-wing activists quickly walked a few blocks away to a hotel, hounded by hundreds of anti-ICE protesters who screamed obscenities and told them to get out of the city.

A few scuffles broke out but Reuters did not observe any serious violence.

Mr Jake Lang, an online right-wing influencer and one of more than 1,500 people pardoned by President Donald Trump after their criminal convictions related to the Jan 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol
, organised what he called an “anti-fraud” rally.

At no point could Mr Lang’s voice be heard by the crowd.

Later, he posted on X that he was stabbed during a scuffle but that his protective vest blocked the attempt.

Minneapolis police said they were aware of his social media post but no official report had been filed with the department.

Police received no reports of injuries related to the protests from victims.

Camera feeds showed some people who appeared to be injured, police added, but those individuals left before officers could contact them.

The anti-ICE protest was organised by the People’s Action Coalition Against Trump.

Mr Trump has repeatedly invoked a scandal around the theft of federal funds intended for social-welfare programmes in Minnesota as a rationale for sending thousands of immigration enforcement agents into Minnesota.

He and administration officials have repeatedly singled out the state’s community of Somali immigrants
.

“We’re here to support our Somali neighbours, they asked for their white allies to show up for them,” said Ms Laura, 56, who, like all protesters interviewed, asked that their last name not be used for fear of retribution by the federal government.

“I’m here to exercise my First Amendment right because my neighbours can’t, they’re too afraid to leave their house.”

Mr Lang, who has made anti-Muslim and anti-Semitic comments, has said he wants to secure the US for white Christians.

He has been present at small pro-ICE rallies in Minneapolis recently and has targeted Somali immigrants, the vast majority of whom are Muslim.

Some 3,000 agents from ICE and Border Patrol have descended on Minneapolis and St Paul in recent weeks.

An ICE agent fatally shot Ms Good, a US citizen and mother of three, after she drove away after being ordered by ICE agents to exit her vehicle.

The officer who shot her was positioned in front of her car on the left.

The Department of Homeland Security has said he was hit by the car and feared for his life, though videos show the agent
remaining on his feet and raise questions about how much contact the car made with him.

The situation has set Minnesota’s Democratic leadership at odds with Mr Trump, whose Justice Department has opened an investigation into Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey. REUTERS