Just after 1 a.m. on Friday, January 30, 2026, Alex sang Rage Against the Machine’s “Killing in the Name of” with other musicians and demonstrators outside the Minneapolis West Sheraton Hotel in Minnetonka, where protests were taking place outside the hotel where ICE agents were reportedly staying. (Photo by Nicole Neri/Minnesota Reformer)
If any current FBI agents in Minnesota are fans of Twisted Sisters and Rage Against the Machine, they probably won’t last.
That comes amid ongoing efforts to disrupt federal officers’ sleep and prevent local hotels from hosting FBI agents.
On a recent night, a makeshift rock band performed Rage Against the Machine’s “Killing in the Name” and Twisted Sister’s “We’re Not Gonna Take It” at three area hotels — believed to be home to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol officers.
The band also accompanied the obligatory anti-ICE chants.
Demonstrators spread across the metro area from midnight to 2 a.m. Friday, heading to venues associated with companies known to have housed ICE agents: the SpringHill Suites by Marriott hotel in St. Louis Park, the Sheraton Minneapolis West in Minnetonka and the Homewood Suites by Hilton in Plymouth.
Daisy Forester, a Minneapolis musician who played bass at Friday’s demonstration, said the purpose was more than just a musical performance: “It’s about showing the power of a collective voice.”
Friday marked a new approach to what organizers called “noise demonstrations.”
Rather than making noise in one location, demonstrators flocked to parking lots near each hotel, where dozens quickly dragged band equipment, “ICE OUT” signs and other noise-making instruments onto surrounding sidewalks and boulevards.
On Friday, January 30, 2026, a post-midnight noise protest was reported outside the hotel where ICE agents were located, with musicians and demonstrators quickly banging on equipment outside the Home2 Suites in Plymouth. (Photo by Nicole Neri/Minnesota Reformer)
On Friday, January 30, 2026, Daisy Forester drove herself and lead singer Alex to the next hotel where there were reports of a noise protest and ICE agents living outside the hotel. (Photo by Nicole Neri/Minnesota Reformer)
A woman named Esther, who declined to give her last name in light of the Trump administration’s tendency to retaliate, traveled from Florida to Minneapolis to support mutual aid networks and join protests.
“I have no connection to Minnesota other than that I’m American,” she said.
Protesters made noise for less than 40 minutes at each location, but long enough for some hotel guests to draw their curtains and file complaints. There were no confrontations with ICE officers Friday morning.
St. Louis Park police were the only law enforcement agency to respond to the demonstrations. They told organizers that several of the calls they received were not from hotel staff but from individual hotel guests. As the protesters were about to disperse, they threatened to issue tickets, but no tickets were issued.
None of the hotels involved responded to requests for comment.
Just before 2 a.m. on Friday, January 30, 2026, Daisy was playing bass outside the Springhill Suites hotel in St. Louis Park during a noise protest outside the hotel where ICE agents were reportedly staying. (Photo by Nicole Neri/Minnesota Reformer)
Since ICE launched Operation Metro Surge in December, dozens to hundreds of people have spent nights in subzero cold, banging pots and pans, whistling and screaming into bullhorns outside hotels where ICE agents are believed to be housed.
Some Minneapolis hotels also saw an influx of people making last-minute reservations or cancellations as a form of protest, according to organizers. Others flooded travel websites with negative reviews of the hotel.
Local hospitality workers’ unions unite! Wants to prevent hotels from allowing ICE to conduct or conduct immigration enforcement operations. in a Press releaseThe union said the presence of agents would cause fear among its members because they “are not trained and are not paid to manage”.
Demonstrations at the Home2 Suites hotel on University Avenue in Minneapolis turned tense late last week, with federal agents firing tear gas into the crowd after some participants damaged property — before Minneapolis police and other local law enforcement had a chance to respond, according to one official. Facebook post from the state Department of Public Safety.
Caleb BattsSpokesperson sunrise sports twin cities Organizers of Friday morning’s protest said the Sunrise Movement was practicing peaceful and disciplined civil disobedience “in the fight against fascism.”
It’s unclear whether future noise demonstrations will take a tour-like format, but Butts and other organizers said Friday’s trial run was a success.
Just after 1 a.m. on Friday, January 30, 2026, musicians played “Killing in the Name” by Rage Against the Machine outside the Sheraton Minneapolis West Hotel in Minnetonka, where a noise protest was reportedly held outside the hotel where ICE agents were located. (Photo by Nicole Neri/Minnesota Reformer)
