The demonstrations on Saturday followed a night of protests, arrests, and the targeting of hotels in downtown Minneapolis.
MINNEAPOLIS—Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Minneapolis on Jan. 10 to protest the shooting of Renée Nicole Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer, according to a Minneapolis Police Department estimate provided to The Epoch Times.
A protest organizer guessed that as many as 40,000 people attended the demonstration, thronging a large park and public thoroughfares. The Epoch Times could not confirm that estimate.
Demonstrators gathered to condemn ICE operations in Minneapolis after the fatal shooting of Good in the city on Jan. 7.
Protesters began to arrive for various rallies and marches across the city around 2 p.m. ET Saturday.
The nerve center was snow-covered Powderhorn Park, not far from George Perry Floyd Square—the site of the May 2020 incident that provoked national demonstrations and riots.
Police helicopters could be seen flying overhead as protesters arrived.
On the ground, however, the police presence was sparse. Instead, participants in, or organizers of, the demonstration could be seen directing traffic through the streets. Some verbal fights with frustrated motorists ensued.
At a makeshift memorial for Good near the site of the Portland Avenue shooting, a sign was set up calling for “national strikes to boot out the admin.” Some mourners lit candles. Others, who were dressed in Aztec-like headdresses, appeared to perform a ritual involving dancing, drums, and the burning of material in a handheld vessel.
The demonstrations on Jan. 10 came after smaller, more chaotic protests on the snowy evening of Jan. 9, when demonstrators in downtown Minneapolis targeted multiple hotels they believed to be hosting immigration agents.
Law enforcement ultimately detained 30 demonstrators over the course of the night and early morning. They were cited and released.
On Jan. 10, the temperature was colder, at around 20 degrees Fahrenheit, but no additional snow fell as the afternoon wore on.
Other signs of tension between immigration law enforcement and locals were evident on the ground.
One gas station near the protests displayed a sign warning ICE agents not to enter without a judicial warrant.
Anti-ICE graffiti was visible in and around the demonstrations, including at Floyd Square.
Protesters marching down Chicago Avenue bumped into another group marching near 34th Street.
Along Chicago Avenue, two parents who were participating in the demonstration could be heard telling their young boy, “This is a protest.”
A chant by protesters compared the Minneapolis Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) to the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) and ICE: “MPD, KKK, ICE—they’re all the same.”
One protester held a sign that read, “We Won’t Stop Until Heads Drop Like in 1793,” referencing the Reign of Terror during the French Revolution.
Near the interstate, an activist who had positioned himself far from the action could be seen holding a sign reading, “Love the Alien As Yourself.”
By 10:45 p.m. ET on Jan. 10, the streets of Minneapolis were quieter.
A smaller group continued protesting at the sidewalk memorial to Good. Local police directed traffic on Portland Avenue.
By Joseph Lord and Nathan Worcester
