Federal agents were forced to deploy pepper spray and other crowd control measures after a sizable mob of Somali and far-left rioters surrounded them as they conducted deportation operations in Minneapolis on Tuesday.
Immigration agents have increased their presence in the state of Minnesota after President Donald Trump moved to terminate temporary protected status provisions for millions of Somalis. Minnesota currently has the largest Somali population in the United States.
Tuesday’s disturbance occurred when a group of far-left agitators blocked federal agents with their vehicles as they checked identification in a heavily Somali neighborhood. This tactic has been commonly used by left-wing groups seeking to block deportation efforts in the nation’s largest cities.
“Thank God so many people showed up there,” said City Council Member Jamal Osman, a Somali American who represents the neighborhood and witnessed the disturbance. “[The agents] couldn’t get out of there because people showed up with their cars and whistles.”