Vance's 'crazy' ICE harassment story unravels as key details come into question

Local police and a restaurant manager questioned key details in a "crazy" story Vice President JD Vance shared on social media about protesters mobbing federal agents at a Minneapolis restaurant.

The vice president highlighted an anecdote Sunday afternoon about a pair of off-duty Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection officers who were surrounded by protesters angry about the fatal shooting a day before of 37-year-old Alex Pretti.

Politico reported that locals say his story left out some key details.

"They were doxed and their location revealed, and the restaurant was then mobbed," Vance posted on X. "The officers were locked in the restaurant, and local police refused to respond to their pleas for help (as they've been directed by local authorities)."

"Eventually, their fellow federal agents came to their aid," he added. "This is just a taste of what's happening in Minneapolis because state and local officials refuse to cooperate with immigration enforcement. They have created the chaos so they can have moments like yesterday, where someone tragically dies and politicians get to grandstand about the evils of enforcing the border. The solution is staring everyone in the face. I hope authorities in Minneapolis stop this madness."

An administration official with knowledge of the incident told Politico that Vance heard the story from federal agents at a roundtable discussion and claimed the vice president's team confirmed the details. A public information officer for the Minneapolis police said local officers "determined the federal agents had sufficient resources available to manage the incident."

“Records indicate the two individuals, and the assisting federal resources were able to leave the area within approximately 15 minutes of the initial 911 call. MPD was later notified that one of their vehicles had been left behind,” Sgt. Garrett Parten said in a statement. “MPD monitored the vehicle until the agents were able to return and recover it.”

About 30 people gathered outside Darbar India Grill & Bar, where the two agents were eating, before a man wearing a mask entered the restaurant and accused the agents of working for ICE and asked about their rented SUV parked outside, before a woman locked the restaurant doors.

The Department of Homeland Security incident report shows the encounter lasted nine minutes before the agents were "extracted," but the report notes local police weren't even notified until eight minutes after they left the restaurant, and the eatery's manager didn't see anyone lock the door – not even after reviewing security camera footage.

Balli Singh said two men came into the restaurant and asked why so many nearby businesses were closed, and he told them that ICE activity was likely to blame.

"The guy told me, ‘ICE is not problem,’” Singh said the man told him.

Singh said the officers were eating when several people came in and told him they suspected the men worked for ICE. Others congregated outside near the pair's vehicle, and the men told their server they were being harassed.

“One guy actually told me, ‘Brother, don’t come between this,’” he said one of the officers told him. “‘We’ll teach them a lesson.’”

More uniformed agents arrived outside and the two men left a short time later.

“They are the authority, they are the administration," Singh said. "They can say whatever they want.”