\n<\/p>\n
A Minnesota prosecutor is seeking the arrest of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent.<\/p>\n
It appears to be the first such case where local authorities have charged a federal immigration officer tied to President Donald Trump\u2019s mass deportation campaign.<\/p>\n
During a press conference Thursday, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty announced that the ICE agent now faces two counts of second-degree assault after he allegedly flashed a gun while passing a driver on the highway. There is now a warrant out for his arrest.<\/p>\n
The Minnesota State Patrol received a 911 call in February from the alleged victims, who said a driver pulled up next to them on the shoulder of a highway and pointed a gun at them, Moriarty said.<\/p>\n
The ICE agent appeared to be trying \u201cto bypass slower traffic\u201d at the time, the county attorney claimed. The other driver \u201cbriefly moved their vehicle into the shoulder to slow him down,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Moriarty said that the federal agent \u201cwas driving a rented SUV with no markings or other features to indicate that it was an ICE vehicle.\u201d When the victim moved out of the shoulder, the agent \u201cpulled alongside the victim\u2019s vehicle,\u201d before he \u201cvisibly slowed his vehicle to match the pace of the victims\u2019 vehicle, opened his window, and pointed his duty weapon directly at both victims in the other vehicle while continuing to drive illegally on the shoulder,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The driver then called 911 while the passenger began recording the incident on video, according to Moriarty.<\/p>\n
State troopers later identified an ICE agent as the driver and interviewed him at the agency\u2019s office in Minneapolis, the county attorney said.<\/p>\n
The agent \u201cadmitted that he was driving the rented SUV and he and his partner were headed to the Whipple building to end their shift\u201d and \u201cthat he drew his firearm after the victims\u2019 vehicle had already rejoined the normal flow of traffic,\u201d Moriarty said.<\/p>\n
In his statement, the agent also allegedly said \u201che yelled \u2018police’\u201d at the victims. But the windows of the victims\u2019 vehicle, Moriarty said, \u201cwere rolled up and they couldn\u2019t hear\u201d it.<\/p>\n
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) didn\u2019t respond to The Daily Wire\u2019s request for comment on the charges.<\/p>\n
The typical jail time for each of the charges against the ICE agent is 36 months in prison, Moriarty said.<\/p>\n
The charges follow the federal withdrawal of hundreds of federal immigration agents from Minneapolis. President Donald Trump sent his border czar Tom Homan to initiate the drawdown in January, replacing the former Border Patrol sector chief Gregory Bovino, who was known for his aggressive tactics.<\/p>\n
Homan\u2019s arrival came after the fatal shootings by federal immigration agents of anti-ICE activists Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis that sparked weeks of protests. The shootings also resulted in the mass mobilization of ICE watch groups that followed federal agents and outed their locations.<\/p>\n
During Thursday\u2019s press conference, Moriarty recalled the Good and Pretti shootings. She also said there\u2019s no indication the victims were part of ICE watch groups.<\/p>\n
Moriarty characterized the accused agent\u2019s \u201cconduct\u201d as \u201cextremely dangerous,\u201d adding that it \u201ccould\u2019ve led to another disastrous incident in a community that has already suffered too many.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOur community is still navigating the effects of the federal occupation,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Asked if she\u2019s concerned about \u201cfederal blowback\u201d over the case, Moriarty said \u201cit\u2019s not a concern of ours.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n