Anti-ICE protesters clash with police in ‘National Shutdown’ (VIDEOS)

A coordinated ‘National Shutdown’ protest against US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) erupted on Friday, with massive crowds filling the streets of Minneapolis, and culminating in intense confrontations in downtown Los Angeles.

Organizers called on Americans to abstain from work, school, and shopping in a mass strike aimed at halting what they call “ICE terror” and pressuring the federal government to end the immigration raids.

The protests were fueled by growing outrage over the fatal shootings of two US citizens – Renee Good and Alex Pretti – by federal agents during recent enforcement operations in Minneapolis.

In Los Angeles, what began as a peaceful rally devolved into one of the day’s most serious clashes. Thousands of demonstrators marched through the downtown streets, many carrying signs reading “ICE Out of Everywhere” and chanting against federal immigration raids.

Police and federal agents responded with crowd control tactics – including tear gas, flash-bang devices, and baton charges – after demonstrators attempted to breach police lines and confront officers outside the Edward R. Roybal Federal Building.

Videos shared on social media show chaotic moments of police pushing back against advancing crowds, protesters throwing objects, and arrests as tensions spiked.

In the San Francisco Bay Area, large crowds joined the nationwide demonstrations, while dozens of businesses, from independent bookstores to restaurants, shut their doors in solidarity.

In Minneapolis, aerial views show vast throngs of people flooding the core of downtown, where demonstrators gathered outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building – a flashpoint location since the controversial enforcement operations began. Thousands marched through packed streets despite frigid temperatures.

Crowds stretched across multiple blocks, with families, teachers, students, and immigrant rights advocates chanting and waving banners denouncing ICE’s presence in the city. Many carried signs demanding accountability for the deaths of Good and Pretti, both fatally shot by federal immigration agents in separate incidents this month. 

Protests were not limited to Los Angeles and Minneapolis, with demonstrations, walkouts, and rallies taking place in dozens of cities including New York, Chicago, and San Diego.

Businesses, particularly small local businesses, took part in the strike by closing or altering operations, while teachers and students across the country abandoned their classrooms to join the movement. Organizers vowed that the National Shutdown would continue through the weekend with more marches, strikes, and solidarity actions.

The protests escalated as, earlier this week, top US House Democrats threatened to launch impeachment proceedings against Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem unless she is fired by President Donald Trump.

Trump defended Noem in a post on Truth Social on Friday night, claiming that “Radical Left Lunatics, Insurrectionists, Agitators, and Thugs, are going after Kristi Noem… because she is a woman, and has done a really GREAT JOB!”