Before tens of thousands of protesters marched in Minneapolis on Friday to demand Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents leave the state, they were jeered by the Minnesota Vikings.
Temperatures hovered around minus 10 degrees as protesters marched from Commons Park on the edge of downtown to a rally at Target Center.
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While discussing the cold with former Vikings linebacker Chad Greenway, Allen said: “Do paid protesters get hazard pay in this situation? Those are things I’ve been thinking about this morning.”
The moment was saved by badannouncing.com and can be heard here.
“I wouldn’t touch that,” Greenaway said, according to an audio clip posted to the website badannouncing.com.
Allen continued. “Everybody’s been catching stray dogs this week,” he said, citing NFL quarterback Baker Mayfield and former NFL quarterback Charlie Batch. “They’re all over. Protesters caught one this morning.”
The rhetoric fueled the false narrative that protesters were paid by left-wing groups, often in an effort to diminish the importance of social protest. This immediately sparked outrage on social media.
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Minnesotans have been protesting immigration enforcement operations in the Twin Cities, which the Department of Homeland Security has dubbed “Operation Metro Surge.” Since December began, federal agents have shot and killed two Minneapolis residents, Renee Macklin Good on Jan. 7 and Alex Pretti on Saturday. Both are 37 years old and U.S. citizens.
“In the past six weeks, our brave DHS law enforcement apprehended 3,000 illegal immigrants,” DHS Director Kristi Noem said on the DHS website.
A message left on Allen’s phone went unanswered Saturday, and the show’s producer Eric Nordquist declined to comment.
An email to the Vikings was not returned.
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On Saturday at 1:30 p.m., Allen made a post on X.com that appeared to be a response to the many posts posted on his account — some angry, some supportive.
“I have to stop watching this for a moment. I am sad that this horror is happening all around us in Minnesota,” he wrote. “I’m just praying for God’s will for it to stop somehow and now (sic) start crying.
“I’m really sorry for everyone who was hurt like I was and I just want us to be in a love pact again. Really. Let’s just pray that this thing stops somehow because it’s so horrible. No more cheap quips from me.”
