Minneapolis Mayor Stands By ICE Protesters In Heated Fox News Confrontation

Fox News’ Griff Jenkins and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey (D) shared a tense exchange on Wednesday over Frey referring to ICE protesters as “heroes” earlier this week.

During an interview with Frey on “Fox & Friends” on Wednesday morning, Jenkins argued that protesters have “gone farther” than necessary with their demonstrations after ICE agent Jonathan Ross fatally shot 37-year-old Renee Good in Minneapolis.

“Just look at some of the videos, Mayor Frey, that we have seen of these protesters, many of whom you have praised,” Jenkins said. “You’ve called them heroes for being out there exercising their First Amendment rights, but they’ve gone farther. They’re blocking the ICE operations.”

“We had thousands of protesters —” Frey began before Jenkins interjected to exclaim, “Take a look at some of the videos. You’ve seen these. Play these.”

“I’m happy to look at [the] video[s]. I’ve seen it happening live,” Frey retorted before being cut off again by Jenkins, who then played video footage featuring Minneapolis protesters confronting ICE agents, with some repeatedly yelling, “shame.” Another woman appeared to shout at agents, “You want to shoot me in the face?”

After Jenkins cited 18 U.S. Code 111 and mentioned protesters “throwing rocks, hitting cars and interfering” with federal agents, Frey responded, telling Jenkins that there have been “tens of thousands of people peacefully protesting in the streets” of Minneapolis, adding that the protesters are “standing up for their neighbors” amid what he called “unconstitutional conduct by ICE.”

“ICE is not new. Our separation ordinance in the city is not new,” he added. “ICE has been around for decades, so has our separation ordinance. What is new is the way that the Trump administration is presently conducting themselves.”

On Monday, Frey praised ICE protesters in his city as “heroes” who are “standing up for each other” amid the Trump administration’s sweeping immigration crackdown.

“We aren’t backing down. We don’t retreat in Minneapolis, we don’t back down in Minnesota,” he added. “We stand up against bullies.”

The mayor went viral for telling ICE to “get the fuck out of Minneapolis” during a Jan. 7 press conference. He also slammed ICE for “ripping families apart” and “sowing chaos on our streets” by “quite literally killing people” during that same press conference.

Watch a clip from Frey’s appearance on Fox News below.