The Department of Homeland Security said it arrested a man in Minneapolis on Wednesday night who assaulted a federal immigration agent while carrying a firearm and a box of ammunition.
The arrest occurred several hours after a separate federal agent was attacked by an illegal migrant from Venezuela who allegedly struck the agent with a shovel. DHS said the migrant was shot in the leg during the encounter, an incident that officials say contributed to escalating riots in 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.
“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,” McLaughlin said.
She said law enforcement deployed crowd control measures as the situation became increasingly volatile.
“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.
McLaughlin said the man told officers during his arrest that he was armed. A firearm and a box of ammunition were recovered, and officials determined he was not carrying a concealed carry permit.
“This is not the peaceful protesting that the First Amendment protects,” McLaughlin said.
Tensions in Minneapolis have remained high as federal law enforcement officers face repeated confrontations with protesters and agitators. Riots began shortly after 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 an altercation.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem referred to Good as a “domestic terrorist,” alleging she used her vehicle as a weapon after obstructing ICE agents on a roadway.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey told ICE to “get the f— out of Minneapolis” during a news conference following Good’s death. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz also criticized DHS, posting on X that he had viewed the video of the incident and calling Noem’s explanation part of a “propaganda machine.”
On Thursday, President Donald Trump threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act if unrest in Minnesota continues and federal officers remain under threat.
“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.
If invoked, the 1807 law would allow the president to deploy National Guard forces to restore order and reduce violence.
A federal judge on Wednesday declined to immediately block the Biden administration’s intensified immigration enforcement operations in Minnesota, saying there was insufficient time to fully consider legal arguments in the state’s request for a temporary restraining order.
U.S. District Judge Katherine Menendez, a Biden appointee, heard arguments in a lawsuit filed earlier this week by the State of Minnesota and the cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, which sought to halt a surge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other federal agents conducting sweeps across the state. Plaintiffs allege the federal campaign has involved warrantless arrests, excessive force, and violations of constitutional rights.
Menendez said at a hearing that she could not issue a ruling on Wednesday due to the complexity of legal issues and limited precedent addressing the scope of federal immigration enforcement authority in this context.
The judge set deadlines for the U.S. Justice Department to respond by Jan. 19 and for state officials to file additional arguments by Jan. 22, with a ruling on the restraining order expected later this month.
