What began as a noise demonstration outside of a Home2Suites by Hilton hotel near the University of Minnesota became heated on Sunday night as protesters were met with dozens of federal agents and tear gas.
Around 8 p.m., after about an hour of peaceful protesting, some began vandalizing the building with messages like “ICE OUT” as others hurled objects at the windows. As people began entering the hotel vestibule, two employees and a single Minneapolis police officer tried to calm the scene.
Hotel guests, many in masks like those worn by federal immigration agents, began gathering in the lobby. Two men pushed vending machines to block the glass front doors. By 9 p.m., many of the protesters had left, and about 50 protesters remained on the street in front of the hotel.
In a statement, the Minnesota Police Department said that as the protesters became disorderly, police officers and officers from assisting agencies “began moving in to surround the crowd, give dispersal orders and prepare for mass arrests.”
Federal forces arrived without warning, the Police Department said, and deployed tear gas.
At least two dozen armed federal agents entered the hotel around 10 p.m. They left about an hour later.
The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Minneapolis police officers did not fire any chemical munitions, according to the statement, and federal officials refused help from the Police Department.
Two men were detained by the police and released, the department said.
Talya Minsberg is a Times reporter covering breaking and developing news.
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