MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – Sixteen people in Minnesota have been arrested by federal authorities for attacks on law enforcement, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced on Wednesday.
New arrests made in Minnesota
What we know:
Bondi said 16 people who she described as “rioters” were arrested for alleged assaults on federal law enforcement officers. They are being charged under U.S. code 111 for assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers or employees, she said.
The people arrested were identified as:
Christina RankAbdikadir NoorMadeline TschidaNitzana FloresHelicity BorowskaQuentin WilliamsWilliam VermiePaul JohnsonGillian EtheringtonJoshua DoyleKirubele AdbebeMargaret SagerIlan Wilson-SolerNasra AhmedAlice ValentineMatrim Charlebois
Dig deeper:
They all appeared in federal court Wednesday.
Unsealed charging documents show prosecutors are accusing them of various acts of aggression towards federal agents.
Nasra Ahmed is charged with resisting, spitting at agents and throwing an egg at them.
Ahmed said at a news conference last week that she had been wrongfully arrested after unknowingly found herself caught in the middle of another ICE arrest of two Somali men.
Ahmed claimed she was called a racial slur by agents, assaulted, and held in Sherburne County Jail for two days.
Christina Rank was arrested after a vehicle crash involving a federal officer on Jan. 12. The Pioneer Press reports she was held at Whipple for nearly 12 hours before being released.
She is now facing charges of attacking officers with her vehicle.
DHS has claimed vehicle attacks on agents have skyrocketed, but a federal judge in Chicago found many of those claims “difficult” to believe.
According to an ABC News report, William Vermie, a military veteran, was arrested while observing an ICE arrest in his neighborhood.
He’s charged with slapping away an agent’s hand during a confrontation.
The FOX 9 Investigators found many arrests for assaulting federal agents during previous operations were rarely charged and regularly dismissed.
What they’re saying:
“We expect more arrests to come,” Bondi says. “I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: NOTHING will stop President Trump and this Department of Justice from enforcing the law.”
The backstory:
The arrests come on the heels of Bondi bringing charges against three anti-ICE protesters who interrupted Sunday mass at a St. Paul church earlier this month. Attorney Nekima Levy Armstrong, St. Paul School Board Member Chauntyll Louisa Allen, and activist William Kelly were accused of conspiracy to deprive rights.
However, a judge refused to bring charges against other protesters the government sought to charge and Armstrong, Allen, and Kelly were all quickly released from federal custody against the wishes of federal prosecutors.
Cases against all three are still pending.