Hundreds of counterprotesters in Minneapolis drove off a small pro-ICE rally on Saturday organized by conservative influencer Jake Lang, who had announced on social media plans to burn a Quran on City Hall steps, according to the Associated Press. Lang appeared to have sustained bruises and scrapes to his head as he left the scene; it was not clear whether he carried out his stated plan.
The confrontation unfolded as daily protests continue against a federal immigration enforcement operation that has deployed more than 2,000 officers to the Twin Cities since early January, drawn court orders limiting enforcement tactics, and put a spotlight on the case of a Liberian-born Minneapolis man twice taken into custody despite a judge’s ruling that federal officials had not given him adequate notice his supervision status had been revoked.
Counterprotesters overwhelm small pro-ICE rally
Only a small number of supporters arrived for Lang’s demonstration, while hundreds of counterprotesters converged at the site, yelling over his attempts to speak before chasing the pro-ICE group away. Counterprotesters forced at least one person to remove a shirt they deemed objectionable. Snowballs and water balloons were also thrown before an armored police van and heavily equipped city police arrived, the AP reported.
“We’re out here to show Nazis and ICE and DHS and MAGA you are not welcome in Minneapolis,” protester Luke Rimington said. “Stay out of our city, stay out of our state. Go home.”
Lang was previously charged with assaulting an officer with a baseball bat, civil disorder, and other crimes before receiving clemency as part of President Donald Trump’s sweeping act of clemency for January 6 defendants. Lang recently announced that he is running for U.S. Senate in Florida.
National Guard staged but not deployed
The Minnesota National Guard said in a statement Saturday that it had been mobilized by Democratic Gov. Tim Walz 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.”
Maj. Andrea Tsuchiya, a Guard spokesperson, said the Guard was “staged and ready” but had not yet been deployed to city streets. The announcement came more than a week after Walz told the Guard to be ready to support law enforcement in the state.
Liberia-born resident describes living in fear after two detentions
The weekend confrontations followed daily protests since the Department of Homeland Security deployed more than 2,000 federal officers to the Twin Cities. The operation has claimed at least one life: Renee Good, a U.S. citizen and mother of three, was shot by an ICE officer during a January 7 confrontation.
On Friday, a federal judge ruled that immigration officers cannot detain or tear gas peaceful protesters who are not obstructing authorities, including while observing officers during the Minnesota operation.
At a Saturday news conference, Garrison Gibson, 38, who fled civil war in Liberia as a child, said he has been afraid to leave his Minneapolis home since being released from immigration detention following his arrest last weekend.
Video of federal officers breaking down Gibson’s front door with a battering ram on January 11 became a rallying point for protesters opposing the crackdown. Gibson was ordered deported, apparently because of a 2008 drug conviction that was later dismissed. He has remained in the country legally under what is known as an order of supervision. After his recent arrest, a judge ruled that federal officials did not give him enough notice that his supervision status had been revoked.
Gibson was then taken back into custody for several hours Friday when he made a routine check-in with immigration officials. His cousin Abena Abraham said ICE officials told her that White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller ordered the second arrest. The White House denied the account and denied that Miller had anything to do with the re-arrest.
Gibson was flown to a Texas immigration detention facility but returned home following the judge’s ruling. His family used a dumbbell to keep their damaged front door closed amid subfreezing temperatures before spending $700 to repair it.
“I don’t leave the house,” Gibson said at the news conference.
DHS vows continued enforcement
The Department of Homeland Security called the ruling judge an “activist judge” it said was again trying to stop the deportation of “criminal illegal aliens.”
“We will continue to fight for the arrest, detention, and removal of aliens who have no right to be in this country,” Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said.
Gibson said his 17-year record of compliance with supervision requirements spoke for itself.
“If I was a violent person, I would not have been out these past 17 years, checking in,” Gibson said.