Anti-ICE Minneapolis agitators set up checkpoint to track federal agents

Anti–Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agitators in Minneapolis have set up a makeshift street checkpoint to track federal agents, stopping vehicles and questioning drivers to determine whether they are ICE officers, video shows.

Agitators could be seen standing in the roadway near makeshift barricades and traffic cones while they stopped or flagged down passing vehicles.

In one clip, an agitator dressed in a black coat and black mask was seen approaching a stopped vehicle and directly asking the driver if they were "ICE," before allowing the car to proceed.

"It looks like in our system that your plates come up as an ICE plate," the agitator said to the driver.

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Agitators at a barricade on Cedar Avenue near 34th Street as a checkpoint to vet ICE and federal immigration enforcement vehicles entering the Powderhorn neighborhood in south Minneapolis (Richard Tsong-Taatari/The Minnesota Star Tribune via Getty Images)

"That doesn’t seem like it’s the case," he added. "I just want to come through and ask what’s up and see how you’re doing."

The agitator also asked the driver for his name. 

"He’s clearly Somalian," someone is also heard saying.

Journalist Jorge Ventura captured the video from the scene. Ventura asked the agitator what system they were using, pressing him on how the group were identifying vehicles and noting that the driver was not a federal agent.

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An anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agitator approaches a vehicle and questions the driver during a makeshift checkpoint on a residential street in Minneapolis, video shows. (X / @VenturaReport)

The agitator responded that ICE agents were renting a large number of vehicles and said the car would be taken "off the list."

The agitator acknowledged that the encounter was being posted on social media, but said many nearby residents supported the effort. 

"A lot of the neighbors support what we’re doing," the agitator said. "So happy to be here."

Ventura said the agitators were stopping vehicles on Cedar Avenue, which runs through the Somali-dense Cedar-Riverside neighborhood, known as "Little Mogadishu." He said they were stopping vehicles, checking drivers’ identification and running license plates through what they described as a "database," adding that he did not observe any Minneapolis police officers at the scene.

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Agitators build a barricade on Cedar Avenue near 34th Street as a checkpoint to vet ICE and federal immigration enforcement vehicles entering the Powderhorn neighborhood in south Minneapolis. (Richard Tsong-Taatari/The Minnesota Star Tribune via Getty Images)

The activity appeared to take place entirely on a public street, with agitators effectively setting up what resembled an informal checkpoint aimed at identifying or tracking federal immigration agents operating in the city.

The Minneapolis Police Department told Fox News Digital that the roadblocks were removed. It is unclear if any arrests were made. 

"The Public Works team — with assistance from the Minneapolis Police Department — cleared debris and homemade roadblocks yesterday," the department said. "Given the high-traffic and high-speed block of roadways on Cedar Ave., the City cleared the streets to ensure public safety for the neighborhoods and emergency vehicles."

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The video surfaced amid heightened tensions surrounding immigration enforcement in Minnesota, as anti-ICE activists have staged repeated protests and confrontations tied to federal operations in recent weeks.

It comes after the fatal shootings of Renée Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis during separate federal enforcement actions, incidents that intensified unrest and scrutiny surrounding ICE activity in the city.