Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar (D) urged those demonstrating against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Minnesota to not let anger win out in response to reports of protesters throwing projectiles at police.
“Do not let your anger get the best of you,” Omar said in an interview with NewsNation’s Mills Hayes on Friday.
“We are justified in the rage that we feel, as Minnesotans with the paramilitary force that is roaming our streets and the brutality in which our neighbors are being treated and the inhumane ways we are being described, but giving into that rage gives them license to terrorize more,” Omar said.
Omar affirmed Minnesotans’ rights to record and document federal officials during the Trump administration’s massive immigration crackdown in the state. However, the congresswoman said there is “no justification for people to give them the PR that the administration is looking for.”
Omar’s perspective echoes comments from Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey last Saturday when the mayor warned demonstrators not to “take the bait” from President Trump.
“He wants us to take the bait,” Frey said. “He wants those agitators to get a hold of this crowd in a way that it makes them cause harm to others and or damage to property.”
Tensions in the state over the fatal shooting of Renee Good have resulted in clashes between protesters and local and federal law enforcement agencies.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara reported that a protester threw a chunk of ice at a city police officer during a protest last week and others graffitied a hotel. Additionally, protesters threw fireworks at law enforcement at a protest last weekend, with federal officers deploying tear gas in response.
The Minnesota Department of Public Safety (DPS) held a joint press conference with state law enforcement agencies Friday afternoon ahead of a weekend of planned protests in Minneapolis.
DPS Commissioner Bob Jacobson urged protesters to demonstrate peacefully and said the Minnesota National Guard is on standby in the event that local police need backup.
“I’m counting on Minnesotans,” Jacobson said. “I’m counting on those who are going to be in attendance at those locations to keep the peace, to show others that Minnesota is a safe place where people can demonstrate and share their opinions without having any violence.”
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) issued a “warning order” to prepare the state’s guard last week. The adjutant general of the Minnesota National Guard, Maj. Gen. Shawn Manke, said Friday that the troops can be brought “to a higher state of readiness” if deemed necessary.