Anti-ICE protests planned nationwide. What we know Saturday
A week after federal agents fatally shot Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, tensions remain high on the ground as a civil rights investigation has been opened into the killing, while communities across the nation are planning protests against President Donald Trump‘s surge of immigration enforcement actions.
On. Jan 30, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the Department of Justice investigation, which came after Homeland Security reversed course and handed the reins of a limited “use of force” investigation to the FBI, and after calls from across the political aisle for an independent investigation. Initially, the Homeland Security Investigations unit was set to conduct its own probe.
“This is what I would describe as a standard investigation by the FBI when there’s circumstances like what we saw last Saturday,” Blanche said.
Students at schools around the country staged walk-outs on Jan. 30 in protest of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. In Springfield, Missouri, more than 100 students gathered outside Kickapoo High School with anti-ICE signs, some proudly displaying a Mexican flag. Students in Knoxville, Tennessee, walked out of classes or skipped school to join a protest downtown. Later that night, a vigil for Pretti was held in Corpus Christi, Texas. In the Cincinnati area, local businesses closed as part of nationwide protests.
“Our country is built from immigrants from the ground up,” Emma Noe, a 16-year-old high school sophomore, told the Knoxville News Sentinel, part of the USA TODAY Network. “Our ancestors would be disappointed.”
More protests are expected on Jan. 31, including in Florida, Vermont, Kentucky and Massachusetts, according to the USA TODAY Network.
Don Lemon, others arrested after protest at Minnesota church
Former CNN anchor Don Lemon was arrested in connection with covering a protest at a church in Minnesota. The arrests stem from a federal investigation launched after protesters interrupted a church service at Cities Church in St. Paul where an Immigration and Customs Enforcement official serves as a pastor.
A federal indictment unsealed on Jan. 30 shows Lemon, another journalist and several activists present at a protest at the church were charged with multiple counts related to interrupting religious freedoms at a place of worship.
Lemon was released on his own recognizance with the promise to return to court, LA Mayor Karen Bass said.
“I’ve spent my entire career covering the news. I will not stop now,” Lemon said outside the courthouse in LA. “There is no more important time than right now, this very moment for a free and independent media that shines a light on the truth and holds those in power accountable.”
Walz calls for independent investigation into Pretti shooting
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz called for an impartial investigation into Pretti’s death a week ago, and said that “Trump’s right hand cannot be responsible for investigating his left hand.”
In the aftermath of Pretti’s death, state investigators sued the Department of Homeland Security, saying federal authorities had blocked them from the scene of the incident. A judge soon ordered DHS not to alter or destroy evidence.
Walz has held talks in recent days with President Trump and Tom Homan, the White House border czar, and signaled hope that state investigators would be able to conduct their own independent investigation into the fatal shooting.
Protesters, law enforcement clash in LA
On the night of Jan. 30, a protest in Los Angeles grew heated as a clash broke out between protesters and law enforcement officers, who deployed chemical irritants on the crowd. The clash unfolded at the loading dock of a federal court building, where about 200 people had gathered despite warnings from police to leave.
Protesters pulled trash from a dumpster to build a makeshift barricade against a door, attempting to keep federal agents inside. Officers then exited through another door and began kicking their way through the barricade.
Anti-ICE slogans appeared to have been graffitied onto parts of the loading dock. Tensions spiked when DHS officers emerged from the loading dock. Demonstrators surged forward, walking the agents backward. In the back-and-forth that followed, officers repeatedly pushed protesters away. Just before 4:30 p.m., the crowd swelled even larger at the dock entrance. As officers again pushed forward, a chemical irritant was deployed.
-Paris Barraza
Contributing: Christopher Cann, Michael Loria and Sarah D. Wire, USA TODAY; Reuters
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