Feds vow more agents into Minneapolis, days after killing of Renee Good, as protests sprout citywide

Demonstrators have gathered again Monday at the Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis amid reports of hundreds more federal agents being dispatched to Minnesota days after ICE officer Jonathan Ross fatally shot Renee Good. That additional presence is on top of the 2,400 federal agents already in Minnesota.

The Whipple Building is the hub for agents during Operation Metro Surge, and a temporary home for some detainees. 

Crews on Monday appear to be adding barbed wire atop cement barricades already wrapped around the building — measures no doubt added in response to a consistent group of protestors committed to gathering daily outside the complex near Fort Snelling.

The crowd outside has varied each day, but their message has remained the same: get ICE out of Minnesota.

“As long as they’re here, I’m going to be here,” said protester Becca Siegel-Ginley. “We want Trump to take his ICE agents back, impeach Kristi Noem and let him know Minnesota is not sitting down. We are standing up. We are taking a stand, and we will be here. As long as they are here, we will be here.”

While it’s been peaceful at the Whipple so far early Monday afternoon, there have been contentious moments and clashes over the weekend. U.S. Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino is pointing blame to local leadership, while advocates remain steady in their efforts. 

“Perhaps if Mayor Frey cared more for American citizens than he does illegal aliens and criminal illegal aliens that prey on American citizens, then maybe he wouldn’t have a problem here in Minneapolis,” Bovino told CBS News’ Nicole Sganga on Sunday. “And then maybe, had he decided to work with federal law enforcement to take those criminal aliens out of his community, then we wouldn’t be here.”

While Bovino claims federal officers are actively using de-escalation tactics with protesters, Sganga reports the opposite, saying she has witnessed officers actively agitating demonstrators.

Homeland Security officials say they’ve made 2,000 arrests in Minnesota since Operation Metro Surge began last month.

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