A Liberian man released after his battering-ram arrest in Minneapolis is back in custody again
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — A Minnesota Liberian was back in custody Friday, his lawyer said, a day after a judge ordered his release because federal agents broke down his door to arrest him without a court warrant.
The dramatic arrest of Garrison Gibson last weekend by armed immigration officers using a battering ram was caught on video. U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Bryan ruled the arrest illegal, but Gibson was arrested again when he showed up at an immigration office, attorney Marc Prokosch said.
“We were there for a recording and the original officer said, ‘That looks good, I’ll be right back,'” Prokosch said. “And then there was a lot of chaos, and about five police officers came out and said, ‘We’re going to take him back into custody.’ I was like, “Really, do you want to do this again?” »
Garrison’s arrest is one of more than 2,500 people made during a weeklong immigration crackdown in Minneapolis and St. Paul, according to the Department of Homeland Security. The operation has intensified and become more confrontational since the fatal shooting of Renee Good on January 7.
Gibson, 37, who fled the Liberian civil war as a child, had been deported from the United States, apparently because of a 2008 drug conviction that was later dismissed. He remained in the country legally under what is known as a supervision order, with a requirement to meet regularly with immigration authorities.
Meanwhile, tribal leaders and Native American rights organizations are advising anyone with a tribal ID card to carry it with them when in public in case they are approached by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
Native Americans across the United States have reported being arrested or detained by ICE, and tribal leaders are asking their members to report these contacts.
Ben Barnes, chief of the Shawnee Tribe in Oklahoma and president of the United Nations of Oklahoma Indians, called the reports “deeply concerning.”
Minneapolis organizers set up application booths around the city to help people in need of tribal ID.
FBI Director Kash Patel said at least one person was arrested for stealing property from an FBI vehicle in Minneapolis. The SUV was among government vehicles whose windows were smashed Wednesday evening. Attorney General Pam Bondi said body armor and weapons were stolen.
President Donald Trump has threatened to invoke an 1807 law, the Insurrection Act, to send troops to quell protests during immigration enforcement operations. Minnesota’s attorney general said he would take legal action if the president took action.
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Associated Press journalists Ed White in Detroit and Graham Lee Brewer in Oklahoma City contributed.
