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Federal authorities on Tuesday took at least two people into custody in St. Paul during an operation that drew protesters and led to law enforcement using chemical irritants and firing less-lethal munitions into the crowd.
There was no immediate confirmation about the nature of the operation, which took place on the 600 block of Rose Avenue East, a residential area in the city’s Payne-Phalen neighborhood.
MPR News photojournalist Kerem Yücel captured images of federal agents on the scene, including at least three from Homeland Security Investigations, part of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Video from the scene showed dozens of protesters clashing with officers, and law enforcement in gas masks shooting munitions and gas at the crowd. Less-lethal “sponge round” bullets and pepper balls were on the ground at the scene. St. Paul Police later confirmed their officers used “chemical irritants.”
Yücel, the MPR News photojournalist, was among those hit by the less-lethal munitions. He was taken from the scene by ambulance and released shortly after.
“We’re trying to figure out what happened right now,” St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter said at the scene. “We just saw chemical munitions and things like that that were used, and one of the things I share with the crowd is, I have questions same as everybody else does about what precipitated that and why.”
On social media, Gov. Tim Walz said state officials were monitoring the situation “and working to understand what unfolded. We received no heads up from federal authorities on this operation. While we are always willing to work together on public safety, that is clearly not what this chaotic situation was about.”
Hwa Jeong Kim, vice president of the St. Paul City Council, said she got a midmorning text that something was happening in the Payne-Phalen neighborhood and drove over.
She said she saw federal agents arrest a person, dropping them “head first into the sidewalk. I don’t know what sound your head is supposed to make when it hits the cement like that, but we all heard the crack.” She said the person was clearly injured during the arrest.
Seeking to clarify why St. Paul police were there, Chief Axel Henry said in a prepared statement that officers were called to assist federal agents after protesters “pulled down” the perimeter of the scene.
He said he dispatched more officers to the scene after “reports came out” that protesters had rocks and sticks and that a vehicle, possibly with an agent inside, had been struck.
Henry said he understood the public’s frustration but added that St. Paul officers did not violate the city ordinance barring them from enforcing immigration law or assisting ICE with immigration operations.
Tuesday’s operation happened one week after an ICE raid at an industrial building in St. Paul. Federal authorities reported that 14 people were arrested in that raid at Bro-Tex, Inc.
State Rep. Athena Hollins, DFL-St. Paul, who represents the district where Tuesday’s operation took place and was among those hit by chemical irritants, said she has a lot of questions about the role St. Paul police played during the incident.
"I'm trying to understand why a lot of the chemical irritants that were used were deployed by our St. Paul Police Department," Hollins told MPR News host Clay Masters. "Especially given that we are supposedly a sanctuary city that was not supposed to be engaging in these activities or supporting ICE and federal agents in what they're doing."
MPR News reporter Sarah Thamer contributed to this report.
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