Federal agents surround south Minneapolis restaurant, clashing with protesters

Several dozen federal and local law enforcement agents converged Tuesday on a south Minneapolis Mexican restaurant, resulting in a brief confrontation between officers and bystanders that included the use of pepper spray after speculation spread of an immigration raid.

City officials, caught between a federal government enforcing a nationwide immigration crackdown and many local residents opposed to such efforts, quickly moved to address the narrative.

"While we are still gathering details, this incident was related to a criminal search warrant for drugs and money laundering and was not related to immigration enforcement. No arrests were made," Mayor Jacob Frey posted on Facebook.

However, a spokesperson for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement put a different spin on the event.

Erin K. Bultje released a statement Tuesday describing what happened as "a groundbreaking criminal operation" led by the Department of Homeland Security that amounts to "a new chapter in how we confront complex, multidimensional threats.

"From drug smuggling to criminal labor trafficking, this operation showcases the breadth of our collective missions and the strength of a united front," said the statement, which was attributed to Jamie Holt, the ICE Homeland Security Investigations St. Paul Special Agent in Charge.

Spokespeople for several other federal and local agencies said the officers gathered at Las Cuatro Milpas were not engaged in immigration enforcement. The Hennepin County Sheriff's Office, which had personnel at the scene, said it was working with federal agencies on a criminal investigation and executing search warrants, "including a business in the area of Bloomington Av. and Lake St."

That information was echoed in statements from the FBI and the Drug Enforcement Administration.

"We are conducting court-authorized law enforcement activity today," FBI spokesperson Diana Freedman said in a statement.

Minneapolis Council Member Jason Chavez, who represents the area, said he ran to the intersection after receiving a video of a "militarized operation" happening there. He posted a picture of a Department of Homeland Security truck on the scene. Multiple agents wearing ICE badges and patches on their uniforms were also present.

The Minneapolis Police Department posted on its X account that it was not involved with any immigration enforcement effort but that its officers were on hand for crowd control. Police Chief Brian O'Hara was at the scene.

"There were multiple federal law enforcement agencies involved, and after the fact, they called for help because of the crowd. And so we monitored it and at the end, when they were trying to leave, there were people preventing them from leaving," O'Hara said. "This was not immigration enforcement, from what they've told me. This was a federal search warrant related to some very serious charges, and it's related to a larger investigation that's going on not just in Minneapolis."

The owner of Las Cuatro Milpas could not be reached for comment. In the past, he has been publicly critical of federal immigration enforcement actions.

At the scene, dozens of protesters were yelling "shame" and tussling with law enforcement. One was standing on the side of an armored vehicle. At one point, pepper spray was deployed.

The Rev. Ingrid Rasmussen, pastor of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, said she counted about 60 law enforcement agents at the site. Under the impression that it was an immigration raid, Rasmussen said, "The fact that we see Minneapolis police escorting these tanks down the street does not instill a lot of confidence within a community that has been really badly traumatized by the Minneapolis police over the last five years."

Chavez said the lack of information was causing confusion.

"There's a lot of tensions here because, from our understanding, we still have people that are inside right now that are workers," he said.

The Lake Street Council, a nonprofit that represents businesses along the south Minneapolis corridor, said the people who live and work in the area deserve more information. Unidos MN, an immigrant coalition, said local officials must do more to explain the situation.

"These types of highly militarized operations involving federal agencies, without any information provided to the community, strikes fear and reduces the ability of the community to have confidence that law enforcement is there for protecting the community," Unidos MN spokesperson Luis Argueta said in a prepared statement.

Christopher Vondracek, Sarah Nelson and Christopher Magan of the Minnesota Star Tribune contributed to this story.