St. Peter police chief intervenes, prevents federal agents from arresting resident

[demmiblue]

MPR News has learned that the police chief in the small southern Minnesota city of St. Peter intervened Thursday afternoon to prevent federal immigration agents from arresting a local resident.

The resident, a woman, had been observing and recording video of immigration enforcement actions from her car when agents removed her from her car and took her into custody.

It's believed to be the first time a local police department in Minnesota intervened in a federal law enforcement action since the surge in immigration enforcement began two months ago.

The woman, who did not want to be identified because she fears for her safety, is a U.S. citizen and a resident of St. Peter. She told MPR News in an interview that she was out in the community in her car, tracking the movements of federal agents, and recording them on a dash cam.

https://www.mprnews.org/story/2026/01/30/st-peter-police-chief-intervenes-prevents-federal-agents-from-arresting-resident

This is in small-town Minnesota. This is not in one of those demonic blue cities that the GOP talk about. This is pretty goddam rural. www.mprnews.org/story/2026/0...

— John Jackson (@jpj.bsky.social) 2026-01-31T14:49:58.837Z