Minnesota ICE live: Trump calls Pretti ‘agitator’ and ‘insurrectionist’ in latest post defending ICE officer

Hours after a freshly dispatched Tom Homan suggested that the Department of Homeland Security could reduce the number of agents and officers deployed to Minneapolis in the wake of the fatal shooting of nurse Alex Pretti, President Donald Trump appeared to contradict his border czar.

Andrew Feinberg has the full story:

New York Governor Kathy Hochul has announced she will introduce a new bill to stop ICE agents from deputizing local police to help with immigration efforts.

“When power is abused, New York will act. Today, I’m announcing new actions to keep local police focused on local crime and protect New Yorkers from ICE overreach,” Hochul posted on X Friday.

“Local cops should be focused on local crime. Today I'm announcing the Local Cops, Local Crimes Act to stop ICE from deputizing police to do a federal agency’s job.”

Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass has accused the Trump administration of “escalating” tensions following the arrest of journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort.

Former CNN anchor Lemon was arrested in LA Thursday night, ahead of the Grammy Awards on Sunday.

“Don Lemon, an internationally known and renowned journalist and friend, was arrested last night by federal agents and is now in custody in Los Angeles – simply for doing his job and following a protest into a church in Minneapolis while reporting the story,” Bass wrote on X.

“Emmy-winning news producer and Minnesota-based journalist Georgia Fort – another widely respected Black journalist – was also arrested by federal agents in Minnesota for reporting on the same protest.

“The arrest of journalists for going into a church in the course of reporting is shocking enough, but what’s even more alarming is that it's no secret that Don Lemon is a Trump critic.”

Bass added: “Let me be very clear – President Trump is not de-escalating anything after the fatal shootings of U.S. citizens by federal agents. In fact, the arrest of Don Lemon and Georgia Fort demonstrates quite the opposite – he is escalating.

“First, Trump’s agents shoot and kill people exercising their First Amendment rights, and now we’re arresting journalists going into a church. It’s an egregious assault on constitutionally protected First Amendment rights.

“I have reached out to the U.S. Attorney to check on Don Lemon’s status.”

Reporters Without Borders has called for the immediate release of former CNN anchor Don Lemon and independent journalist and Georgia Fort in Minneapolis.

"RSF has learned that award-winning journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort have been arrested for simply doing their jobs as journalists — another attack on every American’s press freedom, said Clayton Weimers, executive director of RSF North America.

“The Trump administration cannot send federal agents after reporters simply because they don't like the stories being reported — especially after already failing multiple times to obtain a warrant from the courts for Lemon's arrest.

“Lemon and Fort should be released immediately. They have RSF’s full support."

The Freedom of the Press Foundation has slammed the “outrageous attack” on press freedom following the arrests of former CNN anchor Don Lemon and independent journalist Georgia Fort.

“The government’s arrests of journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort are naked attacks on freedom of the press,” FPF Chief of Advocacy Seth Stern said,

“These arrests, under bogus legal theories for obviously constitutionally protected reporting, are clear warning shots aimed at other journalists. The unmistakable message is that journalists must tread cautiously because the government is looking for any way to target them.

“Fort’s arrest is meant to instill the same fear in local independent journalists as big names like Lemon.”

Stern continued: “The answer to this outrageous attack is not fear or self-censorship. It’s an even stronger commitment to journalism, the truth, and the First Amendment.

“If the Trump administration thinks it can bully journalists into submission, it is wrong.”

Three other people were arrested alongside former CNN anchor Don Lemon, on Thursday.

Trahern Jeen Crews, Jamael Lydell Lundy and Georgia Fort, were also detained “in connection with the coordinated attack on Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota,” U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said.

Fort, an independent journalist, was also arrested Thursday evening, she said in a Facebook live video.

“I don’t feel like I have my First Amendment right as a member of the press,” Fort said in her video. “Because now federal agents are at my door arresting me for filming the church protest a few weeks ago.”

It is unclear what the charges are against Fort or the others.

Crews is a former Democratic political candidate, while Lundy is a criminal justice reform advocate.

A woman was taken to hospital after being involved in a three-car pileup with federal agents in Minneapolis Thursday morning.

The crash took place around 6:45 a.m. at Penn Avenue North and West Broadway Avenue, according to Minneapolis Police Department.

The federal agents were in pursuit of someone in a Chevrolet van when the crash occurred at the intersection.

A Toyota RAV4 was also involved in the crash, with the driver also taken to hospital.

The condition of the woman was not immediately known.

The Independent has contacted MPD for further information on the incident.

The White House has mocked former CNN anchor Don Lemon over his arrest on federal charges related to his presence at an anti-ICE protest at a Minnesota church.

“When life gives you lemons,” the official White House X account wrote Friday morning, posting a black and white photo of Lemon.

The journalist was arrested Thursday evening, alongside three others “in connection with the coordinated attack on Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota,” U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said.

Gregory Bovino has said he is proud of ICE, despite Trump removing him from his “commander at large” role in Minneapolis.

Bovino was replaced by Border Czar Tom Homan, after the “commander at large” doubled down on defending federal agents after the shooting of Alex Pretti.

Now, Bovino is singing ICE’s praises once again.

“I’m very proud of what you, the Mean Green Machine, are doing in Minneapolis right now, just like you’ve done it across the United States over these tough past nine months,” Bovino said at a press conference. “I want you to know you are the modern day equivalent of turn and burn.”

Independent readers are increasingly turning their backs on dreams of US travel, citing political turmoil, safety concerns, and the Trump administration’s actions as major deterrents.

A poll conducted by our travel correspondent Simon Calder revealed that 80 per cent of respondents would avoid travelling to America, while only 11 per cent said they would still go. Of those who had already booked trips, around one in seven were considering cancelling.

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