Anti-ICE protesters showed up at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office in Minneapolis with a U-Haul van loaded with riot shields. Their objective: Physically block ICE agents from leaving the building.
This development comes amid clashes between ICE personnel and protesters opposing the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement efforts in the city and others in Minnesota.
Daily Wire reporter Jennie Taer reported the development on X with footage of Marcos Charles, Executive Assistant Director of Enforcement and Removal Operations for ICE, addressing the matter.
“Moments ago, a group of agitators, a U-haul van filled with shields…Shields and gear decided to come over here to the Whipple building and block traffic,” he said.
They're currently trying to impede us from getting out of the building and going to do our mission. I'll tell you right now, they're going to fail. Because no matter what front of us, we are here to do a job to protect this community, to protect Minnesotans, and to keep the criminal legal aliens off the street and put them where they belong, back into detention and remove them from this country.
BREAKING: A top ICE official reveals that anti-ICE rioters showed up this morning to the agency's office in Minneapolis with a U-Haul van full of riot shields and are now trying to block agents from leaving the building
— Jennie Taer (@JennieSTaer) January 23, 2026
"They are ... currently trying to impede us from getting… pic.twitter.com/hcrBTTFtJo
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The blockade attempt is a response to what federal officials have called the “largest immigration operation ever” conducted by ICE. About 3,000 federal agents have entered the Minneapolis-St Paul area since December, according to NBC News.
The demonstrations intensified after the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good by an ICE agent earlier this month. The incident became a rallying point for anti-ICE protesters. Some participated in disrupting a church service in the city after finding out one of its pastors worked for ICE.
Protesters have been using whistles to alert communities to ICE's presence and to block traffic, CNN reported.
The U-Haul incident occurred at the same time as the statewide “ICE Out of Minnesota: Day of Truth and Freedom” protest. Over 600 businesses across the state have closed their doors. Organizers called for supporters to refrain from working, shopping, or attending school. It is one of the largest organized responses to ICE activity.
Vice President JD Vance visited the area on Thursday and expressed solidarity with federal agents while slamming Minnesota’s sanctuary policies.
The protests have raised questions about who is funding the operations — especially the riot shields and U-Haul truck. A KATV report suggested that far-leftist groups have been funding the demonstrations.
Far-left groups are behind funding the anti-ICE protests in Minneapolis, according to an exclusive report from the New York Post.
One of the groups allegedly funding the protests is called Indivisible Twin Cities, which is a branch of the anti-Trump group called the Indivisible Project based in Washington, D.C.
This group was also reportedly behind the “No Kings” protests that happened around the U.S. last year that reportedly received millions of dollars from Soros’ Open Society Foundations between 2018 and 2023.
Minneapolis residents have also built a grassroots network to monitor ICE activity, NBC News reported. Volunteer “dispatchers” coordinate with thousands of residents through the Signal messaging app to deploy observers to areas where ICE is arresting illegal immigrants.
Still, the standoff shows no signs of abating, with federal officials remaining committed to continuing their enforcement operations while protesters are equally determined to resist.
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