Minneapolis leaders have addressed concerns following Tuesday's chaotic clash between protesters, police, deputies and federal law enforcement in the same neighborhood that was the epicenter of unrest following George Floyd's murder in 2020.

It happened just before noon outside Las Cuatro Milpas restaurant off East Lake Street and Bloomington Avenue. The Department of Homeland Security says it was executing multiple search warrants and didn't make an arrest, calling the operation "groundbreaking."

But crowds quickly gathered at the scene, many believing it was an immigration raid. City leaders soon released statements about the operation's actual purpose.

"This incident was related to a criminal search warrant for drugs and money laundering and was not related to immigration enforcement," said Mayor Jacob Frey on Tuesday.

During a joint press conference about their "Operation Safe Summer" plan, Frey and Police Chief Brian O'Hara said they didn't know about the federal operation until it was already underway. Both are also not happy by the optics of this enforcement effort in the heart of the Latino immigrant community.  

"When you have a standoff between people protesting and federal agents, one of our jobs is yes, to keep people safe," Frey said.

O'Hara says his officers were sent in to help protect the community and de-escalate a tense situation.

"Heavily-armed federal agents, getting into hand-to-hand situations with people who are protesting, is not good," O'Hara said. 

Sheriff Dawanna Witt also addressed the raid at the press conference, saying her office had some knowledge of what was going to happen, but she could only say it was tied to a "transnational criminal organization" — one of eight warrants executed across Minnesota linked to human trafficking.

"The overzealous showmanship of our federal [partners], that's not something that we share," Witt said. "I get it, it doesn't look good, and we will deal with some of the things that even I don't agree with."

All said that while Tuesday's operation was necessary, they agreed it was poorly planned, and masked federal agents and armored vehicles were not the proper response. O'Hara went further in his criticism.

"I had concerns and I have relayed them to our federal partners," O'Hara said. "I think the matter in which some of it was handled was tone-deaf for the situation. I think there's no question everybody learned yesterday just how heightened and how tense the issue of immigration enforcement in this city is."

Frey, O'Hara and Witt also slammed local leaders for reacting without the facts, emphasizing the raid wasn't tied to immigration despite the presence of agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.  

Minneapolis City Councilman Jeremiah Ellison called local and federal agents involved "faux military clowns," while mayoral candidate and state Sen. Omar Fateh called it "blatant facism."   

"When things are tense and heightened and spiraling out of control, you need leaders to step back and gather the facts and deal with the situation that was unfolding," O'Hara said.  

"The Hennepin County Sheriff's Office does not participate in immigration enforcement. Elected officials have a responsibility to their constituents to put out accurate information. They don't have to agree with it, but do not mislead the public, causing more harm to our communities," Witt said. "Putting out the rhetoric that that was a raid, it was not a raid. Putting out the rhetoric that that was an immigration enforcement — the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office does not participate in immigration enforcement."

Community members say there's no excuse for ICE agents showing a display of force in an immigrant community.

"There is absolutely no need for armored tanks, for large assault rifles to be coming into our communities and terrorizing people," said Erika Zurwoski with the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee. "And when we see actions like these large, military operations that occur in the heart of the immigrant community, of course that's going to terrify people, of course that's going to keep people from coming out of their homes."

Minneapolis City Councilman Jason Chavez released a statement on social media Wednesday in his defense.

"No matter what type of raid this was, it's clear that communication fell short," Chavez said. "To see MPD right there alongside those federal agents felt like the ultimate betrayal."

Also on Wednesday, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty released a statement about Tuesday's raid, sharply criticizing Homeland Security's explanation and accusing the department of deploying ICE "to terrorize people."

"I want to be very clear that ICE showing up in the heart of one of our vibrant immigrant communities alongside local law enforcement causes grievous and irreparable harm," Moriarty said. "Across the country, ICE is conducting masked abductions of people who are at university, entering courthouses, and working and contributing to this country."

Moriarty also urged local law enforcement to be "clear and transparent" about their involvement with federal agencies or risk discouraging "people from reporting crimes, from testifying as witnesses, and from seeking help."

WCCO went to the U.S. District Courthouse in Minneapolis and found federal search warrants connected to the raid, but they were sealed.

• U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
• Raid
• Minneapolis Police
• Minneapolis