Minneapolis, MN
UCare temporarily closes Minneapolis office after
MINNEAPOLIS — A Minnesota-based health insurance provider said it is temporarily closing its office doors after receiving a “concerning” phone call.
A UCare spokesperson said employees are working from home this week after the insurance provider received the phone call late on Friday. Out of an abundance of caution, UCare decided to close its offices for a week.
Company officials say they’ve reported it to police, but are not aware of any threat to their offices or team.
UCare has served more than 600,000 members throughout Minnesota and parts of western Wisconsin for 40 years.
UCare is the second to temporarily close its offices. Medica, which is based in Minnetonka, did the same last week out of caution, though a spokesperson there also said they haven’t received any threats.
All of this is coming as the search continues for the gunman who killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson last week. The FBI is offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the unidentified shooter’s arrest.
UnitedHealthcare installed a fence around its Minnetonka headquarters in the days after Thompson’s death.
Security companies tell WCCO they’ve been busy since Thompson’s killing. Glen Kucera, president of Allied Universal’s Enhanced Protection Services Division, said “many companies” have reached out in the wake of the shooting. The same is true for Rozin Security.
Minneapolis, MN
Bystanders throw snowballs at ICE agents dragging woman on the ground in Minneapolis – video
US federal agents were filmed dragging a woman and pinning her down in the snow for several minutes in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Monday. Bystanders pleaded with the agents to let the woman go and threw snowballs at them. The Minneapolis police chief, Brian O’Hara, criticised the ICE tactics after the incident
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, MN
Minneapolis PD chief worries about ‘instability’ created by ICE operation
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.”
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