Federal officers fired tear gas and sprayed chemical irritants at activists in Minneapolis on Tuesday during another tense day of confrontations, while students in a nearby suburb walked out of school to protest the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration sweeps.
The crackdown is now moving into federal court, where Minnesota and two mayors are seeking an immediate halt to the operation. A hearing date has not yet been scheduled.
Thick clouds of gas drifted through a Minneapolis street near the spot where Renee Good was fatally shot in the head by an immigration agent last week. One man dropped to his knees, rubbing snow into his eyes and shouting for help as officers in an unmarked Jeep sprayed an orange irritant before speeding away.
Residents have adopted their own form of resistance. Whenever heavily armed agents appear in unmarked vehicles or on foot, people boo, shout warnings and blow bright orange whistles to alert the neighborhood and signal that the community is watching.
“Who doesn’t have a whistle?” one man shouted as he handed them out.
Brita Anderson, who lives nearby and came to support friends, said she was furious to see officers in tactical gear and gas masks moving through the area. She questioned why they were there at all.
“It felt like the only reason they’d come here is to harass people,” she said.
In a separate legal challenge, a judge heard arguments on whether to restrict the use of force, including chemical agents, against people who are observing or recording officers’ actions. Government lawyers argued that officers are operating within their authority and must protect themselves.
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