A small group of people led by far-right influencer Jake Lang, who had announced a march on a neighborhood that is primarily made up of immigrants, have been chased off by hundreds of protesters in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
After the killing of a mother-of-three by a federal agent and the subsequent shooting of a Venezuelan immigrant a week later, the city’s tensions soared.
Recommended Stories
list of 3 itemsend of list
The protesters gathered downtown near City Hall on Saturday, waving signs and screaming chants urging ICE and Border Patrol to leave Minneapolis.
After serving a number of criminal convictions related to the US Capitol on January 6, Lang, one of more than 1,500 people who received pardons from President Donald Trump, organized a “anti-fraud” rally.
Hundreds of counterprotesters gathered at the site, yelling at his attempts to speak, and chasing away his supporters within an hour to a nearby hotel, while about 10 people showed up for Lang’s anti-Islam, anti-Somali, and pro-ICE demonstration. The Reuters news agency only observed a small number of scuffles, but no serious violence.
Later, Lang claimed that he was stabbed in a scuffle but that his protective vest prevented the attempt. His account could not be verified by Reuters.
No official report to the department was filed with the city, despite the city’s police telling Reuters in an email that the city was aware of Lang’s social media post. Police claimed that there haven’t been any reports of injuries from victims of the protests.
Since the Department of Homeland Security hired more than 2, 000 federal agents to increase immigration enforcement in Minneapolis and Saint Paul, protests have been occurring daily.
Demonstrators have protested aggressive tactics used by masked immigration officers to remove people from cars and homes. At least one life has been lost as a result of the operation in the deeply liberal Twin Cities.
According to the Trump administration, she has been accused of telling blatant lies about what happened in Good’s death, which are being refuted by numerous videos, and she has been labeled a “domestic terrorist” without any supporting evidence.
Trump has repeatedly cited a scandal as the justification for the arrival of thousands of immigration enforcement agents in Minnesota as a result of the theft of federal funds intended for social welfare programs. The state’s community of Somali immigrants has been repeatedly targeted racist by the president and administration officials. Trump has referred to the neighborhood as “garbage.”
Before an armoured van and fully equipped city police arrived in Minneapolis, snowballs and water balloons were also thrown on Saturday.
Democratic Governor Tim Walz “mobilized” the state guard in a statement to support the Minnesota State Patrol “to assist in providing traffic support to protect life, preserve property, and support the rights of all Minnesotans to assemble peacefully,” according to a statement.
The guard’s spokesperson, Major Andrea Tsuchiya, described it as “staged and ready” but hasn’t yet been deployed.
A federal judge upheld the immigration officers’ right to detain or use tear gas on peaceful protesters who were obstructing authorities, including when they were observing them during the Minnesota crackdown.
Trump has warned that if state officials do not work to calm the protests there against federal immigration authorities, who he said are “only trying to do their job,” he might invoke the Insurrection Act to send US troops there.
The Democratic leadership of Minnesota and Trump are engaged in a fierce conflict due to the tense situation.
In response to rumor that the Trump administration is looking into comments he made while attempting to stop violent immigration raids in the city, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has stated that he will “not be intimidated.”
Source: Aljazeera
Leave a Reply