Minnesota has not been a stranger to ICE and its increased presence since Trump took office, empowering them to ramp up their efforts. From roofers being arrested mid-job, neighborhood invasions across the state, Minnesota has almost been a ground zero for liberals facing off against their presence. This was felt more keenly than ever when a militarized ICE presence in Minneapolis was met with angry protestors protecting their city.
In the footage, you can see an army of protestors showing up to counter the massive ICE presence downtown with full tactical gear, military vehicles and much more. It’s unclear why ICE was there, outside of their usual attempts to track down innocent immigrants and illegally hold and deport them from their families and homes. What made this situation even crazier than usual was the presence of military vehicles equipped with an LRAD.
This weapon is a sound cannon that is meant to disperse crowds, but it can lead to nausea and permanent hearing loss. Seeing this deployed on American soil against our own citizens is unfathomable, and many folks on the Reddit post by Miserable-Lizard on the PublicFreakout page had a lot to say about this.
“ICE but they have ATF, FBI, and other gear on”
“Not surprising… instructing the FBI to go against working immigrants instead of the rich and corrupt. The US has become a corrupt oligarchy, just like Russia.”
“Should’ve taken their flag patches off. Gestapo punks”
“Feds are now using LRADs against Americans. It’s a weapon designed to deprive you of your 1A right to assemble and will permanently damage your hearing.”
“Wait are you serious?? ICE is deploying noise cannons now? That is… Quite an escalation. Not surprised whatsoever, but…scary”
If you’re in Minnesota, keep fighting the good fight, but be wary of ICE and its capabilities as time goes on and its mandate becomes more aggressive.
