Protests Erupt Over Misidentified Software Engineers in Minneapolis

In Minneapolis, a group of software engineers found themselves encircled by anti-ICE protesters while having lunch at a restaurant, as reported by Alpha News. The engineers, who were all white men dressed in sweatshirts and jackets, were dining when one of them received a message from a chat group indicating that ICE agents were at their location.

Within 15 minutes of the alert, protesters began surrounding the restaurant, shouting and blowing whistles at the engineers as they attempted to leave. Alpha News shared that one of the engineers, referred to as Lee, provided video footage documenting the incident.

In the video, a protester questioned the engineers, “Who do we work with here?” One of the men responded that they develop custom applications for various businesses throughout Minnesota and beyond.

One engineer then asked the crowd, “Do I look like an ICE officer?” to which a protester replied, “Yeah, you look like an ICE agent.” Attempts made by the engineer to explain their opposition to ICE were met with shouts of “If you’re not with us, you’re against us!” and demands to leave the area.

Lee expressed disbelief when he received the message about their group being marked as ICE, noting that his friends were actually vocal opponents of ICE and were part of the Signal chat mentioned earlier. He also indicated that the restaurant owner mistakenly labeled their group as ICE agents.

The intensity of protests against ICE has ramped up across the U.S. following a January 7 incident where an ICE officer shot and killed a woman named Renee Good as she drove towards him. Recently, a viral video featured activists incorrectly identifying a man as an ICE agent simply because his vehicle resembled those typically used by ICE.

As tensions rose, reports surfaced that the Pentagon had prepared approximately 1,500 active-duty soldiers for possible deployment to Minneapolis.