Fact Check: Did anti-ICE protesters set up illegal checkpoint to ID agents?

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA: The anti-ICE protests across Minnesota have ramped up in the last few weeks, following the two shooting incidents in the state where Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti were shot by federal agents last month.

Recently, a rumor circulated online claiming that anti-ICE protesters set up an illegal checkpoint to ID Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. But is there any truth to this? Let us find out below.

Claim: Anti-ICE protesters set up illegal checkpoint to ID agents

Several social media videos show agitators blocking streets with furniture and stopping cars in Minneapolis — and cross-referencing plates against a database of ICE vehicles before letting drivers through.

Viral clips showed a barricade built from recliners, gates, and other odds and ends blocking a city street in the area from 32nd to 34th and Cedar Avenue.

A clip showed that when Minneapolis police officers approached and urged the group to move the obstruction 'for fire trucks and ambulances', the protesters didn’t budge — and insisted they could shift it if an emergency vehicle came along. The officers eventually left without enforcing the move.

An X user posted, "Minneapolis police politely ask anti-ICE protesters blocking a street with recliners and gates to clear the way for emergency vehicles. 'We have fire trucks and ambulances that might need to get through here.' Protesters argue back. Police just walk away." 

Similarly, another X account posted, "Submitted from south Minneapolis - Agitators have set up roadblocks and are checking people's ID who try to pass through the area from 32nd to 34th and Cedar Ave. This is absurd. Contact @MayorFrey and @MplsPDChief and tell them to shut this down."

Fact check: True, journalist Jorge Ventura confirms

The claims made in the online posts are true, as Daily Caller journalist Jorge Ventura reported being assaulted while filming one such setup, and videos showed vehicles being stopped and plates checked.

During an interview with Laura Ingraham on Fox News, Ventura said that anti-ICE agitators set up an illegal checkpoint in Minneapolis, stopped cars, demanded ID, and ran license plates to 'identify' ICE agents. He added that this went on for more than 24 hours with no police presence.

Moreover, multiple news outlets described these as illegal checkpoints or blockades on public streets, like the ones in south Minneapolis near areas like 32nd to 34th and Cedar Ave.

As per several reports, protesters reportedly used items like furniture, recycling bins, or other barricades to block roads, ran plates through community databases or apps tracking suspected ICE vehicles, and allowed or denied passage based on that.