Walz criticized over Minneapolis anti-ICE protests

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz activated the state National Guard as anti-ICE demonstrations continue in the wake of Renee Good’s death.

Good, a 37-year-old mom of three, was shot and killed by ICE agent Jonathan Ross in Minneapolis on Jan. 7. The White House asserts that the immigration officer acted in self-defense against a home terrorist who weaponized her vehicle to allegedly impede ICE operations.

State officers and quite a few American residents have challenged the Trump administration’s depiction of the occasions, triggering nationwide protests that have endured for over a week since her death.

The anti-ICE rallies have sometimes turned unstable as demonstrators confront federal brokers, who have deployed crowd-control measures, including tear fuel and pepper balls, to disperse protestors. This has resulted in casualties, including at least three gunshot accidents — two in Portland and one in Minneapolis — alongside arrests and property injury.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt emphasised the destruction, characterizing the protestors’ actions as “deplorable.”

President Donald Trump stirred anxiety among many Americans by threatening to invoke the seldom-used Insurrection Act to suppress the civil disorder in Minneapolis, stories the Mirror US.

His warning adopted an incident where a Minneapolis man sustained a gunshot wound to the leg from a federal agent during intensifying demonstrations in town soon after Good’s death. The Department of Homeland Security reported that the person was an undocumented Venezuelan national and that the officer was assaulted by three others with a shovel and broom while trying to make an arrest on Wednesday.

As Minneapolis residents braved freezing temperatures to protest on Saturday, Governor Walz called in National Guard troops to help the Minnesota State Patrol, reaffirming the demonstrators’ proper to peaceable meeting. The White House has pointed fingers at Walz and other Democrats, accusing them of inciting violence against ICE.

Minnesota National Guard spokesperson Army Maj. Andrea Tsuchiya informed GWN that they’re “staged and ready to respond” but are “not deployed to city streets at this time.”

She additional said that their function is to present “traffic support to protect life, preserve property, and support the rights of all Minnesotans to assemble peacefully.”

Meanwhile, right-wing influencer Nick Sortor took to social media alleging that some anti-ICE protestors in Minneapolis are armed, sharing footage of one masked man perched on the hood of a truck with an assault rifle. As of press time, no unbiased sources have verified the footage.

Sortor posted on Friday night: “IN: Anti-ICE rioters are now showing up with firearms at riots in Minneapolis. It could get really ugly after dark out here… And of course, Walz has the National Guard SITTING AROUND rather than restoring order. They need to be FEDERALIZED.”

Last Sunday, Sortor discovered himself encircled by demonstrators in his vehicle during an anti-ICE protest in Minneapolis, according to Fox News.

Earlier in the week, DHS announced it had detained a U.S. citizen at a Minneapolis demonstration for assaulting officers while armed with a firearm.

DHS wrote on X: “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.

“After law enforcement deployed crowd control measures to calm an more and more unstable crowd, the person kicked a steel smoke cannister at officers. He then pushed an officer, and he was arrested for assault. While being arrested, he said he had a firearm, which was situated along with a box of ammunition. He was not carrying his hid carry allow. This will not be the peaceable protesting that the First Amendment protects.”