Federal operation at Minneapolis restaurant draws crowd of protesters
Federal operation at Minneapolis restaurant draws crowd of protesters originally appeared on Bring Me The News.
A federal law enforcement operation involving U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents at a Minneapolis restaurant Tuesday was not related to immigration enforcement, according to local officials.
A large crowd gathered outside Las Cuatro Milpas, a taco restaurant at Lake Street and Bloomington Avenue South, beginning around 11 a.m. Tuesday as armed, masked agents and vehicles displaying HSI (Homeland Security Investigations), a division of ICE, converged outside the business.
Video and pictures from the scene showed agents from several federal agencies, including the FBI, DEA and ATF.
In a statement on social media shortly before 2 p.m., Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said no arrests have been made in connection with the operation.
"While we're still gathering details, this incident was related to a criminal search warrant for drugs & money laundering and was not related to immigration enforcement," he wrote.
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The Hennepin County Sheriff's Office says that it has assisted with the operation, which was not related to immigration. As part of ICE, HSI investigates a "wide range of crimes, including narcotics smuggling, human trafficking, and financial crimes," according to its website.
From the HCSO:
"HCSO partnered with federal agencies on a criminal investigation and part of that investigation included the execution of multiple search warrants at multiple locations in the metro area, including a business in the area of Bloomington Ave. and Lake St. in Minneapolis. HCSO's role in the incident today was solely focused on that. This incident was not related to any immigration enforcement. HCSO has no involvement in civil immigration. HCSO enforces criminal statutes and works on criminal investigations. We work with federal partners regularly on those criminal investigations."
News of the arrival of federal agents quickly spread online, resulting in a growing crowd of protesters outside the premises, chanting at agents to go home.
Among those present at the scene are Minneapolis City Council members Jason Chavez and Aisha Chughtai, as well as mayoral candidates Jazz Hampton, Omar Fateh and DeWayne Davis.
In a statement, the Minneapolis Police Department said it is awaiting more information about the federal law enforcement operation.
"Here's what we do know: MPD was NOT involved in any immigration enforcement activities today, nor were we given advance notice of any such operation," the agency shared. "Any claims to the contrary are false."
MPD's statement continues: "After a federal law enforcement operation was already underway, a crowd began to form, and MPD officers arrived to ensure the crowd and the surrounding area remained safe."
Em Cassell, editor of Racket MN, reports that those in the crowd have been pepper sprayed by law enforcement.
Note: Details provided in this story are based on law enforcement's latest version of events, and may be subject to change.
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This story was originally reported by Bring Me The News on Jun 3, 2025, where it first appeared.
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