Minneapolis Anti-ICE Checkpoints End in Assault, Police Clearance

Anti-ICE activists in Minneapolis established makeshift checkpoints over the weekend, blocking streets and stopping vehicles to identify potential federal immigration officers, leading to an assault on a journalist and eventual police intervention to clear the blockades.

The demonstrations began on Saturday in south Minneapolis neighborhoods, particularly along Cedar Avenue between 32nd and 34th streets. Videos shared online showed groups of about 30 protesters using traffic cones, barricades, parked vehicles, furniture, and other items to create temporary roadblocks. Demonstrators approached drivers, questioned them about their destinations, and checked license plates against what they described as a community database to detect vehicles linked to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE. Organizers framed the actions as civilian efforts to resist immigration enforcement operations and monitor local police involvement.

One incident involved a Minnesota resident attending a high school tournament with her family. As they drove through the area, protesters examined their license plate, prompting the driver to express frustration. "So now we need permission to drive from...