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Veteran law enforcement leaders are warning that Minneapolis is facing a dangerous breakdown in public order as mob violence, political paralysis and fractured policing collide.
Former LAPD detective Moses Castillo, who served during the Los Angeles riots, said current ICE operations are producing chaos instead of public safety.
“This is creating more mayhem than results,” Castillo said, warning that agents are being pushed into public contact situations they are not trained for. He predicted that without better coordination, “someone is going to get hurt or killed by friendly fire.”
Castillo said that even if officer-involved shootings are later ruled legally justified under Graham v. Connor, poor tactics can still inflame tensions and escalate danger. He added that legality alone no longer calms public outrage when operations appear indiscriminate.
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Federal agents deal with agitators outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on January 14, 2026. (Jamie Vera/Fox News)
The warnings come amid escalating unrest in Minneapolis following recent deadly encounters involving federal immigration agents during enforcement operations, which sparked large crowd responses and heightened tensions across parts of the city.
Demonstrators have taken to the streets in response to the shootings, accusing federal authorities of excessive force, while law enforcement officials warn that misinformation and inflammatory rhetoric have fueled anger and confrontations.
On Monday, President Donald Trump announced he is deploying Border Czar Tom Homan to Minnesota as ICE operations face what he described as violent chaos, signaling increased federal involvement as officials work to stabilize the situation and restore order.
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Agitators clash with law enforcement outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility as they attempt to block federal agents and vehicles from leaving during demonstrations against ICE following the fatal shooting of a 37-year-old woman by a U.S. immigration agent, in Minneapolis, United States, on January 8, 2026. (Mostafa Bassim/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Those concerns were echoed by Wounded Blue founder and retired police lieutenant Randy Sutton, who recently spent several days in Minneapolis supporting officers.
“What we are seeing is mob mentality on a scale that is absolutely unprecedented,” Sutton said. “You have hundreds and even thousands of people surrounding law enforcement officers who are simply doing their jobs.”
Sutton said the violence is being enabled by political leadership, arguing that officers have effectively been abandoned.
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“The governor, the mayor and the city leadership have abdicated their responsibility for public safety,” Sutton said. “That empowers the mob and makes this incredibly dangerous.”
He pointed to a recent incident in which an ICE officer had his finger bitten off during an attack, calling it evidence that violence against law enforcement has become normalized.
“If you can rationalize biting the finger off a federal officer, there is something radically wrong,” Sutton said.
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Sutton said Minneapolis policing has collapsed since the 2020 unrest, noting the city is authorized for about 900 officers but now has roughly 550, with only around 265 patrol officers available to police the entire city.
“Effective policing has ended in the city of Minneapolis,” Sutton said. “They cannot even handle their calls for service.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the Minneapolis Police Department for comment.
According to Sutton, federal agents are now being pushed into volatile crowd-control roles without proper training or coordination because local police have been ordered to stand down.
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A protester confronts a Homeland Security officer during a protest against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) following a fatal shooting by an ICE agent in Minneapolis on Jan. 11. (Mostafa Bassim/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“These agents are not street cops,” Sutton said. “They are not trained to deal with massive crowds, and there is no unified command.”
Sutton described severe psychological strain among Minneapolis officers, saying many are suffering from what law enforcement calls moral injury.
“I have rarely seen an entire police department with the thousand-yard stare,” he said. “They know what they’re supposed to do, and they’re being prevented from doing it.”
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Sutton also accused Minnesota leaders of inflaming tensions by publicly labeling recent officer-involved shootings as murders before investigations were completed.
“To accuse officers of murder before the facts are known is irresponsible,” Sutton said. “It foments violence, hatred and distrust.”
Both Sutton and Castillo warned the unrest appears highly organized, pointing to coordinated behavior, intelligence gathering and outside funding.
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Castillo said the solution requires leadership, coordination and a return to focused enforcement that prioritizes violent criminal offenders over broad street operations that escalate confrontation.
Sutton warned that without those changes, the situation in Minneapolis remains highly unstable.
“This is a highly flammable situation,” Sutton said. “Everyone that wears a badge is in danger.”
He said the absence of unified leadership and clear command has left officers exposed and the public at risk, with no clear path to de-escalation.
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Law enforcement leaders warn that unless tactics and leadership change, Minneapolis could see further violence as tensions continue to rise.
Fox News Digital has reached out to ICE, the Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection.