Thrown eggs, spit, fire extinguishers all alleged in charges for 16 Minneapolis protestors
Sixteen people whom Attorney General Pam Bondi said on Wednesday were “rioters” face federal charges for allegedly assaulting federal officers in Minnesota. Their court records, however, painted a complex picture of what led to the charges.
Bondi made the announcement on her X account, adding that she was in Minneapolis as agents are carrying out arrests. She noted that more arrests will come and called the 16 people “rioters.” Court documents showed that they were arrested between Jan. 7 and Jan. 22.
“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Nothing will stop President Trump and this Department of Justice from enforcing the law,” Bondi wrote.
She received criticism for the post, which accompanied images of some people arrested and a list of their full names. Podcaster Ed Krassenstein asked Bondi to arrest Jonathan Ross, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent who shot and killed Renee Good, 37, and the Customs and Border Protection agent who shot and killed Alex Pretti, 37.
“Could we see some video of the ‘assaults’ you allege,” Rep. Daniel Goldman, D-N.Y., wrote on X in reply to Bondi. “Nobody believes you or your partisan DOJ — which is focused on protestors not ICE murderers.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office of Minnesota said in a Wednesday release that none of the 16 have been indicted yet. The release said a decision to indict will be made later.
Bondi said the following people were charged:
- Kirubele Adbebe
- Nasra Ahmed
- Helicity Borowska
- Matrim Charlebois
- Joshua Doyle
- Suzanne Etherington-Gillian
- Nitzana Flores
- Paul Johnson
- Abdikadir Noor
- Christina Rank
- Margaret Sager
- Madeline Tschida
- Alice Valentine
- William Vermie
- Ilan Wilson-Soler
- Quentin Williams
Court records for Alice Valentine lacked an affidavit as of press time. Nothing has been filed yet in Sager’s case as of Thursday afternoon.
A review of the court cases showed that Homeland Security Investigations special agent Richard Berger filed affidavits or criminal complaints against most of the people named. HSI Special Agent Bronson Day wrote the affidavit against Ahmed. Here’s what their documents say.
Whipple Building protests leads to arrests
Protests on two separate occasions at the Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis led to Borowska’s and Charlebois’ arrests, according to court documents.
Berger wrote that, on Jan. 13, Charlebois swung her mobility cane at agents’ SUV and struck it several times. Prior to the incident, she and her brother tried to block them from entering the property and refused commands to move.
“Charlebois actively resisted officers by use of forcible physical contact,” Berger wrote. “She was subsequently moved aside and taken to the ground to allow the LE SUV to enter federal property.”
No information was given on why or how she was taken to the ground, nor about whether her brother was arrested.
Berger wrote in a complaint against Borowska that she was seen intentionally spitting on a Border Protection officer’s body armor and the officer standing next to him. During an arrest, she also spat in a Customs and Border Protection officer’s face.
“Borowska told agents that she came out to the federal building with a group of people to protest law enforcement,” Berger wrote.
Ahmed suffered concussion during arrest
Ahmed was arrested on Jan. 14 for allegedly hitting federal officers with an egg, Day wrote. He wrote in court records that agents were doing an unsuccessful “knock and talk” and returned to their vehicles.
Day added that Ahmed approached them, yelling obscenities.
“At this moment, Deportation Officer 1 (DO1) observed Ahmed raise her arm and make a throwing motion,” he wrote in court papers. “At this moment, another Deportation Officer (DO2) was hit in the leg, with what was later identified as an egg.”
Officers arrested her. Ahmed said in a press conference that she instead was the one harmed as agents were trying to arrest her, according to Minnesota television station Fox 9. She said federal agents were following two Somali men and asked them to hold a door open for her.
ICE agents intervened and arrested her, where she said one person called her a racial slur, pushed her hard and she suffered a concussion.
“I was screaming, I was crying, I was so scared,” she said. “I’ve never been arrested in my life.”
Arrests arose out of protest near Roosevelt High School
Etherington-Gillian, Flores, Wilson-Soler and Williams were all arrested on Jan. 7 when a group of federal agents were driving an eight-vehicle convoy near Roosevelt High School in Minneapolis.
The arrests started with Etherington-Gillian, CBP employee Kyle Harvick wrote in a civil lawsuit. The American Civil Liberties Union filed the litigation against the Department of Homeland Security, its agencies and leaders alleging violations of people’s First Amendment rights. Harvick wrote that Etherington-Gillian followed the convoy for about an hour in her car before ramming one vehicle in the rear.
He said that she attempted to flee in the car as they sought to arrest her for the assaults Bondi described.
“While in pursuit of Etherington’s vehicle, agents observed Etherington driving at high rates of speed, driving into the other lane of traffic, and driving through red lights,” Harvick wrote. “Etherington drove through a school zone, then turned around and led the agency vehicles back towards the school.”
They arrested her, but a crowd formed near the high school, protesting their presence. Williams was arrested during the protest for grabbing and attempting to physically pick up a Border Patrol agent who was trying to restrain another person.
Wilson-Soler faced an assault charge for spraying a fire extinguisher at federal agents, then hurling it toward them, Harvick wrote. He said the extinguisher struck one woman in her knee. Pictures of the agent’s knee were attached to the statement that showed it to be bruised and discolored.
Flores attempted to intervene in Wilson-Soler’s arrest by placing her body on top of him.
“Agents commanded Flores to put her hands behind her back and tried to gain control of her as she thrashed around and wrestled her hands away from agents,” Harvick wrote. “To regain control, agents deployed Oleoresin Capsicum [OC] spray on Flores, which was effective in allowing the agents to take Flores into custody without further incident.”
OC spray is commonly known as pepper spray.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, pepper spray is a riot control agent and can cause glaucoma, eye scarring and breathing problems in the most severe cases.
Car crashes, brick throwing leads to arrests
The other 10 charged were arrested after confrontations with federal agents, according to court documents.
Agents arrested Rank on Jan. 12 in Minneapolis after she drove behind ICE agents and followed them in and out of a parking lot, Berger wrote in court documents. She blocked an entrance to the same parking lot and the cars collided. An agent wrote that Rank allegedly admitted she was intentionally following the agents.
Noor faces an assault charge for throwing a brick at an officer on Jan. 12 in St. Cloud, a small town just northwest of Minneapolis, Berger wrote.
In cases like Adbebe, Berger wrote in charging documents that he was arrested on Jan. 13 for kicking a federal officer’s vehicle and opening the trunk while it was in motion. Agents pinned him against a car, where he allegedly spat on an officer’s forearm.
A deportation officer arrested Vermie on Jan. 13 after he struck down the officer’s outstretched hand twice, Berger wrote in court documents.
“The (deportation officer) then attempted to arrest Vermie who struggled, resisted, and pushed against multiple DOs until his arrest could be effectuated,” he wrote.
Tschida was arrested on Jan. 16 in Minneapolis for “impeding operations” when she used her car to block agents from leaving the area and refused to step back when told by agents. According to court documents, Berger wrote that while Tschida was in the back of an agent’s car, she kicked open a rear door, which struck an ICE agent on the leg. She attempted to flee and was arrested again.
Doyle was arrested after Homeland Security Investigations agents were “conducting surveillance” to locate a person on Jan. 21 in Minneapolis, Berger wrote in court documents. The agents wrote that Doyle was first taking pictures of an HSI agent’s car before touching it, which agents assumed he was planting a tracking device. A crowd started to form and agents attempted to leave, but Doyle stood in front of their vehicle.
An HSI agent exited his car and dropped his phone, which Doyle pointed out and then kicked the agent’s hand, leading to his arrest.
A day later, Johnson was charged after approaching Customs and Border Protection officers’ vehicle and pepper spraying a passenger, Berger wrote in court documents. He retreated to his van and officers broke his windows to arrest him. Johnson tried to shift gears and pepper sprayed officers again.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
