Aaron Nesheim

Today, just a few blocks from home, federal agents shot and killed rapid responder and VA nurse Alex Pretti. Video of the shooting shows Pretti being subdued on the ground with multiple agents holding him down before firing numerous shots into Pretti. This marks the third shooting, and second death, perpetrated by federal agents since a surge in their numbers began in early January. Hundreds of protesters arrived to the scene where clashes broke out between the crowd, federal agents, and local law enforcement. This story is still developing, for continued updates head over to @sahanjournal

*Content warning: Some images in this post may be disturbing to viewers.* On assignment for @sahanjournal , photojournalist @aaronnesheim documented protests and federal enforcement activity in Minneapolis, following the killing of Renee Nicole Macklin by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer Jonathan Ross on Jan. 7, 2026. In the days after the shooting, thousands marched against the surge of immigration activity in the Twin Cities. Federal agents continued their operations at multiple locations, deploying chemical agents and detaining observers. 🔗 Visit the link in the @catchlight.io bio for updates on this ongoing story by @sahanjournal . Photos: @aaronnesheim / @sahanjournal (1) Thousands march through the streets of south Minneapolis on Jan. 10, 2026 to rally against Operation Metro Surge and the killing of 37-year-old mother and neighbor Renee Nicole Macklin Good. (2-6) Federal agents block off a corner at 34th Street and Portland Avenue in south Minneapolis on Jan. 7, 2026, after Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer Jonathan Ross shot and killed Renee Nicole Macklin Good. (7) Protesters blocked off Portland Ave with barricades on Jan. 8, 2026. Minneapolis Police left the 5th precinct to remove the barricade around 3:40 AM, demolishing most of it. (8-10) More than 100 residents and protesters gathered in Minneapolis’ Powderhorn neighborhood on Jan. 13, 2026, after federal immigration agents conducted enforcement operations near E. 34th Street and Park Avenue. Authorities detained three people, including two citizen observers, and deployed chemical agents at multiple locations.

This post contains graphic images. Yesterday morning I left the house to head to work. I left a bit early to take the slow route down Lake Street and keep an eye out for any ICE activity. As I was passing Portland Avenue I got an alert that agents were spotted at 34th and Portland, and immediately took the turn to go check what was going on. I arrived to the most horrifying scene I’ve ever witnessed as a journalist. Agents stood in the street, confronted by neighbors who had come out to witness the commotion. A crashed red SUV sat across the street from me with a woman, who we now know as Renee Nicole Good, still in the vehicle. Neighbors yelled “You shot her! You killed her!” Another neighbor, who stated he was a physician, pleaded with ICE agents to let him help Good, which agents prevented. A few minutes later Minneapolis firefighters arrived and removed Good from the vehicle. They carried her to the corner of 34th and Portland, and started to perform CPR. A firefighter performed chest compressions while another cut her clothing off as she lay motionless in the snow. Eventually responders managed to get a stretcher to the corner and loaded her into an ambulance, then transported her to the hospital. As word spread the federal agents had killed a neighbor, residents began to gather at the scene. First dozens, then hundreds. MPD, the Hennepin County Sheriffs Office, and State Patrol all arrived to help with crowd control. Border Chief Gregory Bovino arrived for a quick photo op at the scene, and then the agents began to leave. Clashes broke out as the last of the agents retreated, with agents deploying tear gas and pepper spray, and protesters responding with snowballs. Later in the evening thousands of Minneapolitans gathered back at 34th and Portland for a vigil. A candle lit memorial sat against the tree where Good’s vehicle crashed. Activists including Nekima Levy-Armstrong, Toshira Garaway, Jaylani Hussein, and others called the crowd to action in the face of the largest immigration action in the countries history. For @sahanjournal

An impasse between two construction workers and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents ended in a rare reprieve Saturday, Dec. 13, when one worker was able to leave without arrest. The subzero standoff began around 10 a.m. when about two dozen federal agents pulled up to a new home build in Chanhassen. Two framers refused to leave the roof as about 80 activists converged on the scene. One man was coaxed down and was taken away in an ambulance. The second waited out ICE agents, and descended a ladder to waiting family members and medical care. #ICE #chanhassen Video by @dymanh , photos and additional reporting by @aaronnesheim

Two construction workers found themselves stuck in the rafters of a home they were building, with ICE waiting for them below on Saturday, December 13, 2025. The two men spent multiple hours in frigid temperatures, as at least 80 protesters arrived to the stalemate in Chanhassen, MN. ICE agents positioned the basket of a tele handler to try and coax the men down, with one of the workers eventually making the decision to be lifted down to an awaiting stretcher, and presumably, ICE custody. The other remained in his elevated refuge for another hour, before the ICE agents cleared the area. After the agents left, community members began to aid the young man with warm blankets and clothing. He descended a ladder to waiting family and a warm vehicle. For @sahanjournal

Protesters mobilized after reports of a raid by federal agents on the East Side of St. Paul this morning. St. Paul police responded and deployed crowd control munitions and chemical irritants on the crowd causing injury to a number of people including an @mprnews photojournalist.

Federal agents from a variety of agencies conducted an immigration raid at Bro-Tex Inc. in St. Paul this morning (November 18, 2025). Protesters clashed with agents as they left with detainees loaded into vans. Pepper balls and other chemical irritants were deployed. For @sahanjournal

Kaohly Vang Her defeats incumbent Melvin Carter to become mayor of St. Paul. For @sahanjournal

“In a sandy, shaded clearing of Crosby Farm Park on a hot, humid July day, sisters Leila and Noelle Awadallah danced without music, accompanied only by the sound of the wind whooshing through giant cottonwoods. There is no stagy excess, no costumes or makeup. Their bodies contracted and expanded, balancing, twisting and turning, sometimes away from each other, and sometimes towards.  The sisters, who started a dance practice they call Body Watani, were developing a site-specific work. And Crosby Farm Park, near the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi rivers, is central to that project. Watani means homeland in Arabic, with connotations of longing and belonging. It’s a connection to their Palestinian heritage. Their still unnamed work also excavates the idea of homeland, in this case the Dakota land that is their current home.” Excerpt from the article by @hoboinheels Read the full article over @sahanjournal

Early this morning, DFL legislators John Hoffman and Melissa Hortman, along with their spouses were shot by a man, now identified as Vance Boelter. Hortman, and her husband Mark were killed. Hoffman and his wife, Yvette were wounded. The shooting came hours before the planned “No Kings” protest at the Minnesota Capitol, with similar marches occurring across the county. At one point the protest seemed canceled, but with thousands already in attendance, the event went ahead. After the reading of a poem by Dakota elder Strong Buffalo the march from St. Paul College to the Minnesota Capitol began. Thousands made their way down John Ireland Boulevard, the St. Paul cathedral in the background. The mass descending the hill soon mixed with a multitude already assembled at the capitol and created a crowd estimated at over 20,000. Speakers including activist Nekima Levy-Armstrong and Attorney General Keith Ellison delivered strong rebukes against the politically motivated violence. After the speakers finished, the protesters began to head home, having stood together in community, but also in mourning. Read more @sahanjournal

On Monday, June 9th, federal agents waited outside the offices of local journalist @bygeorgiafort to arrest poet, artist and activist Isabel Lopez. The arrest, captured on video by Georgia, shows Lopez being bundled into an unmarked vehicle by federal agents. Lopez was held in the Sherburne County jail, on charges including three counts of assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers and one count of obstruction of justice. The charges stem from a raid performed by multiple federal agencies on Lake Street on June 3rd. A large multi-agency task force arrived in military vehicles to serve a search warrant for taqueria Las Cuatro Milpas, that the Department of Homeland Security says is related to drugs, and human trafficking among other allegations. The presence of the agents, in overt tactical gear, sparked fears of immigration raids in a heavily Latino neighborhood in South Minneapolis, and protesters quickly gathered at the scene. The incident turned chaotic, with some protesters attempting to disrupt what the crowd feared could be deportations. Lopez is alleged to have punched and kicked officers. However, some present on the scene dispute the allegations. My photos of the incident show Lopez pinned to the ground by FBI agents, before being hauled to her feet and shoved out of frame. On June 11th, around 50 supporters protested outside of the Sherburne County Jail. Most made the nearly hour long drive from the Twin Cities to attend the peaceful rally in Elk River. The latest came this morning, with over 100 protesters attending a rally outside of the Warren E. Burger Federal Courthouse to support Lopez during her detention hearing. As a determination of her release was being made inside the courthouse, Aztec dance group Kalpulli Yaocenoxtli danced and drummed, punctuated by poetry from her friends and fellow poets. The hearing ended in Lopez’s release from federal custody, with more days in court to come. Read more @sahanjournal

Dozens of law enforcement officers, from agencies including the ATF, DEA, FBI, and ICE raided Las Cuatro Milpas on Lake Street in Minneapolis today. Word of the raid spread quickly throughout the city and protesters descended on the scene. Protesters clashed with the officers as local agencies responded to try and control the crowd. Read the story @sahanjournal