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Minneapolis teachers’ union chief says bosses and officials join anti-ICE Signal chats

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Minneapolis teachers’ union chief says bosses and officials join anti-ICE Signal chats


Minneapolis Federation of Educators President Marcia Howard said that teachers along with their “bosses” and elected officials are present and active in anti-ICE group chats.

Howard, an outspoken leftist political activist since the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests, shared in an interview with Al Jazeera that she and other teachers-turned activists are undeterred in participating in anti-ICE protests and watches because leadership stands behind them.

“The notion that people that are actively engaged in ICE watch, in being vigilant, in protecting our neighbors in signal chat groups, running plates on their [ICE] cars, doing patrols that somehow we’re ashamed of that activity, that somehow you can call our bosses or show our faces, and then we would be shunned by our community,” Howard said.

“Our bosses are in the signal chats with us. Our elected officials are in the chats with us.”

“Our nana’s, the hockey coaches, the soccer moms. Everybody that’s anybody is doing the work of protecting our neighbors, because that’s how we show up in Minneapolis and St Paul,” Howard continued.

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Following the death of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer six summers ago, Howard, an English teacher of 25 years, became a leading voice in the summer protests, which turned into riots. She played a prominent role in the creation of George Floyd Square, which marked where Floyd was killed.

Howard criticized the federal immigration agents which have overtaken Minneapolis over the past month, accusing the agents of being agitators.

“We’re armed with whistles and our phones making sure that students are safe going to class,” Howard said. “And then they escalated the brutality. Every single day they taunted us. From their rental trucks, they would do things like — the agents that they brought to the Twin Cities — these hapless, untrained, overly-militarized agents, were in hotel rooms where they did not detain the workers in those hotel rooms because they wanted to be served by immigrants.”

The growing involvement of members of teacher unions and the unions themselves in political movement has garnered greater scrutiny in the past few months. Last month, it was reported that the National Education Association, one of the largest teacher’s unions, funneled millions of dollars into left-leaning organizations.



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Minneapolis, MN

MN weather: Bright with highs in the 50s Monday

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MN weather: Bright with highs in the 50s Monday


Expect a pleasant Monday with light breezes, filtered sunshine, and highs in the 50s. Temperatures cool into the 40s this week with chances for rain and snow. FOX 9 meteorologist Cody Matz has the full forecast.

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Minneapolis, MN

Murder charges filed in 2020 shooting that took life of young mother

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Murder charges filed in 2020 shooting that took life of young mother


A man who admitted to firing the shots that killed an 18-year-old mother in south Minneapolis back in May 2020 is charged with murder. 

The criminal complaint names Malcom Chan Johnson, 33, of Minneapolis, as a suspect in the fatal shooting after he told police he didn’t know there was a woman in the car he was shooting at.

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The shooting claimed the life of Arionna Buckanaga, who was set to graduate high school a month after she was shot. 

READ MORE: Vigil held for woman shot in vehicle in south Minneapolis

Man charged for 2020 shooting death of Arionna Buckanaga

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Fatal shooting:

Court documents show the shooting happened near the intersection of 39th Street East and Cedar Avenue South in Minneapolis at about 11:25 p.m. on May 4, 2020.

Officers found Arionna in the driver’s seat of a crashed Ford Mustang, with a gunshot wound to her head. She died at the hospital days later.

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Her boyfriend, who was a passenger in the Mustang, told police he did not know who shot at the vehicle. 

Investigation:

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The criminal complaint states officers found an abandoned Chevy Suburban with bullet holes in the hood about a mile-and-a-half away from the scene of the shooting. The bullet holes appeared to be consistent with the driver of the vehicle shooting over the hood and accidentally striking the vehicle. 

Investigators also found 32 shell casings at the scene of the shooting. About two weeks later, police found two Glock 9mm handguns in a compost bin about eight blocks away from the shooting. Law enforcement officials determined the two guns fired the 32 shots.

DNA swabs taken from the Suburban were found to match Malcom Chan Johnson and another man, Namiri Tanner. Tests on the firearms also revealed a mixture of DNA that also matched Tanner.

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Court documents say authorities then spoke to a witness on March 20, 2025, who told them Johnson confessed to the shooting and that Johnson had a “gang feud” with Arionna’s boyfriend.

Confession:

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Police then spoke to Namiri Tanner, who is in a federal prison in Kentucky. 

The complaint states Tanner confessed to shooting at the Mustang and from the passenger’s seat and said that Johnson was shooting from the driver’s seat, firing over the hood. Tanner added that the two men abandoned the Suburban and ditched the guns in a trash can. 

Authorities then interviewed Johnson on March 4, 2026. He admitted driving the Suburban and firing one of the guns.

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Johnson said he thought Arionna’s boyfriend was in the Mustang, but didn’t know she was as well, and said he did not mean to kill her, according to the complaint.

What we don’t know:

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It’s unclear if Tanner will face charges in the case. Tanner is being held in federal prison on a drug case. However, it appears he is due to be released next month.

The Source: This story uses information from a criminal complaint filed in Hennepin County Court and previous FOX 9 reporting. 

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Railyard fire in Minneapolis: Six semi-tractors burned

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Railyard fire in Minneapolis: Six semi-tractors burned


The semi-tractors that were on fire in Minneapolis.  (FOX 9)

Early Saturday, the Minneapolis Fire Department responded to several semi-tractors on fire in a railyard.

Crews respond to fires and explosions

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What we know:

Firefighters arrived at the railyard at 29th Avenue Northeast and Central Avenue Northeast around 12:15 a.m. They found six semi-tractors fully engulfed in flames. 

Authorities say the railroad company confirmed that there were no hazardous materials in the area, and Xcel Energy was contacted to shut down a nearby electrical line exposed to the fire. 

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The fire came under control in about 20 minutes, fire officials said. 

The cause of the fire is under investigation. There were no injuries reported in the incident.

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What we don’t know:

The exact cause of the fire remains unknown as investigations continue.

The Source: Information from the Minneapolis Fire Department.

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