The FBI has asked agents from field offices across the United States to voluntarily travel to Minneapolis for temporary assignments, as the city reels from anti-ICE protests and the fatal shooting of Rene Judd, according to two sources.
The order was first Reported by Bloomberg It was confirmed by a law enforcement official familiar with the messages and another source familiar with the requests who viewed the messages.
It’s not clear what the specific mission of the volunteers actually moving in is, but the second source told NBC News that the agents will investigate AFO cases — an FBI designation to identify and charge suspects accused of assaulting a federal officer. Agents are also needed to investigate vandalism and theft of property from FBI vehicles, the second source added.
This comes as there has been an increase in the number of federal immigration agents in Minnesota and protests have rocked the state over anger over the fatal shooting of Good in Minneapolis on January 7 by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer.
For now, the request is voluntary, and there is no mass wave of FBI agents to Minneapolis, sources said.
An FBI spokesman declined to comment.
The size of Minneapolis’ immigration enforcement force — with nearly 3,000 federal immigration officers — appears to be larger than previous operations in blue cities like Chicago and Los Angeles.
Residents described the increased police presence as an “invasion,” as agents in unmarked cars were seen driving through neighborhood streets and in stores and parking lots, going door to door.
Local officials, including Mayor Jacob Frey, have called on Immigration and Customs Enforcement to leave the city. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump last week threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act in response to the protesters, calling them “provocateurs and insurrectionists.”