Fact Check: Is it true that Minneapolis was officially nominated for 2026 Nobel Peace Prize?

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA: Amid the ongoing protest against the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration crackdown across the country, following the death of two people in Minnesota, a claim has been circulating on social media that Minneapolis was officially nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for 2026. Let us fact-check the claim.

Claim: Minneapolis nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

Amid the federal immigration operation by the administration of President Donald Trump for more than a month, people on social media began claiming that the city of Minneapolis has been nominated for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize. 

A Reddit post states, “The people of Minneapolis have been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. The first time a city's population has ever been nominated."

The claim has been circulating on other social media platforms, including Threads, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

Fact Check: The claim is true

The claim is true, as the editors of The Nation, a progressive magazine, formally nominated the city of Minneapolis for the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize.

According to the editors, their intent to nominate the city was announced in an article, in which they said they were working to make the submission ahead of the January 31 deadline for nominations.

Nominations for the prize are valid only if the nominator meets the eligibility criteria. Valid nominators include government officials, university professors, and past Nobel Peace Prize winners, among others.

Editor Jon Wiener, who submitted the nomination on behalf of the magazine, is a professor emeritus of history at the University of California, Irvine, which makes him eligible to submit a Nobel Peace Prize nomination under the category of 'University professors, professors emeriti and associate professors of history, social sciences, law, philosophy, theology, and religion.'

Intensified protests in Minneapolis

The development comes after the death of Alex Pretti set off protests and renewed anger in a city already unsettled by a similar deadly shooting of Renee Nicole Good weeks earlier. 

The incident occurred amid heightened tensions over federal immigration enforcement operations under the Trump administration. 

Hundreds of protesters gathered in Minneapolis following the shooting, demanding accountability and calling for the withdrawal of federal agents from the city.

Demonstrators cited both the killing and broader concerns over federal enforcement tactics.