Leaders call out 'irresponsible' rumors of ICE raid in Minneapolis
Minneapolis leaders on ICE raid disinfo
Minneapolis and Hennepin County leaders called out disinformation surrounding rumors of an ICE raid in Minneapolis that sparked a protest on Tuesday.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Hennepin County Sheriff Dawanna Witt called out political leaders over social media rumors about an ICE raid in Minneapolis that led to a protest on Tuesday.
ICE raid rumors
What we know:
On Tuesday, a large crowd gathered at Lake Street and Bloomington Avenue as a law enforcement task force, which included ICE agents, executed a search warrant at a Mexican restaurant.
The crowd was concerned that ICE was performing an immigration enforcement action as rumors spread online.
Was it a raid?:
The Hennepin County Sheriff's Office and Minneapolis Police Department later explained the police response was the execution of multiple search warrants related to a drug and money laundering case. Officials said there was no immigration enforcement action taking place and no one was arrested as part of the search warrant.
Feds swarm Minneapolis business causing rumors
Nearly 12 hours after federal agents swarmed a business in south Minneapolis there are still few official answers about what exactly happened, with some on social media saying it stemmed from an immigration raid, and the mayor of Minneapolis contradicting those claims. FOX 9’s Mike Manzoni is in Minneapolis with the latest.
The backstory:
Several politicians joined activists at the Tuesday afternoon protest. State Senator and Minneapolis mayoral candidate Omar Fateh called out the police operation and response to the crowd of protesters, deriding it as "blatant fascism on display" in online posts.
"No matter the reason, one thing is clear: this display of force is designed to strike fear at the very heart of MPLS. We stand in solidarity against it," wrote Fateh. "We are now seeing officers put hands on the crowd that only wants to keep our neighborhoods and residents safe. This is wholly unacceptable and not in line with our public safety goals. Our communities will continue to push back on the blatant fascism on display here."
On Wednesday, Fateh added: "There is no circumstance in which MPD should cooperate with ICE. In the eyes of many, Minneapolis has one of the strongest Separation Ordinances in the country. But yesterday, we saw its weaknesses: a close reading of our Separation Ordinance still allows collaboration with ICE."
Leaders call out rumors
What they're saying:
Speaking at a news conference on the launch of the city's Operation Safe Summer, Mayor Jacob Frey, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara, and Hennepin County Sheriff Dawanna Witt admitted communication about the incident could have been better.
Chief O'Hara said "some of it was handled was tone-deaf for the situation" while Mayor Frey acknowledged there was some fear within the community amid President Trump's aggressive immigration push.
"Trump has created an environment of understandable fear, created an atmosphere where distrust isn't just a norm. In fact, sometimes it's appropriate," said Frey.
Big picture view:
Sheriff Witt, however, had strong words about some of the rumors that spread on information, blaming political leaders for helping escalate a tense situation.
"The information that came out on social media from elected officials was highly irresponsible," said Sheriff Witt. "There were ways for them to have accurate information and instead of getting accurate information, being impulsive and putting out things that could potentially incite riots is senseless."
Local perspective:
Sheriff Witt pointed out the sheriff's office has many partnerships with federal authorities, but the department doesn't assist with immigration enforcement.
"Yesterday's incident was a criminal investigation," she explained. "So putting out the rhetoric that that was a raid, it was not a raid. Putting out the rhetoric that it was an immigration enforcement, the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office does not participate in immigration enforcement. Elected officials have a responsibility to the constituents to put out accurate information. They don't have to agree with it, but do not mislead the public, causing more harm to our communities."
Sheriff Witt also acknowledged the fear in the community and admitted the optics of the investigation weren't good. But, she said, investigations were doing important work.
"What is important for people to know, yesterday's incident was one of eight search warrants for a transnational criminal organization," she explained. "It is not okay for people to obstruct law enforcement when we are trying to obtain evidence. It's not okay to try to prevent them from leaving. It is not okay. It did not look good – I get that – and we will deal with some of the things that happened that even I don't agree with, which is why I have an appointment already set up with some of our federal leaders. That could have been done better."
What's next:
In a newsletter, City Council Member Robin Wonsley said, even before Tuesday's incident, she had heard concerns from residents about how the police department is managing the city's separation ordinance, which prevents the city from assisting with immigration enforcement.
She says the police department will appear on June 23 to give a presentation on how it is abiding by the ordinance.
The Source: This story uses information posted on social media, FOX 9 reporting from Lake and Bloomington, and comments made Wednesday by local leaders.