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Shortly after Woodbury real estate agent Ryan Ecklund dropped his son off at school, he noticed an immigration patrol rolling through a grocery store parking lot. He decided he would keep his distance but follow and record them. 

“I felt what so many of us feel, which is fear and intimidation,” Ecklund said.

He said he didn’t flash his lights or honk his horn. He just pulled out his phone and kept a watchful eye, then pulled into a parking spot near them. The agents then blocked him in and took his photo, he said.

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“They left that shopping center area and drove into my neighborhood,” Ecklund said. “In a clear effort to show me that they know who I am and they know where I live.”

Ecklund added that after following them for six or seven more minutes, federal agents approached his vehicle, opened the door, unclipped his seat belt and pulled him out of the car. 

“I was escorted in an unmarked sort of passenger van to the Whipple Detention Center,” he said. “I was put into a set of leg irons and put into a detention cell for approximately three hours.”

He was interviewed by a Department of Homeland Security official and then released six hours later. 

“I knew that I wouldn’t be arrested or charged because I hadn’t done anything wrong,” Ecklund said. 

But he added that he felt his rights were violated. 

“My goal isn’t to become a political activist,” Ecklund said. “It is our responsibility as citizens, whichever side of the aisle you lean toward, to protect the Constitution, and we are all given inalienable rights via that Constitution.”

MPR News has reached out to federal officials for comment on other observers who have been detained and has not heard back. 

Listen to the full conversation by clicking the player above.

Crime, Law and Justice

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Immigration enforcement in Minnesota

Cathy Wurzer

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Lukas Levin

Author

A Woodbury man was detained by ICE agents after following and recording them at a grocery store. 

Woodbury realtor detained and shackled after recording ICE agents

Woodbury real estate agent detained and shackled after recording ICE agents

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