Anti-ICE rally chases off US far-right influencer Jake Lang in Minneapolis 

Hundreds of people protesting against the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, have chased off a small group of people led by far-right influencer Jake Lang, who had announced a march on a predominantly immigrant neighbourhood.

Tensions soared in the city, already on edge after a mother of three, Renee Nicole Good, was killed by a federal agent, followed by the shooting of a Venezuelan immigrant a week later.

Waving signs and screaming chants calling for ICE and Border Patrol agents to leave Minneapolis, the protesters gathered downtown near City Hall on Saturday.

Lang, one of more than 1,500 people pardoned by President Donald Trump after their criminal convictions related to the January 6 insurrection at the US Capitol, organised what he called an “anti-fraud” rally.

About 10 people showed up for Lang’s anti-Islam, anti-Somali and pro-ICE demonstration, while hundreds of counter-protesters converged at the site, yelling over his attempts to speak and chasing away his supporters within the hour to a nearby hotel. A few scuffles broke out, but the Reuters news agency did not observe any serious violence.

Later, Lang posted on X that he was stabbed during a scuffle but that his protective vest blocked the attempt. Reuters could not verify his account.

Minneapolis police said in an email to Reuters they were aware of Lang’s social media post, but no official report had been filed with the department. Police said they had received no reports of injuries related to the protests from victims.

Protests have been taking place daily since the Department of Homeland Security ramped up immigration enforcement in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul by bringing in more than 2,000 federal officers.

Demonstrators have railed against masked immigration officers pulling people from homes and cars and other aggressive tactics. The operation in the deeply liberal Twin Cities has claimed at least one life – that of US citizen Good.

Trump administration officials have been accused of blatant lies contradicted by multiple videos as to what transpired in Good’s death and have labelled her a “domestic terrorist” without any evidence.

Trump has repeatedly invoked a scandal around the theft of federal funds intended for social welfare programmes in Minnesota as a rationale for sending thousands of immigration enforcement agents into Minnesota. The president and administration officials have repeatedly singled out the state’s community of Somali immigrants in racist terms. Trump has referred to the community as “garbage”.

In Minneapolis, snowballs and water balloons were also thrown on Saturday before an armoured van and heavily equipped city police arrived.

The state guard said in a statement that it had been “mobilized” by Democratic Governor Tim Walz to support the Minnesota State Patrol “to assist in providing traffic support to protect life, preserve property, and support the rights of all Minnesotans to assemble peacefully”.

Major Andrea Tsuchiya, a spokesperson for the guard, said it was “staged and ready” but yet to be deployed.

On Friday, a federal judge ruled that immigration officers could not detain or use tear gas on peaceful protesters not obstructing authorities, including while observing officers during the Minnesota crackdown.

Trump has warned he might invoke the Insurrection Act to deploy US troops to Minnesota if state officials do not work to calm the protests there against federal immigration authorities, who he said are “only trying to do their job”.

The tense situation has set Minnesota’s Democratic leadership into a fierce battle with Trump.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has said he will “not be intimidated” amid reports the Trump administration has launched an investigation over comments he made while trying to curb violent immigration raids in the city.

Multiple media reports said on Friday the US Justice Department had opened a criminal investigation into Frey, as well as Governor Walz, who was also the Democratic candidate for vice president in 2024, for impeding federal law enforcement through public statements.