An anti-ICE protest outside a Minneapolis hotel turned violent Sunday night, with some smashing windows and throwing bottles as federal officers fought to keep them from storming inside.
Heavily armed federal agents eventually arrived at Home2Suites Hotel, which protesters targeted believing that Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal law enforcement officers were staying there — a tactic that’s played out at other metro-area hotels in recent weeks as part of so-called “noise demonstrations.”
The protesters descended upon the hotel at 2808 University Ave. S.E. near the University of Minnesota a day after Border Patrol agents shot and killed Alex Pretti, 37, in Minneapolis.
Photos and video taken by several journalists captured the chaos. Dozens of protesters kicked and banged on garbage cans that had been put in the middle of University Avenue along with a mattress and other large items that blocked traffic. Others banged on pots and pans and drums, blew whistles and honked car horns. One man shot fireworks into the air, hitting windows of the six-story hotel.
A group of protesters eventually made their way to the vestibule, where a Minneapolis police officer and other men in street clothes struggled to shut the doors. One agitator who tried to push his way inside later spat toward one of the men.
A man, center left, next to a Minneapolis police officer grabs a protester in the doorway during a noise demonstration protest in response to federal immigration enforcement operations in the city Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
Other protesters hurled snow, bottles and other items into the hotel. One man pulled a small hotel sign off the building and raised it above his head, while another banged a pot on it to make more noise.
“You’re protecting murderers,” a protester yelled.
By 10 p.m., tear gas and flash bangs had been deployed and the protesters dispersed. It was unclear Monday if any arrests were made or if federal agents had been staying at the hotel.
Footage by independent photojournalist Becca Brannon showed several suspected ICE vehicles had broken windows, while one had “F–K ICE” and “MURDER” spray-painted on it.
Just before 11 p.m., the Minnesota Department of Public Safety said in a statement on X that State Patrol deputies and Department of Natural Resources officers were called to the hotel to help Minneapolis police with “damage to hotel property.”
“While they collaboratively worked to encircle the group for arrests because the demonstration was not peaceful, federal agents arrived without communication and deployed chemical irritants, clearing the group. The State Patrol and DNR are no longer on scene,” the statement read.
On Monday, the Department of Homeland Security said in a post on X that “anti-ICE anarchist agitators targeted a hotel where they believed DHS law enforcement was staying. This is part of a coordinated campaign of violence against law enforcement. These violent anarchists will not deter ICE from carrying out the American people’s mandate to arrest and deport the worst of the worst.”
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