UPDATE: Despite rhetoric, feds continue aggressive crackdown in Minneapolis

After the brutal killing of Alex Pretti on January 25 — the second fatal shooting of an American citizen by federal agents in the Minneapolis area — the Trump administration sought to advance a narrative that it was changing course.

President Trump dispatched border czar Tom Homan to be his point person for the operation. On January 26, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt described Homan as someone adept at “cooperating with state and local authorities.” In a Fox News appearance on January 27, Trump said that Homan would “de-escalate a little bit.” Trump even allowed that Pretti’s death was “a very sad situation.” Arriving in Minneapolis, Homan himself promised “massive changes.”

Mainstream media organizations, as Popular Information reported, largely accepted this narrative.

The Associated Press reported that Trump “shifted toward a more conciliatory approach,” describing Trump’s new policy as an “about face.” A New York Times headline declared: “Trump Changes Course in Minnesota.” According to the Wall Street Journal, Trump was “convinced“ to “change course” after “Republican lawmakers and other allies raised concerns that he was squandering public support for his signature campaign issue.” Axios took readers “[i]nside Trump’s pivot on Minnesota.”

But on the ground, little actually changed. Thousands of federal agents continued their aggressive tactics and clashed with citizen observers. On January 30, Trump returned to his incendiary rhetoric, describing Pretti, an ICU nurse, as an “agitator” and “insurrectionist.”

On Wednesday, Homan announced that 700 federal officers would leave Minneapolis. But, even after that drawdown, about 2,300 federal personnel would remain. Homan described the immigration crackdown in Minneapolis as a “success” and gave no indication of when it would end.

Homan blamed the “bloodshed” on the “hateful rhetoric“ of anti-ICE protesters, not the federal officers who pulled the trigger. He tied any further drawdowns to a decrease in “rhetoric” criticizing the administration’s actions.

“We’re not surrendering the president’s mission on a mass-deportation operation,” Homan concluded.

Caught on tape: The reality of the Minneapolis crackdown

In the week since Homan took over Operation Metro Surge, there have already been several documented instances of federal agents using aggressive tactics against Minnesota residents.

A viral video posted to social media on Tuesday showed several ICE agents surrounding a vehicle with handguns drawn and pointed at the driver and passenger.

The Associated Press, which said one of its photographers witnessed the incident, reported that activists in multiple vehicles had been trailing ICE officers. According to the AP, agents ordered the activists out of their vehicles at gunpoint, threatened to use pepper spray on nearby reporters, and handcuffed at least one person face-down on the ground.

The video shows an ICE agent telling a reporter that one of the people arrested had made a gesture as if he was reaching for a weapon. The video also shows at least one agent continuing to point his gun at a passenger as they exit the vehicle with empty hands in the air.

Aggression against observers trailing federal immigration agents in their cars has been a common tactic, before and after Homan’s takeover.

In another incident that took place on January 29, agents pursued a woman in her car who had been tracking them and recording on a dash cam. Video footage shared by the woman with Minnesota Public Radio shows a red vehicle pulling in front of the woman’s car and stopping abruptly before three agents exit the vehicle. All three point handguns at the woman, who is on the phone and tells another person to call 911.

Minnesota Public Radio reported that the woman was arrested and driven for 20 minutes by the agents before they turned around and released her at a local police station.

Another video from Tuesday, which was posted by the AP, shows several protesters and ICE agents gathered in what appears to be a public park. The video shows ICE agents chasing, tackling, and pointing guns at protesters who appear to be unarmed.

Toward the end of the video, agents throw what appear to be tear-gas canisters toward protesters and two loud explosions are heard, which the person recording the video says may be a device like a stun grenade or sound cannon.