MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (AP) — A Liberian man in Minnesota is back in custody Friday, his lawyer said, a day after a judge ordered him released because federal agents broke down his door to arrest him without a judicial warrant.
The dramatic arrest of Garrison Gibson last weekend by armed immigration agents using a battering ram was captured on video. U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Bryan ruled the arrest unlawful, but Gibson was detained again when he appeared at an immigration office, attorney Marc Prokosch said.
“We were there for a check-in and the original officer said, ‘This looks good, I’ll be right back,’” Prokosch said. “And then there was a lot of chaos, and about five officers came out and then they said, ‘We’re going to be taking him back into custody.’ I was like, ‘Really, you want to do this again?’”
Garrison’s arrest is one of more than 2,500 made during a weekslong immigration crackdown in Minneapolis and St. Paul, according to the Department of Homeland Security. The operation has intensified and become more confrontational since the fatal shooting of Renee Good on Jan. 7.
Gibson, 37, who fled the Liberian civil war as a child, had been ordered removed from the U.S., apparently because of a 2008 drug conviction that was later dismissed. He has remained in the country legally under what’s known as an order of supervision, with the requirement that he meet regularly with immigration authorities.
Meanwhile, tribal leaders and Native American rights organizations are advising anyone with a tribal ID to carry it with them when out in public in case they are approached by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.
Native Americans across the U.S. have reported being stopped or detained by ICE, and tribal leaders are asking members to report these contacts.
Ben Barnes, chief of the Shawnee Tribe in Oklahoma and chair of the United Indian Nations of Oklahoma, called the reports “deeply concerning”.
Organizers in Minneapolis have set up application booths in the city to assist people needing a tribal ID.
FBI Director Kash Patel said at least one person has been arrested for stealing property from an FBI vehicle in Minneapolis. The SUV was among government vehicles whose windows were broken Wednesday evening. Attorney General Pam Bondi said body armor and weapons were stolen.
President Donald Trump has threatened to invoke an 1807 law, the Insurrection Act, to send troops to suppress protests during immigration sweeps. Minnesota’s attorney general said he would sue if the president acts.
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Associated Press reporters Ed White in Detroit and Graham Lee Brewer in Oklahoma City contributed.
