A group of anti-ICE activists in Minneapolis confronted a small group of software engineers at a local deli after a mistaken alert identified them as federal immigration agents, according to the New York Post.
The engineers were having lunch at Clancey’s Deli when one of them, who belonged to an anti-ICE communication group on Signal, received a mass message from “SW Minneapolis Rapid Response.” The alert claimed that plainclothes ICE agents were present at the restaurant, Alpha News reported.
“My friend was shocked. He’s on the [anti-ICE] side politically. He lives nearby. He’s eaten there before. And suddenly he’s seeing messages saying we’re ICE,” Lee, one of the engineers, told the outlet.
Following the mass alert, dozens of protesters arrived outside the deli. Video taken by one of the engineers shows demonstrators looking through the restaurant’s windows as the men sat inside, with one comparing the situation to feeling “like a zoo animal.” When the group exited the restaurant, protesters surrounded them, blowing whistles and shouting.
Some protesters hurled insults and demanded the men leave the neighborhood. One of the engineers tried to clarify that they were local tech workers, not law enforcement. “We do custom apps for a whole bunch of companies around Minnesota and the country!” he said.
A protester replied to the comment, “Then why are you filming us?” to which he responded, “Because you’re filming us!”
Lee told Alpha News that members of the group faced verbal abuse, including accusations of “white privilege” and even being called “pedophiles.” He added that one of his friends feared the encounter could escalate dangerously. “You don’t just tell extremists that random customers are ICE agents,” he said. “That’s how people get hurt.”
According to Lee, the engineers held a range of political opinions before the incident, but the confrontation left several of them reconsidering their views.