Crime, Law and Justice

Minneapolis man charged with obstructing police at Lake Street protest

ICE agents stand outside a business
Federal agents stand outside a business on E. Lake Street during an operation that drew community attention and protest on Tuesday in Minneapolis.
Kerem Yücel | MPR News

The Minneapolis City Attorney's Office on Thursday charged a man with obstructing and fleeing police at a protest that followed a raid this week on a Lake Street business.

Agents from multiple federal agencies — including Immigration and Customs Enforcement—- appeared at Lake St. and Bloomington Avenue at midday Tuesday to search the Taqueria y Birrieria Las Cuatro Milpas restaurant as part of a drug, money laundering and human trafficking investigation.

Believing it was an immigration raid, many in the community gathered to protest.

Around 4:30 p.m., hours after the federal agents left, prosecutors say Maxwell Louis Collyard “sprayed an unknown substance” at an officer and tore something from his vest before running away.

Collyard, 33, of Minneapolis allegedly resisted arrest, and Officer Ryan Beightol “used two takedowns” in an attempt to get him under control. Police later arrested Collyard and booked him into the Hennepin County Jail on Tuesday evening.

The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office says it’s reviewing possible charges against another man arrested the same day on suspicion of felony assault.

The federal warrant was one of eight served at locations around the Twin Cities on Tuesday, but authorities said that they did not make any arrests related to the investigation. Details of the investigation remain under wraps because the warrants remain sealed.