AP PHOTOS: Athlete to attempt first-ever swim around Martha's Vineyard ahead of 'Jaws' anniversary

MARTHA'S VINEYARD, Mass. (AP) — An athlete aims to be the first person to swim around Martha’s Vineyard to educate the public on sharks.

Lewis Pugh is attempting the swim in 47-degree (8-degree Celsius) water during the start of white shark migration season.

The swim is planned to correspond with the 50th anniversary of “Jaws.” The 55-year-old swimmer is specifically taking on the challenge because he wants to change public perception of the vulnerable animals. He says they were maligned by the 1975 blockbuster film as “cold-blooded killers.” He’ll urge for more protections for the animals while he completes the 62-mile (100-kilometer) swim in about 12 days.

He began the journey just after the New England Aquarium confirmed the first white shark sighting of the season, earlier this week off the coast of Nantucket.

Read more about Pugh's historic swim and watch a livestream of him entering the water here.

This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.

Endurance swimmer Lewis Pugh walks towards the Edgartown lighthouse, which will be the starting point for his 12-day swim around Martha's Vineyard island, Monday, May 12, 2025, in Edgartown, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

A man navigates the wake behind the Martha's Vineyard Ferry, Monday, May 12, 2025, in Vineyard Haven, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Socks featuring the Jaws movie are displayed at Neptune's Sea Chest gift shop, Monday, May 12, 2025, in Vineyard Haven, Mass., on Martha's Vineyard Island. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Endurance swimmer Lewis Pugh looks out at Edgartown Harbor, the ending point for his swim around Martha's Vineyard island, which is expected to take 12 days, Monday, May 12, 2025, in Edgartown, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Endurance swimmer Lewis Pugh gestures to where he will begin his swim around Martha's Vineyard island, which is expected to take 12 days, near the Edgartown Lighthouse, Monday, May 12, 2025, in Edgartown, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Audrey Constant, of Marshfield, Mass., is wrapped in a towel featuring the "Jaws" movie, while walking on a beach that was used as a filming location for the film five decades ago, Monday, May 12, 2025, in Edgartown, Mass., on Martha's Vineyard Island. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

A shopper walks past items featuring the Jaws movie at Neptune's Sea Chest gift shop, Monday, May 12, 2025, in Vineyard Haven, Mass., on Martha's Vineyard Island. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

A family walks to the span of the American Legion Memorial Bridge, also known as the "Jaws Bridge", while spending the day fishing, Monday, May 12, 2025, in Edgartown, Mass., on Martha's Vineyard Island. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Fish tails hang on a fisherman's shack in Menemsha Harbor, Wednesday, May 14, 2025, in Chilmark, Mass. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Young fishermen watch the Chappaquiddick ferries, Wednesday, May 14, 2025, in Edgartown, Mass. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

A woman views the sunset at Menemsha Beach, Wednesday, May 14, 2025, in Chilmark, Mass. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Visitors ride bikes on the street used for a Fourth of July parade in the movie "Jaws," Wednesday, May 14, 2025, in Edgartown, Mass. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Sharks decorate the Menemsha Fish Market, Wednesday, May 14, 2025, in Chilmark, Mass. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

A visitor arrives at a shop selling Jaws-related souvenirs, Wednesday, May 14, 2025, in Edgartown, Mass. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

A shark cutout is used for a sign at the Menemsha Fish Market, Wednesday, May 14, 2025, in Chilmark, Mass. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

A sculpture of a fishermen harpooning a swordfish stands near Menemsha Beach, Wednesday, May 14, 2025, in Chilmark, Mass. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Kayaker Nicholas Burden guides endurance swimmer Louis Pugh as a fishing boat passes by, Thursday, May 15, 2025, off Edgartown, Mass. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Endurance swimmer Louis Pugh warms up on the ride back to shore after completing the first leg of his swim around Martha's Vineyard, Thursday, May 15, 2025, off Edgartown, Mass. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Endurance swimmer Louis Pugh pauses to rehydrate during the first day of his swim around Martha's Vineyard, Thursday, May 15, 2025, off Edgartown, Mass. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Seals watch endurance swimmer Louis Pugh near the Cape Poge Lighthouse, Thursday, May 15, 2025, in Edgartown, Mass. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Endurance swimmer Louis Pugh answers questions about his planned swim while chatting with visitors to Martha's Vineyard, Thursday, May 15, 2025, in Edgartown, Mass. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Endurance swimmer Louis Pugh prepares for his swim, Thursday, May 15, 2025, in Edgartown, Mass. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Endurance swimmer Louis Pugh chats with visitors to Martha's Vineyard, Thursday, May 15, 2025, in Edgartown, Mass. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

An instrument that sends an electronic signal into the water to ward off sharks is attached to a kayak near endurance swimmer Louis Pugh, Thursday, May 15, 2025, off Edgartown, Mass. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Endurance swimmer Louis Pugh fist bumps a beach-goer before entering the water to begin his swim around Martha's Vineyard, Thursday, May 15, 2025, in Edgartown, Mass. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Endurance swimmer Louis Pugh swims near the Edgartown Harbor Light, Thursday, May 15, 2025, in Edgartown, Mass. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

An app is used to monitor endurance swimmer Louis Pugh's temperature while he swims in 47 degree F water, Thursday, May 15, 2025, off Edgartown, Mass. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Endurance swimmer Louis Pugh swims off the coast pf Edgartown, Mass., Thursday, May 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Liberian man arrested over the weekend after heavily armed immigration agents used a battering ram to break through the front door of his Minneapolis home had been checking in regularly with federal authorities for years, his attorney said Tuesday.

The arrest of Garrison Gibson, 37 during a Minnesota immigration crackdown that the Department of Homeland Security has called its largest enforcement operation ever, was a “blatant constitutional violation,” since the agents did not have a proper warrant, said attorney Marc Prokosch.

The arrest Sunday came in a city increasingly on edge after an immigration agent shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Good last week, setting off waves of angry protests and clashes between authorities and activists.

“This was an illegal search, absolutely,” said Prokosch, because agents had brought only an administrative warrant, which authorizes someone’s arrest but does not allow officers to forcibly enter private homes. Forced entry requires a criminal warrant signed by a judge.

Gibson, who fled the Liberian civil war as a child, had been ordered removed from the U.S., apparently because of a 2008 drug conviction that was later dismissed by the courts. But he had remained in the country legally under what’s known as an order of supervision, with the requirement that he meet regularly with immigration authorities.

Only days before his arrest, Gibson had checked in with immigration authorities at regional immigration offices — the same building where agents have been staging enforcement raids in recent weeks.

“He would have had another check-in in a couple of months,” Prokosch said. “So if he’s this dangerous person, then, why are they letting him walk around?

Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the Homeland Security Department, said earlier this week that Gibson has “a lengthy rap sheet (that) includes robbery, drug possession with intent to sell, possession of a deadly weapon, malicious destruction and theft.” She did not indicate if those were arrests, charges or convictions.

McLaughlin did not respond to questions about whether the agents’ use of force was justified.

But court records indicate Gibson’s legal history — dominated by a few traffic violations, minor drug arrests and an arrest for riding public transportation without paying the fare — shows only one felony, the 2008 conviction for third-degree narcotics sales that was later dismissed.

Prokosch said Gibson had been flown to Texas by immigration authorities in the hours after his arrest, then quickly flown back to Minnesota on a judge's order after the lawyer filed a habeas corpus petition, used by courts to determine if an imprisonment is legal. The courts have not yet ruled on the petition.

Gibson is currently being held at an immigration detention center in Albert Lea, Minnesota, after being held at a large camp on the Fort Bliss Army base in El Paso, Texas. according to ICE’s detainee locator.

The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to an email from The Associated Press with follow-up questions about Gibson's case.

Gibson’s wife, Teyana Gibson Brown, a nurse who was inside the home with the couple's 9-year-old child during the raid, was deeply shaken by the arrest, Prokosch said.

During their conversations, she “was having a hard time just completing sentences because she’s just been so distraught,” he said.

Activists who had been keeping watch on the immigration agents before Gibson's arrest banged on drums, blew whistles and honked car horns in attempts to disrupt the operation and warn neighbors, some of whom poured into the streets.

Video taken at the scene by the AP shows agents pushing and pepper-spraying demonstrators.

The Twin Cities — the latest target in President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement campaign — has been convulsed by the killing of Good, who was shot Jan. 7 during a confrontation with agents.

The Trump administration has defended the officer who shot Good in her car, saying he was protecting himself and fellow agents and that Good had “weaponized” her vehicle.

City and state officials have dismissed those explanations based on videos of the confrontation.

State and local authorities are urging the public to share video and any other evidence as they seek to investigate Good’s death after federal authorities insisted they would work on their own and not share information.

More than 2,000 immigration arrests have been made in Minnesota since the enforcement operation began at the beginning of December, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told Fox News over the weekend that the administration would send additional federal agents to the state to protect immigration officers and continue enforcement.

—

AP correspondent Elliot Spagat contributed to this report from San Diego.

A family member, center, reacts after federal immigration officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

A woman gets into an altercation with a federal immigration officer as officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Bystanders are treated after being pepper sprayed as federal immigration officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

A federal immigration officer deploys pepper spray as officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

A family member reacts after federal immigration officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)