Here's the latest
• Troops on standby: The Pentagon has ordered about 1,500 active-duty soldiers to prepare for possible deployment to Minnesota, according to a source, while state officials have mobilized the National Guard. It does not mean a deployment is imminent or guaranteed, the source said.
• More agents to be deployed: The Pentagon’s move follows reports of an expected surge in Customs and Border Protection agents and other federal personnel, including a small number of FBI agents.
• Protests flare: Demonstrations are continuing amid frigid weather, with occasional clashes breaking out. Right-wing influencer Jake Lang was chased away while leading a small rally. And a group of protesters disrupted services at a church where they say an ICE official serves as a pastor, according to the Associated Press.
Some Minnesota hotels close or stop accepting reservations amid ongoing protests
At least three hotels in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area have closed or are not accepting reservations, with no rooms available for booking before early February at the DoubleTree and Intercontinental hotels in downtown St. Paul and the Hilton Canopy hotel in Minneapolis.
“We have made the decision to temporarily suspend operations at two of our St. Paul hotels - Intercontinental St. Paul Riverfront and DoubleTree St. Paul Downtown - in response to elevated safety and security concerns,” Minnesota property management group Mille Lacs Corporate Ventures, which owns the hotels, said in a Facebook statement Sunday.
The statement did not specify what the safety and security concerns were.
The group said the temporary suspension of bookings began at noon Sunday and applied to all guests. It did not mention when the suspension would be lifted.
Border Patrol chief Gregory Bovino told Fox News that Border Patrol and ICE agents staying at the St. Paul hotels were told Saturday they needed to be out of the hotels by noon Sunday.
“The messaging given to our agents was very inconsistent, no reason given, just that you needed to be out,” Bovino said.
The DoubleTree and Intercontinental hotels had empty lobbies Sunday with signs out front stating “temporarily closed for business until further notice,” the Associated Press reported.
CNN has reached out to the hotels and the Department of Homeland Security for comment.
The Canopy by Hilton Minneapolis, which has been the site of protests by anti-ICE demonstrators in Minneapolis’ Mill district, was open Sunday but not taking reservations, AP reported. CNN has reached out to the Canopy Hotel for further information.
Bruce Springsteen slams ICE, dedicates song to Renee Good during performance in New Jersey
Rock legend Bruce Springsteen, in a surprise performance at a concert in New Jersey on Saturday, condemned the Trump administration’s deployment of federal immigration agents across American cities.
“We are living through incredibly critical times. The United States, the ideals and the values for which it stood for the past 250 years, is being tested as it has never been in modern times,” Springsteen said, according to videos from the concert in Red Bank.
Later, paraphrasing Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, the longtime Trump critic said: “ICE should get the f**k out of Minneapolis.”
CNN has reached out to the White House and the Department of Homeland Security for comment.
The White House, in a statement to the New York Times, criticized Springsteen’s “bad political opinions.”
During the concert, Springsteen went on to explain the origin of his 1978 song “The Promised Land” was “an ode to American possibility … the beautiful but flawed country that we are, and to the country that we could be,” according to videos.
The star then dedicated the song to Renee Good, the 37-year-old who was fatally shot by an ICE agent in Minneapolis.
What we know about the immigration crackdown and protests in Minnesota
Protesters rallying against the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown have continued to gather on the streets in Minnesota despite frigid temperatures.
Here are the latest developments:
Troops on standby: The Pentagon has ordered about 1,500 active-duty soldiers to prepare for deployment to Minnesota, according to a Trump administration source. It does not mean a deployment is imminent or guaranteed, the source said. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has also mobilized the state’s National Guard to assist with public safety – but they haven’t yet been deployed. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey characterized the Pentagon’s order as “ridiculous” and vowed: “We will not be intimidated.” He told CNN: “I never thought in a million years that we would be invaded by our own federal government.”
DOJ probe: The Justice Department is investigating Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey over possible obstruction of federal law enforcement. A source told CNN that grand jury subpoenas had been issued for both men as part of the investigation. But neither office had received any notice as of Friday evening, sources told CNN. Frey said Sunday he has not received a subpoena or any official notice about the investigation and is not aware of specific allegations.
Weekend protests: The DOJ is investigating a group of demonstrators in Minnesota who disrupted services at a church where protesters say an ICE official serves as a pastor, according to the Associated Press. Right-wing influencer Jake Lang was chased away by counterdemonstrators while leading a small rally. Demonstrations are expected to continue, with new restrictions on federal agents imposed by a judge’s preliminary injunction.
ICE under scrutiny: The Trump administration’s Operation Metro Surge involves federal agents dispatched to the Twin Cities to target undocumented Somali immigrants, but local officials and residents say Minnesotans are being stopped and asked for their documents with little clear reason. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem defended the use of chemical irritants and measures in Minnesota that were curtailed by a judge’s order, calling the order “ridiculous.”
CNN’s Zoe Sottile, Taylor Galgano, Julia Vargas Jones, Sarah Moon, Jake Tapper, Haley Britzky, Natasha Bertrand, Kaitlan Collins, Lauren Mascarenhas and Hannah Rabinowitz contributed reporting.
Far-right activist Jake Lang chased away while leading small rally in Minneapolis
Right-wing influencer Jake Lang was chased away by counterdemonstrators while leading a small rally in Minneapolis amid tensions over the Trump administration’s sweeping Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in the Twin Cities.
Before his anti-Somali, anti-Islam demonstration Saturday, called the “March Against Minnesota Fraud,” Lang said on social media he intended to “burn a Quran” on the steps of City Hall. CNN affiliate KARE reported he did not burn a Quran.
Lang appeared to have bruises and scrapes on his head as he left the scene of the altercation Saturday, according to The Associated Press. An image reposted by Lang appears to show a cut at the back of his head, and in another post, Lang said he had been stabbed.
No official reports of Lang being injured or assaulted were filed with police, the Minneapolis Police Department said in a statement to CNN, though the department said it’s aware of social media posts about the incident. CNN reached out to Lang for further comment.
Video shows online provocateur Jake Lang appearing injured during a confrontation at a Minneapolis protest. Lang reportedly organized an anti-Islam demonstration and was met by counter-protesters. He was previously charged in connection with the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol before receiving clemency.
DOJ vows to press charges after activists disrupt church where ICE official is a pastor
The Department of Justice said Sunday it is investigating a group of protesters in Minnesota who disrupted services at a church where a local official with Immigration and Customs Enforcement apparently serves as a pastor.
A livestreamed video posted on the Facebook page of Black Lives Matter Minnesota, one of the protest’s organizers, shows a group of people interrupting services at the Cities Church in St. Paul by chanting “ICE out” and “Justice for Renee Good.” The 37-year-old mother of three was fatally shot by an ICE agent in Minneapolis earlier this month amid a surge in federal immigration enforcement activities.
The protesters allege that one of the church’s pastors — David Easterwood — also leads the local ICE field office overseeing the operations that have involved violent tactics and illegal arrests.
Department of Justice Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said her agency is investigating federal civil rights violations “by these people desecrating a house of worship and interfering with Christian worshippers.”
The website of St. Paul-based Cities Church lists Easterwood as a pastor, and his personal information appears to match that of the person identified in court filings as the acting director of the ICE St. Paul field office. Easterwood appeared alongside DHS Secretary Kristi Noem at a Minneapolis press conference last October.
Video of latest ICE shooting contradicts officials’ account
Newly obtained videos of the moments right after the incident in which an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent shot a Venezuelan man in the leg in Minneapolis appear to contradict at least some of ICE’s claims about events leading up to the shooting.
The Department of Homeland Security said the agent targeted, chased and shot Julio Sosa-Celis in self-defense as the agent was being “ambushed” by three people. But accounts in the videos contradict the identity of the person DHS says federal agents chased, and the details of the shooting itself.
One of the videos reviewed by CNN shows a call made by Sosa-Celis’ partner frantically describing to family members what she says happened. The call appears to contradict ICE’s claims in DHS’s Thursday statement. The family’s version of events, heard in a livestreamed Facebook video when family members frantically called 911 to ask for help, also differs from the statement.
In a statement to CNN on Saturday, DHS stood by its initial statement.
