Neighbors: Blockades are pop-up parties that also slow down ICE agents
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Minneapolis residents are trying a new tactic to slow and deter federal agents from entering city neighborhoods.
The organizers call them filter blockades, they’re essentially pop-up block parties in the middle of city streets, and they’ve already earned the ire of border czar Tom Homan, who said during a press conference Wednesday that the blockades were illegal and wouldn’t deter his agents.
On Saturday, multiple blockades were set up across south Minneapolis. At one blockade on Cedar Avenue and 34th Street, residents dragged wooden pallets, signs and traffic cones into the intersection to set up a roundabout on the busy county road.
Minneapolis police maintained a low-profile presence at the blockade. Lt. Deitan Dubuc, who was at the site for over an hour, told people on the blockade that he wanted to make sure that people could express themselves, but that no one would get hurt.
“People need to understand that we have a lot more things in common, than differences,” Dubuc said in an interview with MPR News. “These are uncharted territories, and we've never dealt with this before. So, how can we find a way to work together to make sure that we find that is safe for people, and also they feel respected?”
— Jon Collins, MPR News
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