What happened when Border Patrol agents showed up at Minneapolis' Roosevelt High School

MINNEAPOLIS — A clash between U.S. Border Patrol agents and protesters at Roosevelt High School in south Minneapolis on Jan. 7 has attracted national attention and social media commentary, and led former Gov. Jesse Ventura, a Roosevelt graduate, to condemn the federal agents’ actions in a viral video.

The confrontation occurred less than 3 miles and just hours after the fatal shooting of a Minneapolis woman, Renee Good, by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent. It was one of the incidents that led Minnesota’s third-largest district to cancel all classes and athletics Thursday and Friday, and offer students the option to learn online through Feb. 12.

What happened outside the school has drawn conflicting social media posts, including from the head of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Gregory Bovino, who was outside the school. He wrote on X that “organized protestors” were “assaulting agents” and said there were four arrests around 3:45 p.m. “We saw no students,” he added.

Witnesses had a different account. Two Roosevelt parents, Jennifer Newberg and Erica Mellum, both said they saw agents tackle, pepper spray and handcuff people. The statewide teachers union, Education Minnesota, condemned the “unjust detention” of an educator and said agents pepper spraying students, calling it “unconscionable in a civil society.” Mellum said the educator was trying to explain to agents that they were on school property.

The episode began after the students were dismissed from school for the day.

Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said Border Patrol agents were conducting immigration enforcement operations in the area when a U.S. citizen was “actively trying to impede operations.”

She added that the person “rammed his vehicle into a government vehicle” and began a 5-mile chase, “putting the public and children in danger by running red lights, driving into oncoming traffic, and dangerously driving into a school zone where he finally decided to stop.”

“At no point was a school, students, or staff targeted, and agents would not have been near this location if not for the dangerous actions of this individual,” she added.

Newberg was near the school and said she saw U.S. Border Patrol agents drag someone from a vehicle with smashed windows. Traffic started backing up on 28th Avenue and the law enforcement vehicles were boxed in, she said.

“A crowd grew and started yelling, telling agents that this was a school, which I found was actually kind of effective,” Newberg said.

Some students and school staff were in the crowd and there were several “flash points,” mostly with members of the crowd who approached the agents’ vehicles, she said.

McLaughlin said when officers were removing the man who led the chase from his vehicle, a person who identified himself as a teacher “proceeded to assault a Border Patrol agent” and “rioters threw objects and dispersed paint on the officers and their vehicles.”

She said officers used “targeted crowd control” when the crowd “continued with their hostilities and assaults,” but added that no tear gas was used.

Mellum, who lives near the school, arrived shortly after agents detained the driver.

“It was clear that they had gotten their target and the agents were lingering,” Mellum said. A crowd, including what she estimated to be 30 to 40 students, started to form.

Agents started “taunting” the crowd and “some people took the bait” and approached the federal vehicles, Mellum said. That’s when agents got back out of their vehicles and pepper sprayed some in the crowd.

In a statement, the Minneapolis Federation of Educators said an educator was arrested and released, and that agents had deployed tear gas at the scene.

Minneapolis City Council Member Aurin Chowdhury, whose ward includes Roosevelt, arrived at the scene after receiving a flurry of texts from educators and community members.

“There were moms who were really shaken up and who were hugging,” Chowdhury said in an interview Thursday. “They’re my neighborhood moms. It was quite the scene.”

Federal authorities have no business being on school property and spraying chemical irritants, she added.

“There is no reason for them to go into attack mode in a place where children go to learn,” she said. “The best they can do is leave immediately.”

Minneapolis Public Schools said in a statement that the district is investigating the incident and working to support individuals who were affected. The district declined to answer questions about whether any students were pepper sprayed or injured or about the educator who was arrested. The teachers union also declined to provide any more details.

In a note to families, Principal Christian Alberto Ledesma said “this is a difficult moment for our community and we appreciate all the love and support.”

Richard R. Green Central Park Elementary School, which has a majority Latino student population, also went into a lockout Wednesday due to the ICE shooting.

Roosevelt juniors Addie Flewelling and Esme Wright didn’t witness the incident at their school, but described it as scary and traumatic. They added that they are not interested in e-learning when the option becomes available next week.

“Definitely not for me,” Flewelling said. “I think it’s important we show up to school even if it’s terrifying.”

Wright, too, said it’s essential to be part of school communities, “making sure we’re reaching out and taking care of each other.”

Ventura told reporters that he was proud of his alma mater.

“We don’t need federal troops coming in here without warrants. Good for these people that stood up,” he said. “They are teaching students that we have to be a country of law and a country of the Constitution. Go Teddies.”

Newberg added that she appreciated “the effort that our school took to keep our kids safe.”

“I know that the staff have all of their kids at heart. ... I believe that they’re very safe in school, which is why we need to keep them safe outside of the school.”

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(Susan Du, Tim Harlow, Vince Tuss and Louis Krauss of the Minnesota Star Tribune contributed to this story.)

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