Skirmish with police officer after restaurant raid leads to charges against Minneapolis protester

A man was charged Thursday for an alleged assault of a Minneapolis police officer in the aftermath of a large-scale federal raid of a Mexican restaurant on Lake Street.

Maxwell Louis Collyard, 33, of Minneapolis was charged in Hennepin County District Court with obstructing a police officer, a gross misdemeanor, and misdemeanor fleeing police. A 47-year-old Minneapolis man was jailed on similar allegations and could still face criminal charges.

The charges allege that Collyard wrestled with the officer to the ground, sprayed something in his face and fled on foot but was quickly apprehended.

Collyard remains jailed in lieu of $6,000 bail ahead of a court hearing Friday afternoon. Court records do not list an attorney for him.

Collyard and the second man were booked into jail early Tuesday evening, several hours after the law enforcement operation at Taqueria y Birrieria las Cuatro Milpas.

A spokesman for the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office said the office received a case from police for consideration of felony charges against the older suspect, but he was released late Thursday afternoon without being charged. The Minnesota Star Tribune generally does not identify suspects before they are charged.

In the wake of Tuesday’s raid, which federal authorities said was focused on human and drug trafficking as well as money laundering and was among eight in the Twin Cities metro area, city officials criticized protesters for throwing items or getting into altercations at the scene.

A few hours later, however, officers responded to what police said was a crowd of protesters surrounding an occupied vehicle about a block from the scene of the raid.

Officers intervened, safely assisted the driver in leaving the area and arrested the men for assaulting an officer, police said. The officer was treated at a hospital for minor injuries.

According to the charges, an officer approached Collyard, who “reached for [the officer’s vest] and tore something off of it,” the criminal complaint read.

The officer arrested Collyard, who allegedly put up resistance. As he continued to resist, the officer “used two takedowns in an attempt to take control of [Collyard],” the complaint said.

Collyard then sprayed an unknown substance in the officer’s face as a crowd gathered around the two. Collyard got to his feet and ran but was soon captured by police.

“They didn’t tell us what was happening,” Walz told a group of States Newsroom editors, according to a recording of the interview shared by Walz’s staff.

“It was chaotic,” Walz said. “Any professional, especially in law enforcement or the military, tells you, you do not want chaos.”