ICE meets snow as midwesterners fight back against Trump immigration raids | ICE (US Immigration and Customs Enforcement)
ICE, meet snow. As federal agents aggressively raid and detain immigrants in cities across the United States, people working to prevent those arrests are using the abundant snow on the ground to fight back.
In videos of shootings in Minnesota and Illinois, people throw snowballs at federal agents trying to capture their neighbors, often with agents using force or guns. In many cases, agents responded more aggressively, using pepper spray or tear gas against protesters.
In Minneapolis on Monday, agents tried to arrest a woman by holding her in a snowbank. video of the incident It was broadcast by Minnesota Public Radio. At one point he appears partially handcuffed and an agent drags him down a snowy street. Car horns and whistles are heard to notify the neighborhood that the agents are there, while bystanders shout at the agents to “let him go.” An agent holds a stun gun in one hand and points the gun at the crowd. People start throwing snow at the agents, one of the agents holds a can of orange spray and uses it repeatedly against the protesters.
A woman arriving at the scene he told the Associated Press That ICE agents were aggressive from the beginning of the interaction. “I didn’t see anyone throwing hard objects,” he said. “Snowballs were definitely being thrown, but we didn’t start throwing snowballs until they started dragging him by his ankle.”
Minneapolis police Chief Brian O’Hara spoke out against ICE tactics after the incident. Federal agents called local police to the scene, claiming they were under attack. He said officers determined the scene was safe, so they “let it go.”
“We’ve been training our officers very intensively for the last five years on de-escalation, but unfortunately that … is not what we typically see from other agencies in the city,” O’Hara said.
Protesters also threw snow at agents during a confrontation over the detention of a man in Elgin, Illinois. Agents responded with tear gas and pepper spray, local media reported.
As ICE stepped up its actions, communities responded with rapid-fire calls — blowing whistles, yelling at agents, throwing snowballs — to prevent immigration detention and deter ICE from patrolling. American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota lawsuit filed This week, the Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies filed claims on behalf of several Minnesota plaintiffs that agents violated the rights of those observing and protesting ICE actions in the state.
When asked about people throwing snowballs at federal agents in Minneapolis and Chicago, a Department of Homeland Security spokesman said: “ICE remains cool… but rioters should be aware that attacking an officer is a federal crime.”
Accordingly reporting by CBSAgents arrested U.S. citizens in connection with the incident, and DHS said people threw snow and objects at agents, causing injuries “including cuts.” It’s unclear whether people who threw snow at agents will be criminally charged.
Minneapolis criminal defense attorney Joe Tamburino said throwing a snowball can be assault if the person on the other end is injured or causes bodily harm or if the intent is to injure. Although criminal charges for throwing snowballs are not common, if the person reports to a federal agency it could be a federal crime that carries severe penalties, depending on the outcome.
“I would imagine that the Trump administration is paying special attention to Minnesota right now and that they will take very seriously any allegation that someone is threatening, harming or interfering with federal agents,” he said. “That’s why people need to be careful… No matter where you are on the political spectrum, you need to watch out for yourself. Federal crimes are no laughing matter.”
