'Don’t Take The Bait' From Trump, Frey Says After Downtown Minneapolis Protest Damage

MINNEAPOLIS, MN — Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey urged local protesters to "not take the bait" from President Donald Trump as he responded to weekend demonstrations that led to arrests and property damage following a federal immigration shooting earlier this week.

About 30 people were detained, cited, and released late Friday into Saturday after protests downtown escalated into blocked roadways, forced entries into buildings, and damage to local businesses, according to city officials.

"I’m inspired by the countless community members who have showed up to provide food, advocate for justice and keep the peace," Frey said.

"For the vast majority who have ensured we don’t take the bait from the Trump administration, I’m grateful. But if anyone causes property damage or puts others in danger, they will be arrested. We are standing up to Donald Trump’s chaos not with our own brand of chaos, but with care and unity."

City officials said several hundred people gathered near the Canopy Hotel and Depot Renaissance Hotel downtown before moving through the area Friday night. The Depot Renaissance Hotel sustained an estimated $6,000 in damage to windows and graffiti.

Police reported that some protesters blocked streets and threw snow, ice, and rocks at officers, police vehicles, and other cars.

Around 9:45 p.m., officers responded to a report of a vehicle driving toward a building, though no damage was found. One officer suffered minor injuries that did not require medical attention.

Later, a group returned to the Canopy Hotel, where some individuals forced entry through an alley entrance before hotel security regained control. At about 10:15 p.m., Minneapolis police declared an unlawful assembly and issued multiple dispersal orders. The declaration remained in effect until around 1 a.m.

Roughly 200 officers from the Minneapolis Police Department, Minnesota State Patrol, and Minnesota Department of Natural Resources assisted throughout the night, officials said.

Frey and city leaders stressed that peaceful protest is protected under the Constitution but warned that violence, vandalism, and blocked roadways cross a line and will result in arrests.

City officials said protesters may assemble peacefully on sidewalks and in public spaces, carry signs, and chant. They are not allowed to block streets or freeways, throw objects, damage property, start fires, use fireworks or weapons, or enter private property without permission.

The city also reiterated that Minneapolis police do not enforce federal civil immigration laws, but may respond to demonstrations when public safety is at risk.

Minneapolis still tense after Renee Good shooting

The Twin Cities — the latest target in President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement campaign — is bracing for what is next after 37-year-old Renee Good was shot and killed by an immigration officer on Wednesday.

“We’re seeing a lot of immigration enforcement across Minneapolis and across the state, federal agents just swarming around our neighborhoods,” said Jason Chavez, a Minneapolis city councilmember. “They’ve definitely been out here.”

Chavez, the son of Mexican immigrants who represents an area with a growing immigrant population, said he is closely monitoring information from chat groups about where residents are seeing agents operating.

People holding whistles positioned themselves in freezing temperatures on street corners Sunday in the neighborhood where Good was killed, watching for any signs of federal agents.

More than 20,000 people have taken part in a variety of trainings to become “observers” of enforcement activities in Minnesota since the 2024 election, said Luis Argueta, a spokesperson for Unidos MN, a local human rights organization .

“It’s a role that people choose to take on voluntarily, because they choose to look out for their neighbors,” Argueta said.

The protests have been largely peaceful, but residents remained anxious. On Monday, Minneapolis public schools will start offering remote learning for the next month in response to concerns that children might feel unsafe venturing out while tensions remain high.

Many schools closed last week after Good’s shooting and the upheaval that followed.

Questions about who should handle investigation

While the enforcement activity continues, two of the state’s leading Democrats said that the investigation into Good's shooting death should not be overseen solely by the federal government.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and U.S. Sen. Tina Smith said in separate interviews Sunday that state authorities should be included in the investigation because the federal government has already made clear what it believes happened.

“How can we trust the federal government to do an objective, unbiased investigation, without prejudice, when at the beginning of that investigation they have already announced exactly what they saw — what they think happened," Smith said on ABC’s "This Week."

The Trump administration has defended the officer who shot Good in her car, saying he was protecting himself and fellow agents and that Good had “weaponized” her vehicle.

Todd Lyons, acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, defended the officer on Fox News Channel’s “The Sunday Briefing.”

"That law enforcement officer had milliseconds, if not short time to make a decision to save his life and his other fellow agents,” he said.

Lyons also said the administration’s enforcement operations in Minnesota wouldn't be needed “if local jurisdictions worked with us to turn over these criminally illegal aliens once they are already considered a public safety threat by the locals.”

The killing of Good by an ICE officer and the shooting of two people by federal agents in Portland, Oregon, led to dozens of protests in cities across the country over the weekend, including New York, Los Angeles, Washington D.C. and Oakland, California.

Reporting from the Associated Press was used in this story.