Remember when Big Left told us we weren't supposed to have kings?
This past Monday, in Saint Paul's Payne-Phalen neighborhood on the city's East Side, ICE went after an illegal immigrant from Honduras who had apparently already been deported and re-entered the country. He fled into a house.
And that's when things got interesting.
According to Minnesota Public Radio - which seemed to have given up most pretense of ideological balance long before the Trump administration cut off the federal funding spigot - the local activist mob sprang into action:
Around 8:40 a.m. Tuesday, the Immigrant Defense Network got word of a possible immigration enforcement taking place at a home in St. Paul. In less than 10 minutes, a legal observer was at the scene, with a goal of verifying if U.S. Department of Homeland Security or ICE agents were there. Once confirmed, it set off swift, widespread outreach for rapid response of more constitutional observers.
The Immigrant Defense Network is a coalition of more than 100 community organizations statewide, with a goal of protecting the constitutional rights and safety of immigrant communities in Minnesota. Edwin Torres Desantiago, Immigrant Defense Network manager, has been involved since right after President Donald Trump’s 2024 election.
The usual insta-crowd turned up at the usual scene, and took to social media with the usual stories about being brutalized by ICE.
As ICE raided a St. Paul, MN neighborhood, local immigrant rights groups and community members quickly mobilized to shield their neighbors from kidnappings — and were met with tear gas and pepper spray. pic.twitter.com/guVPbXxTqW
— NowThis Impact (@nowthisimpact) November 26, 2025
Seems pretty drastic:
Insane scene in St. Paul, MN with ICE Nazis spraying chemicals in people’s faces at point blank range pic.twitter.com/xQiZsidHiZ
— Wu Tang is for the Children (@WUTangKids) November 19, 2025
The Saint Paul Police Department turned up to help control the crowd. That got the all-female, all-Democrat, partly DSA City Council exercised, since Saint Paul has an ordinance that forbids the SPPD from cooperating with the Feds on immigration enforcement:
Each member of the St. Paul City Council has issued a statement calling for an investigation into St. Paul Police behavior and tactics during an ICE arrest on the city’s East Side on Tuesday. The latest on who got arrested and why from @MaraGottfried: https://t.co/Ze3fNK6FD9 pic.twitter.com/04hHvFx33R
— Frederick Melo, Reporter/Axolotl (@FrederickMelo) November 27, 2025
Now, if you followed local mainstream media, at least through the ledes of their stories, you'd think that the protesters were a bunch of well-meaning geriatric ex-hippies; add in social media, and you'd think they got hit with an unprovoked blitzkrieg by the Law.
And you might have left it at that.
But outgoing Saint Paul Mayor Melvin Carter, apparently irony-proof, tipped the city's hand, referring to the crowd's response as...
...well... (with emphasis added by me):
At a news conference Tuesday evening, Carter said that while protesters were mostly peaceful, a few individuals threw rocks and bricks, which prompted some of the force from St. Paul police. However, he said, he had lingering questions about the use of chemical weapons earlier in the day before bricks and rocks were thrown.
"Mostly peaceful".
Which is weasel words for "at least partly violent".
But if you dig past the CIty Council's progressive homer boosterism, you find that someone tried - mostly peacefully, I'm sure - to ram an ICE vehicle:
Tear gas, pepper spray used at chaotic St. Paul ICE protest
— michelle selaty (@michelle_selaty) November 26, 2025
Homeland Security officials were working a detail and were attempting to arrest a man from Hoduras in the country illegally when a U.S. citizen used their vehicle to ram an ICE law enforcement vehicle. That driver fled… pic.twitter.com/e1GB47Lv0m
A mob surrounded the agents and started throwing rocks:
🚨 ST. PAUL CHAOS: Anti-ICE mob of 200 surrounds house, attacks feds during arrest. Agents hit back with pepper spray & rubber bullets. Multiple detained.
— Reverend Jordan Wells (@WellsJorda89710) November 26, 2025
Mayor Carter: “We’ll defend agents if attacked.” 2nd clash in a week. #ICE #StPaul #BorderEnforcement pic.twitter.com/AzOjSv2AYP
And the "protest" was pretty clearly turning into a riot; according to the local CBS affiliate:
At first, there was only verbal pushback, but then a WCCO crew filmed several people as they surrounded a white van at the intersection, and the driver of the vehicle deployed a chemical spray into the crowd. WCCO's Conor Wight said tear gas canisters were also deployed as St. Paul police vehicles tried to exit the scene.
People from the crowd also threw items at officers and law enforcement vehicles, Wight said, and law enforcement responded by deploying pepper balls. St. Paul police also deployed chemical irritants, he said.
Two DFL state legislators - Athena Hollings (Saint Paul) and Alicia "Liish" Kozlowski (Duluth) were there - either being mostly-peaceful and getting tear-gassed by the cops (according to them) or interfering with law enforcment (according to, well...):
🚨 BREAKING: Rep. Athena Hollins (D) was spotted interfering with a federal ICE raid in St. Paul, Minnesota today as the crowd yelled:
— Dustin Grage (@GrageDustin) November 26, 2025
“F*ck you pigs” and “SHAME!”
Hollins is proudly endorsed by the Twin Cities Democrat Socialists of America.
h/t @LeftistsofMN pic.twitter.com/nq0JrdNAHs
I mean, that's conduct mostly becoming an elected official, right?
Always watch for the weasel words.
