A protester, held on the ground by federal agents in Minneapolis, was sprayed directly in the face with a chemical irritant by an agent. A photograph by The Minnesota Star Tribune depicted an opaque stream of the irritant directed at the protester's face.
Photographer Rich Tsong-Taatarii reported that witnesses at the protest on Wednesday afternoon stated at least two teenagers had been taken away by federal agents. Tsong-Taatarii observed individuals expressing anger towards Border Patrol agents who were attempting to leave the area.
An incident occurred where a Border Patrol agent pushed a woman on a bicycle to the ground. Following this, agents began deploying tear gas and other chemical irritants, according to Tsong-Taatarii, who also stated he did not observe the protester who was pinned to the ground make physical contact with agents.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) provided an account of the events, stating that Border Patrol agents were "repeatedly harassed and blocked by hostile crowds while simply trying to take bathroom breaks." DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin claimed that groups of individuals appeared at each gas station stop, yelled at agents, stalked them, and attempted to prevent vehicles from leaving, which DHS characterized as creating unsafe conditions. McLaughlin further stated that at one stop, individuals threw food at agents, and at a subsequent stop, an agent was spit on. When an agent moved to detain the individual who spit on him, McLaughlin said the crowd tackled and attacked agents, surrounding them. DHS stated that agents used crowd control measures to disperse the crowd to safely exit the area.