Through social media and text chains, Reddit and phone calls, protesters swarmed Lake Street in Minneapolis after getting word that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was conducting a raid operation at a Mexican restaurant.

Protesters yelled "shame" and tussled with law enforcement officers they believed were arresting undocumented immigrants.

It wasn't true.

Last week's federal law enforcement action was part of a drug bust that netted 900 pounds of methamphetamine and did not center on immigration, despite the involvement of ICE agents. But messaging from city officials clarifying that didn't stop protests and confrontations from unfolding.

Mayor Jacob Frey and city leaders are trying to help control how information is shared when federal law enforcement operations take place in Minneapolis. He took issue with how other elected officials continued to refer to the situation as an immigration raid even after a more accurate picture came to light.

"We need serious leadership," Frey said. "Especially in tumultuous times and especially when uncertainty and fear is rampant. We need people who will pause, who will get the facts and prioritize the safety and the well being of the communities most impacted by these actions."

It's even more important, Frey said, because it's a matter of when — not if — a real ICE raid happens.

"We are sure to have an immigration raid in the near future‚" Frey said. "We can't control the federal government."

The attempted execution of search warrants at the Taqueria y Birrieria Las Cuatro Milpas restaurant was carried out by a militarized coterie including Homeland Security, the FBI, IRS and DEA — Frey referred to it as the "alphabet soup" of federal law enforcement agencies.

But it was the presence of ICE agents that activated protesters and community activists. Under President Donald Trump, the removal of undocumented immigrants from the country for a variety of reasons that have been challenged in state and federal courts has led to open resistance.

That played out on Lake Street.

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara said he was shocked when he arrived on the scene after his department was called in to provide crowd support.

"There was a very real potential for a riot," O'Hara said. "And for the Latino businesses there to be damaged and for things to get completely out of control."

When asked when he was made aware of the federal action, Frey said, "After it already started." Frey said coordination between law enforcement in Minneapolis and the federal government is less coordinated under President Trump than in previous administrations.

It created gaps in communication where chaos could erupt.

Social media threads and private text chains had activated people to Lake Street before noon. City Council Member Jason Chavez posted a photo of an ICE agent on his Bluesky account at 11:44 a.m. saying that federal agents had lied about their presence and that MPD was assisting them.

At 12:40 p.m., the Minneapolis Police Department made the first clarifying post on social media that federal agents were carrying out search warrants on suspected drug and money laundering. An hour later, Frey's office sent additional clarification to City Council members.

It was too late.

O'Hara said he had to verify what was actually happening and reach out to acting U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson to find out what he could share publicly because information was contained in a sealed federal search warrant. The time it took to gather that information was critical.

"You're behind the story," O'Hara said. "And once you're behind the story you'll never get in front of it."

Chavez said Wednesday he wouldn't change anything about his decision to post on social media. Regardless of the primary objective, he said the presence of ICE agents was the core concern for his constituency in south Minneapolis.

"ICE has separated our family members, separated our families, separated our loved ones," Chavez said.

"I stand by what I said, what I said was ICE was present," he continued. "I will always say that to our community members and our loved ones."

When asked about federal law enforcement carrying out serious criminal investigations, Chavez said the operation on Lake Street was overzealous.

"If there is an investigation for money laundering, there could have been a different way for this to be handled," he said. "There could have been a way for the federal government to come in without tanks, without these long guns, without this militarized approach compared to other parts of the state."

More traditional digital news organizations also juggled how to inform as the story evolved. A push notification and email were sent to hundreds of thousands of Minnesota Star Tribune breaking news alert subscribers under the headline "ICE agents surrounding south Minneapolis restaurant" at 1:04 p.m.

Nancy Yang, the senior editor for audience engagement for the Star Tribune, said the urgency of what was happening on Lake Street led to the decision to send the alert, and the company did so while using "all of the information we had available at the time."

When it was sent, the story was marked as a developing news story and it was updated throughout the day but the text of the email alert was unchangeable.

Gordon Pennycook, an associate professor of psychology at Cornell University who studies the spread of information in the social media age, said breaking news stories are ripe for misunderstanding.

"It's facilitated by the nature of the attention economy, the way we intersect with ongoing current events," Pennycook said. "It runs itself into problems. You can't wait for the context."

He said it was natural for citizens to see posts about ICE agents and tanks in Minneapolis and conclude it was an immigration raid, especially given the current political climate in America. He said it was just as natural for political leaders to want people to hesitate before jumping to conclusions.

"You take the short snippet out of context and it's not looking pretty good," he said. "But once you add more context it makes more sense and seems more reasonable."

Frey said the context is going to remain essential moving forward. He said the city stands with and will do everything in its power to protect everyone who lives here — regardless of immigration status — but "we are not countering Donald Trump's chaos with our own brand of chaos."

"There is a tug of war between getting information out quickly and getting it out right," Frey said.

O'Hara pointed out that every federal agency has been empowered to enforce immigration laws, not just ICE. He also said conflict in the streets of Minneapolis is exactly what the federal government wants.

"They had people there taking pictures, PIOs on the scene. All they want is the image of chaos in Minneapolis and that's enough," he said. "We'll have the same problem that the LAPD and the L.A. sheriff have that the National Guard is federalized, there could be federal troops and it will be completely out of hand."