Minnesota-based special correspondent Fred de Sam Lazaro was the point man for PBS News Hour’s coverage on the ongoing confrontations in far-left Minneapolis between U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and mobs of activists obstructing their legal duties.
Monday evening’s News Hour devoted a piddling 15 seconds to a despicable mob protest during Sunday services at a church in which the associate pastor was employed as an ICE officer, matching the downplaying of the incident by the major networks. There was typically hostile framing of ICE and no discussion of possible civil rights violations incurred including the FACE ACT, while former CNN journalist Don Lemon’s presence -- not to mention his live recording, his cheerleading involvement, and his boasting of the trauma he caused church parishioners -- went unmentioned.
Fred de Sam Lazaro: Another weekend and another intense wave of immigration enforcement in the Twin Cities, as more than 2,000 federal officers continue a crackdown characterized by aggressive force and unyielding protests. It comes as weary residents brace for the potential deployment of active duty troops after President Trump threatened late last week to invoke the Insurrection Act, something Mayor Jacob Frey said Sunday would be -- quote -- "shocking.”
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey: You got to understand how wild this is right now. In Minneapolis, crime is dramatically down. We don't need more federal agents to keep people safe. We are safe.
de Sam Lazaro: Frey himself, along with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, are now reportedly under investigation by the Department of Justice for allegedly impeding federal law enforcement officers. Yesterday, the Justice Department announced a separate investigation into protesters who disrupted a church service where they believed a local pastor was also an ICE official from the St. Paul….
Thursday’s News Hour did manage a 40-second bite about protesters hurling rocks and fireworks at ICE officers, but even that brief admission was divided by including a clip from Minneapolis’s mayor pleading with the local mob not to match Trump’s “chaos.” (Friday’s newscast skipped news coverage from Minneapolis, and PBS’s weekend news show is kaput.)
de Sam Lazaro: This morning, new threats from President Trump of heavier intervention, this after protests broke out in Minneapolis again overnight. On social media, Trump warned he'd use the Insurrection Act….Crowds gathered after an ICE agent shot of Venezuelan national in the leg during a targeted traffic stop. Administration officials alleged the man and two others attacked the agent with a shovel and a broom handle -- in the biting Minnesota cold, it is one thing that is dialing up the temperature -- after the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Renee Goode one week ago.
Brian O'Hara, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Police Chief: The crowd is engaging in unlawful acts.
de Sam Lazaro: At a late-night press conference, the city's police chief said yesterday went too far when protesters hurled rocks and fireworks at law enforcement. Mayor Jacob Frey called for calm.
Jacob Frey: And for anyone that is taking the bait tonight, stop. That is not helpful. Go home. We cannot counter Donald Trump's chaos with our own brand of chaos.
PBS’s reporter rode the wave of anti-government paranoia.
de Sam Lazaro: ….For many, it's as if ICE is around every corner. Locals have spotted arrests as their kids board the bus to school and in random I.D. checks….
Transcripts are available, click “Expand.”
PBS News Hour
1/19/26
7:13:25 p.m. (ET)
Fred de Sam Lazaro: Another weekend and another intense wave of immigration enforcement in the Twin Cities, as more than 2,000 federal officers continue a crackdown characterized by aggressive force and unyielding protests.
It comes as weary residents brace for the potential deployment of active duty troops after President Trump threatened late last week to invoke the Insurrection Act, something Mayor Jacob Frey said Sunday would be -- quote -- "shocking.
Jacob Frey: You got to understand how wild this is right now. In Minneapolis, crime is dramatically down. We don't need more federal agents to keep people safe. We are safe.
Fred de Sam Lazaro: Frey himself, along with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, are now reportedly under investigation by the Department of Justice for allegedly impeding federal law enforcement officers. Yesterday, the Justice Department announced a separate investigation into protesters who disrupted a church service where they believed a local pastor was also an ICE official from the St. Paul office. That same day, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche again confirmed there would be no investigation into the altercation that has most roiled the city, the fatal shooting of Renee Good, killed by an ICE agent in her car on January 7.
Todd Blanche, U.S. Deputy Attorney General: We investigate when it's appropriate to investigate. And that is not the case here, it wasn't the case when it happened and it's not the case today.
Fred de Sam Lazaro: The Department of Homeland Security said its agents are facing -- quote -- "rampant violence" and have made 3,000 arrests in the last six weeks. The "News Hour" could not independently verify that number. It all comes after a federal judge in Minnesota ruled agents could not arrest or pepper spray peaceful demonstrators, including those monitoring ICE operations. Kristi Noem, DHS secretary, said on CBS' Face the Nation yesterday that the judge's ruling -- quote -- "didn't change anything."
Kristi Noem, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary: That federal order was a little ridiculous, because that federal judge came down and told us we couldn't do what we already aren't doing. We -- we are -- have not engaged in...
Margaret Brennan, Host, "Face the Nation": Well, we just saw video of chemical agents being used.
Kristi Noem: ... any -- we only use those chemical agents when there's violence happening and perpetuating and you need to be able to establish law in order to keep people safe.
Fred de Sam Lazaro: Nonetheless, the Justice Department said today it would appeal the court ruling. This weekend, a planned anti-Islam pro-ICE rally, which was set to feature a Koran burning, drew few supporters. But its organizer, far right activist Jake Lang, had to be escorted from the scene, ironically by counterprotesters themselves, after he was swarmed and pelted with water balloons. Lang could be seen bleeding from his head and later claimed he had been stabbed, but Minneapolis police said no report had been filed. Even for Minnesota, weather here in recent days has been unusually cold, about the only indication that temperatures are turning down here. For the "PBS News Hour," I'm Fred de Sam Lazaro in Minneapolis.
PBS News Hour
1/15/26
7:03:06 p.m. (ET)
Fred de Sam Lazaro: This morning, new threats from President Trump of heavier intervention, this after protests broke out in Minneapolis again overnight. On social media, Trump warned he'd use the Insurrection Act. That's the 18th century power of the president to deploy the U.S. military if the president decides local authorities cannot maintain order. It was last used in 1992 during the Rodney King riots in Los Angeles.
Minnesota's Attorney General Keith Ellison said he's ready to go to court if it's invoked. It all came just after the dust settled from overnight scenes like this. Crowds gathered after an ICE agent shot of Venezuelan national in the leg during a targeted traffic stop.
Administration officials alleged the man and two others attacked the agent with a shovel and a broom handle -- is dialing up the temperature after the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Renee Goode one week ago.
Brian O'Hara, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Police Chief: The crowd is engaging in unlawful acts.
Fred de Sam Lazaro: At a late-night press conference, the city's police chief said yesterday went too far when protesters hurled rocks and fireworks at law enforcement. Mayor Jacob Frey called for calm.
Jacob Frey: And for anyone that is taking the bait tonight, stop. That is not helpful. Go home. We cannot counter Donald Trump's chaos with our own brand of chaos.
Fred de Sam Lazaro: Minnesota Governor Tim Walz:
Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN): As hard as we will fight in the courts and at the ballot box, we cannot and will not let violence prevail.
Fred de Sam Lazaro: In Washington today, PBS News' Liz Landers asked the White House if President Trump is working with the governor to de-escalate.
Liz Landers: Governor Walz's office is saying today that he's trying to get ahold directly with the president. Have you spoken?
Karoline Leavitt, White House Press Secretary: Look, the president is always willing to answer the phone when people pick up and call. But I would ask that the governor stops inciting the harassment and illegal obstruction of law enforcement in his state.
Fred de Sam Lazaro: Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said, Insurrection Act or not, ICE isn't going anywhere.
Kristi Noem, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary: Remember, we are there in surged operations because of the largest fraud scheme in American history.
Fred de Sam Lazaro: Trying to tie the crackdown to Minnesota's welfare fraud scandal. Separately, the president himself has threatened to defund states with so-called sanctuary cities that include the Twin Cities.
For many, it's as if ICE is around every corner. Locals have spotted arrests as their kids board the bus to school and in random I.D. checks. Secretary Noem today said people should carry I.D. to confirm their legal status, something not legally required of U.S. citizens except in circumstances like travel.
Question, are you OK with federal agents and officers violating people's Fourth Amendment rights by asking for papers without reasonable suspicion?
Kristi Noem: Every single action that our ICE officers take is according to the law and following protocols that we have used for years.
Fred de Sam Lazaro: Meantime, schools in the area are reporting a sharp drop in attendance and several districts will soon offer students the option to attend online. For the "PBS News Hour," I'm Fred de Sam Lazaro in Minneapolis.
