At least 42 anti-ICE agitators were arrested Saturday outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis after a memorial event devolved into a confrontation with law enforcement. Footage from the scene showed protesters tearing down yellow police tape, hurling lewd objects at state patrol officers, and screaming insults — all while one demonstrator shouted through a megaphone that the gathering was "peaceful."

Dozens of those present wore gas masks. The Hennepin County Sheriff's Office confirmed the arrest count to KSTP.

According to Fox News, the crowd had gathered initially at Powderhorn Park — roughly a 15-minute drive from the federal building — for a memorial marking one month since the death of Renee Good, a Minneapolis resident killed by federal agents while clashing with immigration enforcement. Alex Pretti, also a Minneapolis resident killed under similar circumstances last month, was memorialized alongside Good. The sister of Renee Good spoke at the ceremony.

Then the crowd moved to the federal building. And "spreading love," as Mayor Jacob Frey described it, gave way to something else entirely.

The Mayor Who Saw Only Love

Frey took to social media Saturday with a message that read like it was drafted before the tear gas masks came out:

"Thousands showed up to remember and honor Renee Good and Alex Pretti."

"Minneapolis is with you—and we will keep spreading love."

He did not address the arrests. He did not address the lewd objects hurled at officers. He did not address the agitators ripping through police tape at a federal building. The man responsible for public safety in Minneapolis looked at Saturday and saw a Hallmark card.

This is the same Jacob Frey who, alongside Governor Tim Walz, has accused the federal government of violating citizens' constitutional rights by targeting minorities, conducting warrantless searches, and weaponizing the Department of Justice. Both have demanded that ICE leave the state.

So when a mob descends on a federal building and attacks law enforcement, the mayor's official response is: love.

A Pattern Minneapolis Can't Outrun

The protests in Minneapolis picked up steam in January following the deaths of Good and Pretti. Both were killed by federal agents during confrontations tied to immigration enforcement — though specific details about the circumstances, the agencies involved, and any resulting investigations remain thin. That ambiguity hasn't stopped local leaders from treating the deaths as indictments of federal law enforcement writ large.

What's notable is the escalation curve. A memorial becomes a march. A march becomes a siege on a federal building. Lewd objects get thrown at cops. Forty-two people ended the night in handcuffs. And the chant echoing through it all?

Homan's Withdrawal and What It Signals

Three days before Saturday's chaos, White House border czar Tom Homan withdrew 700 federal agents from Minneapolis amid rising concerns. The move pulled significant federal presence from a city whose political leadership has made clear it views immigration enforcement as an act of aggression rather than a function of law.

That withdrawal didn't calm tensions. It emboldened them. When political leaders tell their constituents that federal agents are the enemy — and then the federal agents leave — the crowd doesn't go home satisfied. It goes looking for the next target. Saturday's federal building was it.

This is the cycle blue-state leaders create but never own. Demonize enforcement. Demand agents leave. Watch disorder fills the vacuum. Blame Washington.

The Contradiction at the Center

Frey and Walz want federal agents gone. They also want to be taken seriously when they accuse the federal government of constitutional violations. They want sympathy for their city's grief. They also can't be bothered to condemn a mob attacking law enforcement at a federal building.

You cannot demand the removal of the rule of law and then claim moral authority when lawlessness follows. You cannot call 42 arrests "spreading love." You cannot watch lewd objects sail toward state troopers and say nothing.

Minneapolis has leaders who speak fluently about compassion and remain silent about consequences. Saturday proved, again, that silence is the policy.

Forty-two arrests. Gas masks in the crowd. Officers under assault. And the mayor posted about love.