The US president tonight accused Minnesota’s governor and mayor – both Democrats – of “fomenting an insurrection” in the state after they called for federal agents to withdraw following the second fatal shooting of an American citizen during an operation.
“The mayor and governor are inciting insurrection with their pompous, dangerous and arrogant rhetoric,” Trump wrote on the Truth Social platform, justifying the agents’ actions. He added that they “need to leave” the immigration police “to do their job”.
According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the man who was killed was in possession of a semi-automatic handgun and “violently resisted” before being shot by an agent who “feared for his life.”
A video posted on social networking sites, and whose authenticity has been confirmed by authorities, shows multiple agents in bulletproof vests as she continues to hit him multiple times. A gunshot is heard, the agents move away from the man who is lying in the street and shoot him several times.
DHS posted on Platform X a photo of a handgun it says is the victim’s and wrote: “Looks like a situation where an individual wanted to cause maximum damage and slaughter law enforcement.”
How did the incident happen?
The man shot by federal agents in Minneapolis today has died, according to local and federal officials. It was the second fatal incident involving federal agents in the city in the past two weeks, where an operation to arrest illegal immigrants is underway.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, the man, whom it did not name, was armed and had two magazines in his possession. The ministry said the victim approached border guards while they were conducting an operation against an “illegal alien” and the agents fired “self-defense.” The man was killed on the spot and “crowd control measures” were subsequently taken after around 200 “rioters” began obstructing and attacking law enforcement agencies.
According to US media, agents fired chemicals, including tear gas, as protesters began to flock to the area.
The Minneapolis police, however, reported that the victim is a 37-year-old resident of the city, probably an American citizen, who had a legal permit to carry a firearm. A video circulating online and shown on cable television shows people wearing masks and bulletproof vests fighting a man on a snowy city street. Gunshots ring out, the man falls to the ground, and more gunshots follow.
What do the authorities say?
Police Chief Brian O’Hara urged the public to remain calm, saying “there is currently an unlawful assembly” at the scene. “We ask people to avoid and leave the area,” he added. “We recognize that there is a lot of anger and a lot of question marks about what happened, but people need to remain calm,” he stressed.
As he said, he contacted the Ministry of Homeland Security, which, however, did not provide him with information about the incident. He also contacted the National Guard, which is “on alert.” “From what we understand, multiple agents were involved in the shooting,” he noted.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, in a press conference he gave, said that he “just saw a video where six masked officers beat one of our citizens and shoot him to death. How many more residents, how many more Americans must die or be seriously injured to end this operation?” he wondered
Tina Smith, a Democratic senator from Minnesota called this event “catastrophic”.
Earlier, Minnesota Gov. Tim Waltz said he had spoken with the White House and called for the withdrawal “now” of the “thousands of brutal, untrained agents” of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
I just spoke with the White House after another horrific shooting by federal agents this morning. Minnesota has had it. This is sickening.
The President must end this operation. Pull the thousands of violent, untrained officers out of Minnesota. Now.
— Governor Tim Walz (@GovTimWalz)
