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Federal agents keep protesters away from the area where an immigration enforcement agent shot and wounded a man in north Minneapolis on January 14, 2026.
(Photo by Jeff Wheeler/The Minnesota Star Tribune via Getty Images)
'No,' Says Bernie Sanders, 'The American People Do Not Want Trump's Domestic Army'
Sanders' likening of ICE to a "domestic army" comes as more footage out of Minneapolis shows federal immigration agents violently assaulting protesters and legal observers.
Jan 15, 2026
Sen. Bernie Sanders on Thursday called attention to the massive amount of money that Republicans have been shoveling toward federal immigration enforcement during a time when many US citizens are facing eye-popping increases in health insurance premiums and struggling to afford groceries.
In a social media post, Sanders (I-Vt.) noted that the Republicans' One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed last year gave US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) a $28 billion annual budget, which he said is "larger than the annual budgets of the FBI, DEA, ATF, US Marshals Service and the Bureau of Prisons COMBINED."
"No," Sanders added. "The American people do not want Trump's domestic army."
Sanders' likening of ICE to a "domestic army" comes as shocking footage out of Minneapolis shows ICE and US Customs and Border Protection (CPB) agents violently assaulting protesters and legal observers.
The Minnesota Star-Tribune on Thursday posted a video compilation of federal immigration agents threatening, shoving, and pepper spraying Minneapolis residents.
Two days after an ICE agent killed Renee Good in Minneapolis, a federal agent asked an observer, "Have y'all not learned?" Her phone was taken and she was briefly detained.
Two days after that, another federal agent said to a different observer: “You did not learn from what… pic.twitter.com/1zAMZQEKTa
— The Minnesota Star Tribune (@StarTribune) January 15, 2026
The video also featured testimonies from locals who had gotten into confrontations with ICE.
Ryan Ecklund, a real estate agent from the suburb of Woodbury, Minnesota, said that he was slammed to the ground by federal officers after they spotted him filming them from his car.
"Five ICE officers approached my vehicle, boxed me in with their vehicles, and all five of them forcibly removed me from my car," he said. "They threw me to the ground, which is where I got some of the road rash on my face, and I was detained at the Whipple Detention Center for approximately 10 hours."
Minneapolis resident Zoë Cantu described being shot with rubber bullets by federal agents.
"I came across an ICE agent, they were turning onto a major highway, and as they were turning, I had a walk signal and started crossing the street," she said. "And when I wasn't moving as quickly as they would like, both the driver and the passenger jumped out of the car and they pulled weapons on us—while they were driving, I might add, not even pulled over—and fired rubber bullets."
A man name Shawn Jackson told local news station Fox 9 on Thursday that three of his children had to be hospitalized after ICE agents detonated a flash-bang grenade while he was driving with them in North Minneapolis.
"Officers threw flash bangs and tear gas in my car," he explained. "My 6-month-old can't even breathe... My car filled with tear gas, I'm trying to pull my kids from the car."
Shawn Jackson’s kids were taken by first responders to the hospital from the scene. He said he was trying to leave his relative’s house when a flash bang detonated his airbags and tear gas filled his car pic.twitter.com/clGdMl8sYu
— Max Nesterak (@maxnesterak) January 15, 2026
Jackson's wife, Destiny Jackson, told Fox 9 that she had to perform CPR on their six-month-old child, who was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment along with two other children.
The Jacksons also said that they weren't even in the area to protest against ICE, but were instead trying to get out of the area to keep their children safe.
"My kids were innocent, I was innocent, my husband was innocent, this shouldn't have happened," Destiny Jackson said. "We were just trying to go home."
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donald trumpus immigration and customs enforcementus department of homeland securityminneapolisbernie sanders
Sen. Bernie Sanders on Thursday called attention to the massive amount of money that Republicans have been shoveling toward federal immigration enforcement during a time when many US citizens are facing eye-popping increases in health insurance premiums and struggling to afford groceries.
In a social media post, Sanders (I-Vt.) noted that the Republicans' One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed last year gave US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) a $28 billion annual budget, which he said is "larger than the annual budgets of the FBI, DEA, ATF, US Marshals Service and the Bureau of Prisons COMBINED."
"No," Sanders added. "The American people do not want Trump's domestic army."
Sanders' likening of ICE to a "domestic army" comes as shocking footage out of Minneapolis shows ICE and US Customs and Border Protection (CPB) agents violently assaulting protesters and legal observers.
The Minnesota Star-Tribune on Thursday posted a video compilation of federal immigration agents threatening, shoving, and pepper spraying Minneapolis residents.
Two days after an ICE agent killed Renee Good in Minneapolis, a federal agent asked an observer, "Have y'all not learned?" Her phone was taken and she was briefly detained.
Two days after that, another federal agent said to a different observer: “You did not learn from what… pic.twitter.com/1zAMZQEKTa
— The Minnesota Star Tribune (@StarTribune) January 15, 2026
The video also featured testimonies from locals who had gotten into confrontations with ICE.
Ryan Ecklund, a real estate agent from the suburb of Woodbury, Minnesota, said that he was slammed to the ground by federal officers after they spotted him filming them from his car.
"Five ICE officers approached my vehicle, boxed me in with their vehicles, and all five of them forcibly removed me from my car," he said. "They threw me to the ground, which is where I got some of the road rash on my face, and I was detained at the Whipple Detention Center for approximately 10 hours."
Minneapolis resident Zoë Cantu described being shot with rubber bullets by federal agents.
"I came across an ICE agent, they were turning onto a major highway, and as they were turning, I had a walk signal and started crossing the street," she said. "And when I wasn't moving as quickly as they would like, both the driver and the passenger jumped out of the car and they pulled weapons on us—while they were driving, I might add, not even pulled over—and fired rubber bullets."
A man name Shawn Jackson told local news station Fox 9 on Thursday that three of his children had to be hospitalized after ICE agents detonated a flash-bang grenade while he was driving with them in North Minneapolis.
"Officers threw flash bangs and tear gas in my car," he explained. "My 6-month-old can't even breathe... My car filled with tear gas, I'm trying to pull my kids from the car."
Shawn Jackson’s kids were taken by first responders to the hospital from the scene. He said he was trying to leave his relative’s house when a flash bang detonated his airbags and tear gas filled his car pic.twitter.com/clGdMl8sYu
— Max Nesterak (@maxnesterak) January 15, 2026
Jackson's wife, Destiny Jackson, told Fox 9 that she had to perform CPR on their six-month-old child, who was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment along with two other children.
The Jacksons also said that they weren't even in the area to protest against ICE, but were instead trying to get out of the area to keep their children safe.
"My kids were innocent, I was innocent, my husband was innocent, this shouldn't have happened," Destiny Jackson said. "We were just trying to go home."
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Sen. Bernie Sanders on Thursday called attention to the massive amount of money that Republicans have been shoveling toward federal immigration enforcement during a time when many US citizens are facing eye-popping increases in health insurance premiums and struggling to afford groceries.
In a social media post, Sanders (I-Vt.) noted that the Republicans' One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed last year gave US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) a $28 billion annual budget, which he said is "larger than the annual budgets of the FBI, DEA, ATF, US Marshals Service and the Bureau of Prisons COMBINED."
"No," Sanders added. "The American people do not want Trump's domestic army."
Sanders' likening of ICE to a "domestic army" comes as shocking footage out of Minneapolis shows ICE and US Customs and Border Protection (CPB) agents violently assaulting protesters and legal observers.
The Minnesota Star-Tribune on Thursday posted a video compilation of federal immigration agents threatening, shoving, and pepper spraying Minneapolis residents.
Two days after an ICE agent killed Renee Good in Minneapolis, a federal agent asked an observer, "Have y'all not learned?" Her phone was taken and she was briefly detained.
Two days after that, another federal agent said to a different observer: “You did not learn from what… pic.twitter.com/1zAMZQEKTa
— The Minnesota Star Tribune (@StarTribune) January 15, 2026
The video also featured testimonies from locals who had gotten into confrontations with ICE.
Ryan Ecklund, a real estate agent from the suburb of Woodbury, Minnesota, said that he was slammed to the ground by federal officers after they spotted him filming them from his car.
"Five ICE officers approached my vehicle, boxed me in with their vehicles, and all five of them forcibly removed me from my car," he said. "They threw me to the ground, which is where I got some of the road rash on my face, and I was detained at the Whipple Detention Center for approximately 10 hours."
Minneapolis resident Zoë Cantu described being shot with rubber bullets by federal agents.
"I came across an ICE agent, they were turning onto a major highway, and as they were turning, I had a walk signal and started crossing the street," she said. "And when I wasn't moving as quickly as they would like, both the driver and the passenger jumped out of the car and they pulled weapons on us—while they were driving, I might add, not even pulled over—and fired rubber bullets."
A man name Shawn Jackson told local news station Fox 9 on Thursday that three of his children had to be hospitalized after ICE agents detonated a flash-bang grenade while he was driving with them in North Minneapolis.
"Officers threw flash bangs and tear gas in my car," he explained. "My 6-month-old can't even breathe... My car filled with tear gas, I'm trying to pull my kids from the car."
Shawn Jackson’s kids were taken by first responders to the hospital from the scene. He said he was trying to leave his relative’s house when a flash bang detonated his airbags and tear gas filled his car pic.twitter.com/clGdMl8sYu
— Max Nesterak (@maxnesterak) January 15, 2026
Jackson's wife, Destiny Jackson, told Fox 9 that she had to perform CPR on their six-month-old child, who was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment along with two other children.
The Jacksons also said that they weren't even in the area to protest against ICE, but were instead trying to get out of the area to keep their children safe.
"My kids were innocent, I was innocent, my husband was innocent, this shouldn't have happened," Destiny Jackson said. "We were just trying to go home."
From Your Site Articles
- We Must Fight Like Hell Against Trump's Authoritarianism ›
- Our Healthcare System Is Broken. Medicare for All Can Fix It. ›
- This May Be the Most Consequential Moment in US History Since the Civil War ›
Related Articles Around the Web
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