Will Stonebrook

EXCLUSIVE: Tech workers say they were mistaken for ICE agents, accosted by anti-ICE mob What began as a casual lunch between five Twin Cities software engineers quickly escalated into a frightening encounter after the men were misidentified as undercover federal agents and protesters were alerted to the Minneapolis restaurant where they were dining. Alpha News obtained video and spoke with one of the men, Lee, a software engineer from Plymouth, who described how the situation unfolded. Lee said the group was eating lunch at Clancy’s Deli, near 38th Street and Grand Avenue South, when one of the men — who belongs to an anti-ICE Signal chat — received a message from a group labeled “SW Minneapolis Rapid Response” claiming that plainclothes ICE agents were dining at the restaurant. “My friend was shocked,” Lee said. “He’s on the [anti-ICE] side politically. He lives nearby. He’s eaten there before. And suddenly he’s seeing messages saying we’re ICE.” The software engineers — all white males dressed casually in sweatshirts and jackets — were soon confronted by protesters who surrounded the restaurant, shouting insults and blowing whistles in their ears as they attempted to leave, according to Lee. Lee emphasized to Alpha News that the group’s political views were mixed, but said the encounter left some of them reconsidering their positions. “One of us is pro-ICE, one anti-ICE, others on the fence,” he said. “After this, I think some of them are rethinking everything.”