Minneapolis, MN
Minneapolis City Council to weigh resolution asking for no charges against U of M protestors
The Minneapolis City Council could vote next month on a resolution that, if adopted, would urge authorities to not seek charges against pro-Palestinian student protestors arrested on the University of Minnesota campus.
A group of students on Oct. 21 marched to Coffman Memorial Union and occupied Morrill Hall to protest the University’s investments and ties to Israel and demand the liberation of Gaza.
Despite these protesters being seen allowing people in Morrill Hall to evacuate safely, 11 of them were arrested, and students were given an interim suspension from the University, barring them from attending class; those who lived in student housing were evicted.
The resolution put forward by Council Member Robin Wonsley, Ward 2, expresses “solidarity with nonviolent campus activism opposing war and supporting Palestinian human rights” and urges no charges be filed against those arrested on Oct. 21.
The resolution is set to be brought to the Committee of the Whole on Dec. 3.
In a letter to University President Rebecca Cunningham, Wonsley wrote, “As someone who has worked with justice-impacted individuals, I know the devastating impact that criminal charges can have on someone’s life, especially for young people. We should not be giving college students criminal charges for engaging in nonviolent protest.”
While all the protesters were eventually released from custody, Robyn Harbison, 23, was charged with one count of 4th-degree assault for allegedly spitting onto an officer’s uniform while being arrested.
“Arrestees were questioned by the Federal Bureau of Investigations, transferred to the Hennepin County Jail, and held on probable cause, reportedly, without charge for over 36 hours,” the proposed resolution states. “Arrestees have reported that they were insulted and mistreated by the police and that transgender women were held in men’s cells.”
Police have not responded to these allegations at this time. In February this year, the Minneapolis City Council passed a similar resolution calling for a permanent ceasefire in the Middle East despite Mayor Jacob Frey initially vetoing it.
The UMN Students for a Democratic Society have announced on Instagram their plan to “pack the City Council meeting” on Dec. 3rd at 12:45 p.m. when the resolution will be discussed.
City records show the resolution was meant to be discussed on Tuesday. Still, it was postponed because the meeting instead dedicated a public forum to the City’s action in the John Sawchak hate crime shooting that occurred in late October and to discuss the future of George Floyd Square.
Minneapolis, MN
‘She’s pregnant’: Trump’s immigration agent drags woman through Minneapolis street, kneels on her; video goes viral
United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents violently dragged a woman in Minneapolis this week, and pinned her face down on snow-filled streets as onlookers screamed. According to ICE officials, they were deployed for ‘targeted vehicle stop,’ when protesters swarmed the agents. Soon after several onlookers including journalists saw an ICE agent holding a woman on the ground. The video of the incident has now gone viral on social media with people criticising ICE for their violent methods. The Minneapolis police chief criticised federal immigration enforcement tactics after the chaotic scene.
What exactly happened?
According to the video, ICE agents handcuffed a pregnant woman, and violently pinned her to the ground by forcing her onto her stomach and pressed their body weight into her even as the crowd shouted that she was pregnant. According to ICE, the incident happened during ‘Operation Metro Surge.’
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said that ICE did not appear to take steps to de-escalate the situation as bystanders shouted at agents and threw snowballs in an attempt to save the woman. “We have been training our officers for the last five years very, very intensely on de-escalation, but unfortunately that is … often not what we are seeing from other agencies in the city,” O’Hara said. O’Hara also accused ICE of stoking fear, including the practice of hiding their identities with masks and unmarked clothes.
This comes as US President Donald Trump’s administration has increased immigration enforcement in the Twin Cities of Minnesota – Minneapolis and Saint Paul. Trump called Somali immigrants there “garbage” and said they should be deported after dozens of people, including Somali immigrants, were charged in a fraud scheme.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara expressed concerns about the “instability” created by the ongoing ICE operations in Minneapolis during a sit-down interview on FOX 9 All Day on Wednesday.
O’Hara on ICE operation
What they’re saying:
Speaking with FOX 9’s Amy Hockert, Chief O’Hara said the issue isn’t necessarily what the agents are doing in enforcing federal law but rather the tactics they are using to go about their business.
“I think it’s been very destabilizing for a lot of people in the community,” explained Chief O’Hara. “A significant portion of the city are immigrants and that sort of instability is something that criminals and bad actors can take advantage of and that’s been the concern.”
Identifying ICE
Big picture view:
O’Hara says he is also concerned about masked federal authorities. Often, ICE agents will be masked, in unmarked squads, and not wearing visible identification of their law enforcement status. Chief O’Hara said a bad actor posing as law enforcement is a legitimate concern, pointing to the murders of Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband at the hands of a man posing as a police officer.
“Two or three months ago, the FBI put out a law enforcement bulletin saying that there were people committing violent crimes in cities around the country that were posing as ICE,” O’Hara said. “And it urged ICE to better identify themselves during law enforcement operations. And so that’s not just something I came up with – that’s something the FBI has been recommending.”
O’Hara says the department has also responded to calls from people who’ve encountered federal law enforcement and were unsure if they were legitimate.
“We have had calls from people who aren’t sure,” said O’Hara. “We’ve responded, and it turns out it was federal law enforcement. In other cases, it turns out it wasn’t. It was someone with a gun. We’ve had it happen both ways.”
The armed man and an officer who fired shots at him in Minneapolis last week have been identified by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA).
The BCA identified the suspect as 26-year-old Hanun Mohamed Awow and the Minneapolis police officer who fired his gun as Ariel Luna Sanchez.
Sanchez has three years of law enforcement experience and has been placed on critical incident leave, the BCA said.
Minneapolis police officer shoots at armed man, BCA investigating: MPD
According to the BCA, officers responded around 12:30 a.m. on Thursday to a 911 call from a resident on the 3000 block of Fifth Avenue South, who said a neighbor had pointed a gun at their mom.
The caller told Minneapolis police that the neighbor, later identified as Awow, had a handgun and went back into his apartment. Officers went to Awow’s apartment and he opened the door and stepped out with a gun in his hand.
Police shouted for him to drop the gun and that’s when Sanchez fired shots, the BCA says.
Awow, who was not injured, was taken into custody by police. Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said last week that he believed Awow was intoxicated at the time of the incident.
BCA crime scene personnel recovered a handgun from the scene and body cameras worn by officers.
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