❄️ Snowball to Pepper Spray: Unhinged ICE Agents Clash with Protesters in Minneapolis Amid Trump’s Racist Rhetoric
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – A tense confrontation in a Minneapolis intersection escalated into shocking displays of federal overreach and aggression, as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents responded to peaceful taunts and snowballs by deploying pepper spray and intentionally striking a protester with a vehicle. The incident, captured on video, speaks volumes about the “unhinged and fragile” state of federal agents operating under the political mandate of the Trump administration.
The conflict unfolded during intensified community protests against a recent ICE surge into Minnesota, an effort widely viewed as driven purely by bigotry and racism, primarily targeting the large Somali immigrant population.
The Conflict: Snowballs vs. Pepper Spray
The scene, which involved protesters using their own vehicles to block ICE SUVs and create a traffic jam, reached a boiling point when a young woman in a pink backpack threw a snowball at an ICE vehicle, hitting its target.
The agents’ response was immediate and disproportionate:
Pepper Spray Deployment: An ICE agent was seen firing a blast of blue pepper spray into the air toward the unarmed protesters in retaliation for the harmless snowball. The response was described as an “impotent blast of pepper spray” that highlighted the agents’ inability to handle simple confrontation.
Vehicle Strike: In a separate incident caught on video, an ICE vehicle was seen striking a protester. An agent’s callous reaction was captured on audio, saying, “Haha, a wipeout,” and laughing at the incident.
Despite the agents’ aggression, the protesters—who were taunting the agents with chants like “Get out of our city” and demanding they “Get a new job, you effing loser”—remained largely non-violent. The young woman’s snowball was deemed “symbolically” devastating, representing the community’s defiant response to the federal presence.
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The Political Mandate: Targeting Somali Immigrants
The aggression of the ICE agents is framed directly within the context of Donald Trump’s political rhetoric, which has targeted the Somali community in Minnesota with racist and false claims.
During a White House address, Trump deployed inflammatory, baseless lies, claiming:
Somalians “ripped off that state for billions of dollars” in welfare every year.
They “contribute nothing” and that welfare usage is “like 88%.”
He overtly stated his desire to keep them out of the country, declaring: “I don’t want them in our country. Their country is no good for a reason. Their country stinks.”
He specifically targeted political figures like Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, calling her “garbage” and asserting that she and her friends “do nothing but complain.”
This rhetoric underscores the view that the ICE efforts in Minnesota—which are supposed to be targeting migrants with violent criminal records, but instead are largely arresting foreign nationals with no violent criminal records—are driven “purely by bigotry and racism.”
A Warning to Federal Agents
Shuster’s report concludes with a stern warning: No ICE agent should be surprised when “thousands of people respond with anger” and “harmless snowballs” when they operate in a manner driven by political hate.
While emphasizing that “Nobody should be engaged in violence,” the report stresses that Trump and his agents are “making everything more tense and dangerous.” The agents, who are lucky they are “only facing harmless snowballs and taunts,” would be wise to “just move along.”
The actions in Minneapolis are viewed as part of a larger, dangerous pattern where federal law enforcement agencies are weaponized for political objectives, resulting in the public normalization of cruelty and aggression against citizens and residents.
