Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara used a church pulpit this week to strongly condemn ICE raids. This came as anger grew over a video showing federal agents forcing a seemingly pregnant woman face-down into the snow and dragging her across an icy street.
Speaking Tuesday from a church in Minnesota’s largest city, O’Hara warned that the recent wave of immigration sweeps had disrupted daily life in Minneapolis. Many businesses closed, and entire neighborhoods were too scared to go outside. “The fear that people are experiencing is real,” O’Hara said.
His comments followed a chaotic traffic stop in south Minneapolis on Monday. The incident was captured on video, which quickly spread online. The footage shows armed federal agents kneeling on a woman and pushing her face into the snow while bystanders shout that she is pregnant. Despite the pleas, agents appeared to ignore the crowd and pulled the woman across the icy road by one arm as onlookers screamed for her release.
This incident sparked a furious reaction both on the street and online. A bystander is seen in the video pleading, “Please let her go! She’s pregnant!” As tensions rose, one agent fired a Taser into the crowd, saying, “Who wants more?” according to CBS. Meanwhile, the woman was dragged by one arm as bystanders threw snowballs and demanded her release, while agents responded with pepper spray.
🚨 DISTURBING VIDEO
In Minnesota, ICE agents handcuffed a pregnant woman, forced her onto her stomach, and pressed their knees and body weight into her while a crowd screamed that she was pregnant.
She wasn’t resisting. She wasn’t a threat.
The agents ignored the pleas, aimed… pic.twitter.com/WJbvcof9gu
— Brian Allen (@allenanalysis) December 16, 2025
ICE called the Minneapolis Police Department for backup and when officers arrived, they found “no violence occurring” against the agents. O’Hara pointed to this finding to highlight the difference between his department’s methods and what Minneapolis residents witnessed from federal teams.
O’Hara mentioned he had been training his officers for the past five years on de-escalation. He added a pointed remark, “Unfortunately, that is often not what we are seeing from other agencies in the city.”
He emphasized the significance of the setting, saying, “It’s especially personal to me, having been raised a Catholic, to be in a Christian church this morning, as we are approaching Christmas.” He reflected on how the current situation in the city echoes the treatment of outsiders throughout history, mentioning how Mary and Joseph were once considered outsiders and forced to stay in a barn. “That’s what we’re getting ready to commemorate as Christians around the world, while all of this fear is happening in our town,” he said.
O’Hara’s sermon-like rebuke comes as Minneapolis has become a key area for “Operation Metro Surge,” which is described as a Trump-ordered effort that has resulted in the detention of over 400 people from Somali, Latino, and Asian communities in the Twin Cities on deportation orders.
Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar also expressed concerns about federal tactics, mentioning that ICE agents stopped her 20-year-old citizen son and demanded his passport. ICE fired back, denying her claims.
Stories similar to this have popped up in several cities targeted by ICE, and it appears that despite the criticism, they have continued their aggressive tactics that lead to vulnerable people and Americans being caught up.
