Anti-ICE demonstrators chase off outnumbered far-right activists at Minneapolis rally

By Brad Brooks

MINNEAPOLIS, Jan 17 (Reuters) – Hundreds of anti-ICE protesters in Minneapolis chased off a small group of far-right activists who had vowed to march on a neighborhood where many immigrants live on Saturday, stoking tensions in a city that remains on edge after the killing of Renee Good by a federal immigration agent 10 days ago. 

Waving signs and screaming chants that called for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol agents to leave Minneapolis, the anti-ICE protesters gathered downtown near City Hall and scores of them moved forward around 1 p.m. local time, forcing the group of about 10 far-right demonstrators against the outside of the municipal government center within minutes. Some in the crowd tossed water balloons that soaked the right-wingers as the wind chill temperatures hit -4 F. 

Police maintained their distance as the dueling protests played out. About an hour after the rallies began, the tiny contingent of right-wing activists quickly walked a few blocks away to a hotel, hounded by hundreds of anti-ICE protesters who were screaming obscenities and telling them to get out of the city. A few scuffles broke out, but there was no serious violence. 

Jake Lang, an online right-wing activist and one of more than 1,500 people pardoned by President Donald Trump after their criminal convictions related to the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, organized what he called an “anti-fraud” rally. At no point could Lang’s voice be heard by the crowd.

The counter-protest was organized by the People’s Action Coalition Against Trump.

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