Minneapolis' police chief is criticizing federal immigration agents after a confrontation with protesters and an attempted arrest of a woman in which an officer kneeled on her back as she lay atop a snow bank and then tried to drag her to a car.
Tensions have been rising in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area as federal authorities continue an immigration crackdown focused on the region’s Somali community, the largest in the country.
Onlooker video of the confrontation Monday in a Minneapolis neighborhood showed people yelling at Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to release the woman, claiming she is pregnant and couldn't breathe. After kneeling on her, an agent later dragged the woman by one arm on her back toward a vehicle.
"Let her go! Let her go!” onlookers yelled as the agent dragged the woman at an intersection close to a Somali business district. The woman was let go.
Police Chief Brian O’Hara told a news conference Tuesday that city police were called to the confrontation by a federal agent who said officers needed help.
When police arrived, they did not see violence against federal officers and left in an effort to de-escalate the situation, O’Hara said. He added that “other law enforcement agencies” may have been using “questionable methods.”
“We have been training our officers for the last five years very, very intensely on de-escalation,” O’Hara said. “But unfortunately that is not, that is often not what we are seeing from other agencies in the city.”
Lauryn Spencer was driving on her lunch break when she heard whistles and honking, which observers have used to warn others of an ICE presence.
She said she approached the scene and began recording immediately, but was shoved back by an officer when she tried asking the woman on the ground what her name was. Spencer said she and others in the crowd were also sprayed with chemical irritants by one of the agents.
“They were being very aggressive from the beginning, like there was never a time where they attempted to use diplomacy,” she said. “I didn’t see anybody throw any hard items. The snowballs were definitely being thrown, but we didn’t start throwing snowballs until they started dragging her around by her wrist.”
Department of Homeland Security assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin said federal officers were targeting a vehicle when protesters “threw rocks, chunks of ice, assaulted officers and used pepper spray” against the officers. The officers sustained multiple injuries including cuts, McLaughlin said in a statement, adding that two people were charged with assaulting federal officers and remain in custody.
Officers tried to arrest the woman shown in the video because she “rushed an ICE vehicle and attempted to vandalize it,” but the officers abandoned the arrest after being swarmed by protesters, McLaughlin said.
Hodan Hassan, a former Minnesota state legislator, said she believes ICE tactics are becoming more harsh as the Minneapolis-St. Paul operation continues.
“The first week, they were not very aggressive. They were stopping people. Second week, we saw them really aggressive," she said.
The clash in south Minneapolis occurred just a couple miles away from where George Floyd was killed by a city police officer kneeling on his neck. Scenes from that death shook the country and set off a nationwide racial justice movement and demands for police reform.
Activists confronted a group of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in the largely Somali neighborhood of Cedar-Riverside in Minneapolis, Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Vancleave)
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was unsure what his future with the team will look like following Wednesday's benching for rookie Quinn Ewers.
For now, the former first-round draft pick said he will contribute in whatever way he can despite his disappointment with how this season has gone.
“Disappointed,” Tagovailoa said at his locker about coach Mike McDaniel's decision to demote him for Ewers. “I mean, I’m not happy about it, but it's something out of my control.”
The decision came after Tagovailoa struggled in a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, which eliminated Miami (6-8) from postseason contention. Ewers, a seventh-round pick by Miami earlier this year, will make his first career start Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals, McDaniel said Wednesday.
Zach Wilson, who has been Miami’s No. 2 quarterback most of the season, will back up Ewers. Tagovailoa will be the emergency third quarterback.
“Naturally I’d say I’m disappointed,” Tagovailoa said. “I think it’s normal. It’s a normal human emotion. But outside of that, I’ve got to do my part. My role here right now is to help whoever the quarterback is going to be for this team.”
McDaniel said the decision came down to who he felt gave the Dolphins the best chance to win. Miami fell 28-15 at Pittsburgh on Monday night, closing the door on its playoff hopes with three games left in the season.
Tagovailoa threw for just 65 yards through three quarters on Monday, and the areas in which he has appeared to regress were evident again, from questionable decision-making to a lack of mobility that has hampered him throughout the season. He leads the NFL with 15 interceptions and hasn’t played up to his contract after signing a four-year, $212.4 million extension in July 2024.
Ewers was 5 for 8 for 53 yards in his only action this season in a lopsided loss to the Browns in October. He was the 231st player selected in the draft last April after starting three seasons at Texas.
“I’m super thankful that the staff believes in me to go out there and give us an opportunity to go win an NFL football game,” Ewers said. "And I know going back on it, telling my 10-year-old, 12-year-old self the opportunity that I have in front of me, he’d be pretty stoked.”
Tagovailoa was drafted by Miami after winning a national championship during a successful college career at Alabama, and he was expected to be the key piece that would end years of disappointment for the Dolphins, who have the league’s longest playoff-win drought.
That didn’t happen.
Tagovailoa instead struggled on the field his first two seasons under former Miami coach Brian Flores and was benched several times as a rookie. Rumors churned then about Miami’s intention of moving on from the quarterback.
The Dolphins fired Flores and replaced him with McDaniel for the 2022 season, and Tagovailoa later said that McDaniel built him up after Flores tore him down as a young player.
“I don’t coach with pessimistic forecasts,” McDaniel said Wednesday. "I coach to try to reach people. I believe in the players that are on the team. My job is to react and respond to situations. And when I have the conviction that a change needs to be made, I need to take action and not trivialize any game.
“These are players with a finite career. There’s games to be played in front of fans that paid to see them.”
The 27-year-old Tagovailoa had started every game this season but has a history of concussions. He missed six games last season because of a concussion and hip injury after playing 17 games in 2023. He led the NFL in yards passing that season, helped the Dolphins win 11 games to earn a wild-card spot and earned a big contract that included $167.2 million guaranteed.
Tagovailoa said he didn't think his injury history contributed to his regression this season. His 15 interceptions are a career high, he is on pace to finish the season with his worst passer rate (88.5) since his rookie season, and he has failed to throw for more than 200 yards in eight of his 14 starts. Before this year, he hadn’t had more than three such games in a season since 2021, his first year as a starter.
“I would say the biggest thing, and it’s being honest with myself as well, had been my performance,” Tagovailoa said. “I haven’t been performing up to the level and the capabilities that I have in the past.”
Tagovailoa declined to say whether he felt this decision would affect his future with the team.
A total of $54 million is guaranteed for 2026. The Dolphins would incur significant hits to the salary cap by releasing Tagovailoa. Releasing him next year would result in a $99 million dead cap charge. If the move is designated as a post-June 1 release, those charges are split over two years, with $67.4 million allocated to the 2026 cap and $31.8 million in 2027.
The Denver Broncos took the NFL's all-time biggest cap hit of $85 million for releasing Russell Wilson in 2024.
It's unclear if the Dolphins will stick with Ewers beyond Sunday. They close the season at home against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and at New England.
“In Tua’s shoes, it’s tough,” Ewers said. "I was benched in the middle of a game last year. So I mean, I know how he feels, and it’s a bad feeling.”
Maaddi reported from Tampa.
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
FILE - Miami Dolphins quarterback Quinn Ewers (14) throws a pass during the second half of an NFL football game against the Cleveland Browns, Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/David Richard, File)
Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (1) walks off the field after an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Pittsburgh, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Justin Berl)
