A Minneapolis pastor says he was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement while heading toward protests near his church. Pastor Kenny Callaghan of All God’s Children MCC described the encounter in an interview with Fox 9 Minneapolis, saying it happened on the morning of Wednesday, Jan. 7.
Callaghan said he realized something was unfolding nearby when he heard whistles and car horns outside. He grabbed his own whistles and walked toward the commotion — but said the situation escalated fast.
He told Fox 9 that he took a few photos as a vehicle moved down Portland Avenue, then put his phone away when he saw agents surrounding a “brown-skinned woman.”
Callaghan said he joined a crowd chanting, “We are not afraid,” and tried to draw attention to himself. He said he told the agents to arrest him instead of the woman.
“Before I knew it, they were putting handcuffs on my arms and they asked me, ‘Are you afraid now?’ ” he recalled.
Callaghan said he responded, “No, I am not,” as agents continued detaining him. He told Fox 9 he was held inside an SUV with two other detainees, and that agents returned multiple times to question him.
According to Callaghan, the message stayed the same during those check-ins: agents repeatedly asked whether he was afraid. He also said they asked for his ID and his phone while he remained in the back of the vehicle.
At one point, Callaghan said he asked whether he was under arrest and was then left alone for a period of time. He also told Fox 9 that an agent allegedly waved a gun in his face — and while he said fear flashed briefly, it quickly turned into anger.
“And then they came back the last time and they said, ‘Are you afraid yet?’ ” he said. “And I said, ‘No.’ ”
Callaghan said he was eventually released after a remark he described as dismissive and disturbing. “Well, you’re white, and you wouldn’t be any fun anyway. Get out of the car,” he recalled being told.
He said he was detained for less than an hour but left shaken by what he believed the interaction revealed. “Now I was confronted with the fact that these ICE agents that are supposed to be keeping my neighborhood safe were actually there for sport,” he said.
Despite what he described as an intimidating encounter, Callaghan told Fox 9 he would not hesitate to step in again. “I will always stand up for people who are being mistreated for simply being human,” he said, adding, “It is not right. It is wrong.”
The episode involving Callaghan came during unrest in Minneapolis after driver Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old mother, was shot and killed by an ICE agent during an immigration enforcement operation.
