Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office opens investigation into violent arrests outside Whipple Building

The Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office has opened an internal investigation after videos captured deputies tackling and arresting protesters outside the Whipple Federal Building last weekend.

Videos obtained by the Minnesota Star Tribune show a group of deputies walking by protesters who were standing on a sidewalk near the intersection of Federal Drive and Airport Service Road, outside the federal building where protests occur daily. The incident occurred around 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 31.

In one video, as a deputy walks by a protester, an altercation occurs, and the camera briefly veers away. When it refocuses, three or more deputies are seen rushing two protesters, pinning them against a barricade and wrestling them to the ground to make arrests.

One of the protesters, a woman, was seen in one video with a bloody mouth as she was led away. Crowd members were concerned another person who was arrested hit their head against the barricade, according to videos provided to the Star Tribune.

Brandon Sigüenza and Julia Rose witnessed the event and said there was no clear reason to justify the violent arrests.

“These [protesters] were just standing at the corner with us,” Sigüenza said.

“They were just standing there very calmly, watching from afar, what the sheriffs were doing,” Rose said.

“They’re wearing masks and sunglasses and tactical gear,” Sigüenza said. “This behavior from the sheriff’s department, it was eerily similar to what I’ve seen from ICE agents firsthand.”

Megan Larson, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office, said an internal investigation was opened the same day the arrests were made, and the agency is reviewing all information available.

Larson did not respond to other questions about the incident, nor did she say whether the agency had opened a similar probe into an incident on Friday, Jan. 30, that also involved deputies making arrests outside the federal building.

In that incident, video recorded by Tristan Evans-Fargione showed a group of deputies approaching crowd members and bringing two of them to the ground before making arrests. Evans-Fargione said the arrests “seemed pretty senseless to us and really rough.”

“Individuals disobeyed lawful orders and engaged in unlawful protest activity,” a statement from the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office said. “Several people then obstructed deputies during an arrest, causing the arrested person to fall, and another individual jumped on a deputy’s back.”