MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Armed immigration officers arrested a number of activists in Minneapolis on Tuesday as they tracked vehicles, a sign that tensions have not eased since the departure of a prominent commander last week.
At least one person with anti-ICE messages emblazoned on his clothing was handcuffed and placed face down on the ground. An Associated Press photographer witnessed the arrest.
Federal agents have recently been conducting more targeted immigration arrests in homes and neighborhoods rather than in parking lots. Convoys are harder to detect and less aggressive. Alerts in activist group chats were more about sightings than immigration-related detentions.
Several cars followed police through south Minneapolis after reports of police knocking on the door. Police stopped their vehicle and the activists got out at gunpoint. Agents told reporters at the scene to stay away and threatened to use pepper spray.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Last month, a federal judge limited how police can treat motorists who follow them but don’t impede their movements. “Following an agent safely at an appropriate distance does not in itself create reasonable suspicion to justify a stop,” the judge said. However, the Court of Appeal dismissed the order.
Greg Bovino, the Border Patrol commander in charge of the immigration crackdown in Minneapolis and other large U.S. cities, left the city last week after the shooting death of Alex Pretti, the second killing of a local U.S. citizen in January.
Trump administration border czar Tom Homan sent to Minnesota. He warned that protesters could face consequences if they interfere with police.
Meanwhile, a man accused of spraying apple cider vinegar on Democratic U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar will remain behind bars. U.S. Magistrate Judge David Schultz granted federal prosecutors’ request to deny bail to Anthony Kazmierzak.
“We simply cannot allow protesters and citizens — no matter which side they belong to — to rush toward and attack deputies who are conducting their official business and occupying City Hall,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Baijar said Tuesday.
Defense attorney John Fossum said the vinegar posed a low risk to Omar. He said Kazmierchak’s health issues were not properly addressed in prison and that releasing him would be appropriate.
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Raza reported from Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Associated Press reporter Ed White in Detroit contributed.
