ICE agent points pistol at protesters as they hit, bash government vehicle in tense video

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA: An Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent was seen pointing a pistol at a group of demonstrators in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in a viral video.

The video shows protesters gathering around the agents' car. As people came near the vehicle, one of the officials pulled out a pistol and pointed it directly at them. However, he did not fire it. The protestors were seen hitting and bashing the vehicle as it passed.

Protests have been going on for days in Minneapolis after the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good on January 7. ICE agent Jonathan Ross reportedly shot her during a confrontation.

The Trump administration and federal authorities have defended the ICE agent's action, calling it an act of self-defense and branding Good a “domestic te**orist”. Protesters have denied the narrative and are demanding a fair probe into the incident.

ICE agent shoots Venezuelan national in the leg

Besides, another shooting happened on Wednesday, January 14, when an ICE official shot a Venezuelan national named Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis in the leg.

The officer fired his weapon because Sosa-Celis was reportedly resisting arrest and also "violently assault[ed]" the agent.

The man was taken into custody with two other Venezuelan nationals, Alfredo Alejandro Ajorna and Gabriel Alejandro Hernandez-Ledezma. All of them are said to have entered the US illegally during Joe Biden's term. 

Trump sends a warning to anti-ICE protesters

Amid the protests, tension rose more on Thursday outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building as President Donald Trump threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act, which would result in military troops' deployment in the state.

Currently, around 3,000 federal officers and agents have been placed in Minnesota.

In a Truth Social post, he said, “If the corrupt politicians of Minnesota don't obey the law and stop the professional agitators and insurrectionists from attacking the Patriots of I.C.E., who are only trying to do their job, I will institute the INSURRECTION ACT, which many Presidents have done before me, and quickly put an end to the travesty that is taking place in that once great State.”

Meanwhile, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has asked Trump to “turn the temperature down.”

In an X post, he wrote, “I am making a direct appeal to the President: Let’s turn the temperature down. Stop this campaign of retribution. This is not who we are.”

Addressing the people of Minnesota, Walz added, “I know this is scary. We can — we must — speak out loudly, urgently, but also peacefully. We cannot fan the flames of chaos. That’s what he wants.”