Fact Check: Is the viral video of ICE agents chasing man in Viking costume on the street real?
ICE Chases Protestor In Minnesota 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/AG6vOraAGa
— The Resonance (@Partisan_12) January 18, 2026
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA: A clip circulating widely on social media that appears to show agents from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) chasing a costumed Viking man through the street has captured the attention of many online. The video has even sparked speculations of its authenticity. Let us examine the clip and fact-check the video’s authenticity.
Claim: ICE agents chase a costumed Viking man
The hilarious video of a costumed Viking man riding a wheeled bathtub and being chased by around 15 ICE agents, seeming to mock the Trump administration’s immigration operation, is going viral on social media.
The clip has been shared with the claim that it happened in Minnesota amid the ongoing protest following the killing of Renee Nicole Good by a federal agent.
The video was even shared by Neera Tanden, a former adviser to ex-President Joe Biden and an occasional guest on CNN.
Tanden shared the video, originally posted on Saturday, with a caption: “50 years from now, people will look at this video and recognise our government had gone mad.”
Fact Check: The video is AI-generated
Neera Tanden believes that ICE agents chased a protester dressed in Viking gear and sitting in a bath tub with skateboard wheels down the street, and that the Air Force was called in in response. Certain segments of the population just are not equipped to handle obvious AI slop. https://t.co/iFRO0Uj2U9 pic.twitter.com/HpUmJcB2w4
— Jerry Dunleavy IV 🇺🇸 (@JerryDunleavy) January 18, 2026
However, what seems to be a real video turns out to be AI-generated, following which Tanden became an Internet laughing stock and prompted her to delete the video.
The X note on the original video points out there are a few clear signs it was AI — beyond the Viking in a bathtub part — like the time being '4:06 PHM' and the fake news station being called POVART, which isn’t real.
Intensifying protests in Minneapolis
A major ICE crackdown has been going on in Minnesota for the past few weeks following the fatal shooting of Good by an ICE agent identified as Jonathan Ross.
Despite the major row over the killing, the DHS did not take a step back but surged more resources to arrest criminal illegal aliens from Minnesota.
The DHS said ICE arrested several gang members, including some convicted of violent crimes, in Minnesota.
But the process has riled up the residents of Minnesota as the agents are marching on the streets, storming restaurants, daycare centers, and school areas.
