Minnesota has recently been a hub for violence linked to state authority. In 2026, the Twins served as the center of Anti-ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) demonstrations in the aftermath of several deaths.
The Beginning of It All
Since December 2025, President Donald Trump has deployed over 3,000 ICE and Border Patrol Agents to Minnesota– ”enforcers” who have implemented violent and controversial practices to threaten and jeopardize people’s safety. Minneapolis Sociologist Nicole Bedera describes, “In [her] own neighborhood, ICE agents have tear-gassed schools and local businesses. They have physically assaulted people pumping gas and buying groceries. They have begun door-to-door operations and followed protesters home…”
“Operation Metro Surge”: the deployment of around 2,000 federal agents to the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan area, described as the largest immigration enforcement operation ever conducted in the region. Local officials, including Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, criticized the operation’s skill and tactics. Community members reported that masked, armed agents conducted enforcement actions near schools, homes, and businesses, creating what Saint Paul City Council member Molly Coleman described as conditions “unlike any other day we’ve experienced.”
The Final Straw
Though Minneapolis residents continued to voice their concerns with the administration’s immigration “control” practices, chaos erupted after the morning of January 7, when Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen and mother of three, was fatally shot by ICE agent Jonathan Ross in the Phillips neighborhood of south Minneapolis. Good had dropped off her 6-year-old son at a school shortly before the encounter.
According to witness accounts and video footage, Good had stopped her SUV sideways in the street while community members blew whistles to alert neighbors of the presence of immigration officers, a strategy utilized by activists in ICE-targeted cities. Multiple videos captured moments before and after Good’s killing. Good had refused to open the car door to Ross.
Kristi Noem, Secretary of Homeland Security, claims that Good tried to “weaponize her vehicle” to run over the agent, despite figures such as Mayor Frey publicly disputing the characterization. Good was struck by at least three bullets, including wounds to her chest, forearm, and possibly her head.
Within hours of Good’s death, crowds gathered at the scene for a vigil. Protests spread throughout Minneapolis and to cities nationwide, with demonstrations reported in New York, L.A., Boston, Washington D.C., and dozens of other locations. Over 1,000 separate demonstrations were organized across the country in the week following the shooting.
Protesters gathered outside hotels believed to house federal agents and at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, which serves as a federal headquarters in the Twin Cities.
Mayor Frey encouraged protesters, stating, “For the vast majority who have ensured we don’t take the bait from the Trump administration, I’m grateful. But if anyone causes property damage or puts others in danger, they will be arrested.”
More Fuel to The Fire
On January 14, exactly one week after Good’s death, a second shooting involving federal agents occurred in north Minneapolis. Per the DHS, officers conducted a traffic stop targeting Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, a Venezuelan national. DHS stated that Sosa-Celis fled, crashed his vehicle, and then assaulted an officer. Two bystanders allegedly attacked the officer with a snow shovel and broom handle, after which the agent fired, striking Sosa-Celis in the leg.
The man’s family disputed portions of this account during the incident, as seen in a live Facebook video stream. The shooting drew protesters to the scene, and federal agents deployed tear gas and flash-bang grenades. Some protesters threw fireworks at law enforcement. Children in a nearby vehicle were among those affected by tear gas, with two taken to the hospital.
The Insurrection Act
President Trump threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act, a centuries-old law that would allow deployment of active-duty military troops to Minnesota. The Pentagon ordered 1,500 soldiers from the Alaska-based 11th Airborne Division to prepare for possible deployment.
The DOJ opened an investigation into Governor Walz and Mayor Frey over an alleged conspiracy to impede federal immigration agents. Despite their established interest in illegal planning/premeditated crime, the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division declined to open a criminal investigation into Ross for Good’s killing. This decision prompted resignations from multiple federal prosecutors, including the criminal section chief and several deputies.
At the state and local levels, Governor Walz mobilized the Minnesota National Guard to support the State Patrol, though troops remained on standby rather than deployed to the streets.
A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order limiting certain tactics federal agents could use against protestors and observers, but the order allowed enforcement operations to continue.
Ongoing Situation
As of January 18, protests continue in Minneapolis despite subfreezing temperatures. Crowds have gathered daily at the Whipple Federal Building and at the site of Good’s death. Minneapolis remains a flashpoint in the national debate over immigration enforcement, and the coming days will likely determine whether federal and local officials find a path toward de-escalation or whether tensions continue to mount.