A patch referencing St. Paul on an ICE agent’s uniform was authorized, but that wasn’t the case for an ATF agent’s patch that people noticed during a federal law enforcement operation in Minneapolis this week, the agencies said Friday.

A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer wore a circular patch on the arm of his uniform reading “St. Paul Field Office Special Response Team.”

A patch reading “St. Paul Field Office Special Response Team” is seen on the uniform of a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer while federal investigators conduct a criminal operation in Minneapolis at Lake Street and Bloomington Avenue on Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (Courtesy of Brandon Schorsch)

Each of the 25 ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Special Response Teams across the U.S. has a unique patch, an ICE spokesperson said Friday.

The St. Paul patch is intended to depict an “ancient Scandinavian warrior and a Vegvisir, or ‘wayfinder,’ and ties into the regional identifiers for Minnesota including a nod to the Scandinavian heritage of many of the early European settlers in Minnesota,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

The imagery raised questions for some people. Brandon Schorsch, who took video of the patch and posted a photo of it on social media, wrote: “I am deeply concerned about this patch.”

The vegvisir has been co-opted by some far right extremist groups, according to a senior research analyst with the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Intelligence Project, though more information has to be known about a person’s intentions to determine the significance of the image in a particular use.

The ICE patch “is in no way an affiliation to an extremist group,” the agency spokesperson said.

ICE patch drew attention

On Tuesday, a large federal law enforcement presence drew protests in South Minneapolis from people concerned it was an immigration raid. Officials from the FBI, ATF and the Department of Homeland Security gathered with tactical vehicles at the corner of Lake Street and Bloomington Avenue late in the morning.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said it “was related to a criminal search warrant for drugs and money laundering and was not related to immigration enforcement.” It was one of eight search warrants “for a transnational criminal organization,” according to Hennepin County Sheriff Dawanna Witt.

“Federal investigators conducted a groundbreaking criminal operation today — Minnesota’s first under the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) umbrella — marking a new chapter in how we confront complex, multidimensional threats,” Jamie Holt, ICE Homeland Security Investigations special agent in charge for St. Paul, said in a statement.

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Schorsch, of Minneapolis, heard from his wife about armored vehicles and the large amount of law enforcement gathered Tuesday. “That’s going to make people feel frightened,” he said.

He went to the area and was recording video when he noticed the ICE agent wearing the patch. He had an audible, “Ohhh,” reaction on the video when he saw it.

“In my job, I do look out for things like this,” said Schorsch, who works as the combatting hate organizer for Jewish Community Action, though he was not there in his work capacity on Tuesday.

The Southern Poverty Law Center says there are Neo-Völkisch groups that “rely on a romanticized Viking aesthetic and mythos — imagery they use to perpetuate their belief in white racial superiority. This adaptable and covert messaging, anchored by a nationwide network of ‘kindreds,’ has allowed these groups to grow in recent years.”

More people are on the lookout for symbols that may have nefarious meanings, Schorsch said.

An ICE agent was seen last week in Martha’s Vineyard, Mass., with a tattoo of a Valknot on his arm. The symbol is used in Norse mythology. “Some white supremacists, particularly racist Odinists, have appropriated the Valknot to use as a racist symbol,” according to the Anti-Defamation League.

‘The Others’ patch not authorized

An ATF agent, center, wears a small patch next to his badge saying “The Others,” while federal investigators conduct a criminal operation in Minneapolis at Lake Street and Bloomington Avenue on Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (Courtesy of Brandon Schorsch)

Schorsch also saw two ATF agents on Tuesday with a small patch on their uniforms that said, “The Others,” and he photographed one of them.

The agent seen in the photo is an ATF special agent assigned to a sheriff’s office taskforce, said Ashlee Sherrill, a spokeswoman in the ATF’s St. Paul Field Division, in response to a reporter’s questions.

“The patch in question is not an authorized part of the ATF uniform and has been addressed internally,” Sherrill said, adding that she couldn’t provide further information on personnel matters.

It’s not clear what the patch was meant to convey.

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The University of Minnesota Board of Regents is expected to vote Thursday to authorize the sale of the Les Bolstad golf course, with University officials citing financial and infrastructure needs.

The approximately 141-acre public facility in Falcon Heights will remain open during the 2025 season – with scheduled activities to proceed for the remainder of the year – and close as usual in the fall, but will not reopen in the spring.

“We recognize this course holds generations of memories for our community. This decision reflects careful consideration and was made in light of today’s challenging financial environment. As a public university, we have a responsibility to ensure that our land and resources are aligned with our core mission: supporting students, advancing research, and serving the state of Minnesota,” U officials said in a statement.

The golf course, which opened in 1928, requires significant work and no longer meets the University’s threshold for investments that advance teaching, research and service, according to the University.

“The course requires significant infrastructure upgrades to remain viable. The irrigation system is more than 50 years old and past its useful life,” according to a Board docket. “The original clubhouse has been closed for over a decade due to safety concerns, and the operations of the course are currently housed in a temporary facility. These investments are not mission-critical and would divert resources from core academic and research priorities.”

The University will obtain two independent appraisals to help guide setting a market value for the property. A final sale price will depend on market conditions, land-use potential and buyer negotiations.

The John W. Mooty Golf Facility used by the University’s men’s and women’s golf teams, as well as the Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium used by the women’s soccer team and the KUOM radio tower will not be included in the sale.

Falcon Heights city officials said in a Friday statement that they look forward to working with the University, potential buyers and community members on the future of the property.

If the site were to become available for private development, it might provide an opportunity for the city, which is fully developed, to create a new neighborhood, according to the city’s 2024 Larpenteur Avenue Corridor Study.

“The Falcon Heights community has taken proactive steps to plan for the potential reuse of the property with the adoption of our Larpenteur/Snelling Corridor Study, which was approved in 2024 and included looking at potential future zoning for the site,” Friday’s statement said.

The sale of Hillcrest Golf Course on the Greater East Side for $10 million in 2019 to the St. Paul Port Authority has opened up 112 acres for residential and commercial development.

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By SEUNG MIN KIM, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senior U.S. administration officials will meet with a Chinese delegation on Monday in London for the next round of trade negotiations between Washington and Beijing, President Donald Trump said Friday.

The meeting comes after a phone call between Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Thursday, which the U.S. president described as a “very positive” conversation as the two countries attempt to break an impasse over tariffs and global supplies of rare earth minerals.

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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will represent the U.S. side in the trade talks.

“The meeting should go very well,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Friday afternoon.

Speaking to reporters on Air Force One Friday, Trump said Xi had agreed to restart exports of rare earth minerals and magnets to the U.S. which China had slowed, threatening a range of U.S. manufacturers that relied on the critical materials. The was no immediate confirmation from China.

The Thursday conversation between Trump and Xi, who lead the world’s two biggest economies, lasted about an hour and a half, according to the U.S. president. The Chinese foreign ministry has said Trump initiated the call.

The ministry said Xi asked Trump to “remove the negative measures” that the U.S. has taken against China. It also said that Trump said “the U.S. loves to have Chinese students coming to study in America,” although his administration has vowed to revoke some of their visas.

By JEFF MARTIN, Associated Press

A former police chief and convicted killer known as the “Devil in the Ozarks” was captured by law enforcement 1.5 miles northwest of the prison he escaped from following a massive manhunt in the mountains of northern Arkansas, authorities announced on Friday.

Grant Hardin’s identity was confirmed through finger printing, the Izard County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post.

Hardin, a former police chief in the small town of Gateway near the Arkansas-Missouri border, was serving lengthy sentences for murder and rape. He was the subject of the TV documentary “Devil in the Ozarks.”

A flier looking for Grant Hardin hangs on the glass of a business, Thursday, May 29, 2025, in downtown Calico Rockt, Ark. (AP Photo/Nicholas Ingram)

Hardin had been held at the Calico Rock prison since 2017 after pleading guilty to first-degree murder in a fatal shooting. In order to escape, he had impersonated a corrections officer “in dress and manner,” according to a court document. A prison officer in one of the guard towers opened a secure gate, allowing him to walk out of the facility.

Rand Champion, a spokesperson for the state prison system, said that someone should have checked Hardin’s identity before he was allowed to leave, describing the lack of verification as a “lapse” that’s being investigated.

Police set up checkpoints looking for escaped prisoner Grant Hardin, Thursday, May 29, 2025, near downtown Calico Rock, Ark. (AP Photo/Nicholas Ingram)

Searchers had been using bloodhounds, officers on horseback, drones and helicopters in their hunt for Hardin since he escaped on May 25.

An elite and highly trained U.S. Border Patrol team had recently joined the search, federal authorities announced this week.

The Border Patrol Tactical Team known as BORTAC provided “advanced search capabilities and operational support” in the hunt for Hardin, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said. Its members are experienced in navigating complex terrain, the agency said. The Ozark Mountains region is known for its rocky and rugged landscape, thick forests and an extensive cave network.

Police set up checkpoints looking for escaped prisoner Grant Hardin, Thursday, May 29, 2025, near downtown Calico Rock, Ark. (AP Photo/Nicholas Ingram)