...
By Khaleda Rahman
National Correspondent
0
Share
Newsweek is a Trust Project member
See more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
Conservative influencer Nick Sortor said he was detained on Sunday after violently clashing with protesters outside an ICE facility in Minneapolis.
Sortor posted videos on X, including one that showed him driving through a crowd of protesters that had surrounded his vehicle.
"Get out of the way," a man can be heard saying before the vehicle moves forward. Some protesters are seen moving out of the way, but one jumps onto the hood of the vehicle before falling off to the side.
Read More on News
Newsweek has contacted Sortor for comment via a message on X sent outside regular business hours. The Minneapolis Police Department, the Eagan Police Department and the Department of Homeland Security have been contacted for comment via email.
...
Why It Matters
Minneapolis has been on edge since the killing of 37-year-old Renee Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer, which has sparked protests and calls for ICE to leave the city. The Twin Cities area is the latest target in President Donald Trump's immigration enforcement campaign.
Federal officials have defended ICE and the agent responsible for shooting Good, saying it was an act of self-defense. But the state's Democratic leaders have rejected that characterization, saying the woman had posed no threat when she was shot.
The protests have been largely peaceful, but some have turned violent. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has said those who cause damage to property or put others in danger will be arrested, and he blamed "agitators that are trying to rile up large crowds."
What To Know
Sortor wrote in the post that protesters had surrounded his vehicle and were "smashing my windows, and attempting to kill @CamHigby and me."
He added: "I was forced to drive away to save our lives, repeatedly warning those standing in front to GET OUT OF THE WAY. They didn't listen, so I had no choice but to go anyway."
He wrote that he was detained because "these idiots called the police on me saying I had a gun and was 'running innocent protestors over.'"
In another post, Sorter showed a 20-second clip of his vehicle with the words "bye" and "b****" spray-painted on it.
He wrote that demonstrators were "surrounding my vehicle. Breaking my windows. Spray painting the car. Telling @camhigby and I over and over that they're going to kill us."
Meanwhile, Mercado Media, an independent news platform in Minnesota, posted a video on X that showed Sorter in an altercation with a woman moments before federal agents deployed flash-bangs at the scene.
The account captioned the video: "NICK SORTOR HITS A FEMALE—she was seen blocking him from filming her friend with a plastic shield, Sortor then knocks it to the ground, blocks her from retrieving it and things escalate and flashbangs, pepper balls are deployed.
"@nicksortor and @camhigby have escalated every situation they have entered into. Whether it be Portland, Chicago, D.C. and now Minneapolis."
Newsweek has contacted Mercado Media for comment via X.
Sortor, who has more than 1 million followers on X, was arrested in early October alongside two other people following an altercation outside Portland's ICE facility.
Local prosecutors later declined to charge him after finding that one of the protesters had pushed him, and that "any physical contact he had with other persons was defensive in nature," the Associated Press reported.
What People Are Saying
Nick Sortor wrote on X on Monday: "One of the things you leftist militants refuse to understand is the more you harass, threaten, and try to kill me, the longer I stay around. Ask Portland how arresting me went. Their riots outside the ICE facility never recovered. You picked a fight with the wrong guy tonight."
Cam Higby, whose X account says he works as a journalist for the Today Is America news site, wrote on the platform: "To be clear: Nick Sortor did not initiate any physical contact with anyone. We only left our vehicle when rioters assaulted or clashed with agents. Our job is to film. They would mob and attack us every time. We did our best not to engage with them. Obviously they repeatedly initiated physical contact with us."
Andrew Mercado, the editor-in-chief of Mercado Media, wrote on X in response to Higby's claim that protesters had "boxed" Sortor in with their cars: "There was nobody behind them and they could've left at any time tonight before Nick Sortor decided to fight a woman. The protestors had called the police and were preventing them from fleeing the scene."
Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin recently told Newsweek: "We aren't going anywhere. While these sanctuary politicians refuse to protect Americans, DHS law enforcement will. We have removed thousands of murderers, scores of rapists, pedophiles, known and suspected terrorists, gang members and other public safety threats out of America's communities."
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, a Democrat, wrote on X on Friday: "Trump sent thousands of armed federal officers into our state, and it took just one day for them to kill someone. Now he wants nothing more than to see chaos distract from that horrific action. Don't give him what he wants."
Walz added in another post: "We will fight with peaceful expression, in court, through public debate, and at the ballot box. Keep the peace. And keep the faith."
What Happens Next
The protests against ICE are unlikely to subside anytime soon, particularly after the FBI told Minnesota law enforcement that they would not be allowed to participate in the investigation into Good's death.
The news cycle is loud. Algorithms push us to extremes. In the middle—where facts, ideas and progress live—there's a void. At Newsweek, we fill it with fearless, fair and fiercely independent journalism.
Common ground isn't just possible—it's essential. Our readers reflect America's diversity, united by a desire for thoughtful, unbiased news. Independent ratings confirm our approach: NewsGuard gives us 100/100 for reliability, and AllSides places us firmly in the political center.
In a polarized era, the center is dismissed as bland. Ours is different: The Courageous Center—it's not "both sides," it's sharp, challenging and alive with ideas. We follow facts, not factions. If that sounds like the kind of journalism you want to see thrive, we need you.
When you become a Newsweek Member, you support a mission to keep the center strong and vibrant. Members enjoy:
Help keep the center courageous. Join today.
View 0 Comments
Submit Correction
View Editorial & AI Guidelines