Fact Check: Is the video showing an anti-ICE protester with an injured hand real?
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA: A viral video seemingly showing a protester in Minneapolis with a visibly injured hand during an anti-ICE protest has been circulating on social media, with claims that ICE was responsible for the injury and prompting questions about the extent of the injury. Let us analyse the authenticity of the claims and fact-check the viral video.
Claim: Protester severely injured during anti-ICE protest
Amid the massive protests against the Trump administration’s immigration polices after the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, a video from one such protest showing a protester who appeared to have an injured hand circulated online.
In the footage, a person runs away holding their left hand and takes off a gas mask, before collapsing on the ground and writhing, seemingly in pain. Several protesters yell for medics, and multiple people quickly approach the person, likely to offer medical care.
Netizens shared the video with the claim that a less-than-lethal round, a type of ammunition designed to incapacitate or stun subjects, fired by federal agents, struck the protester's hand, causing serious injury, while others claimed that the person had picked up a flash-bang grenade that then detonated, causing their injuries.
Some even claimed that the individual's fingers had been "blown off" or partially detached from their hand.
Fact Check: The video is real, but extent of the injury is not clear
The footage taken of the protester is real, but we were unable to independently verify whether the person in the video was injured.
Moreover, there is no evidence that the person was hurt or that the injury was caused by ICE.
A frame-by-frame review of the footage does not clearly show the extent of the person’s injury.
Having said that, the video does not show any signs of being AI-generated.
Massive protest in Minneapolis following fatal shooting of Alex Pretti
The fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by a Border Patrol agent set off protests and renewed anger in a city already unsettled by a similar deadly shooting 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.
