An illegal alien from Venezuela violently attacked an ICE agent on Wednesday during a targeted arrest in Minneapolis, using a “shovel” or “broom.” Two other individuals also took part in attacking the officer. Fearing for his life, the agent fired a single defensive shot, striking the illegal alien in the leg. But you wouldn’t necessarily know that if you read coverage from the propaganda press.
The incident unfolded around 6:50 p.m. CT in Minneapolis when federal law enforcement officers “were conducting a targeted traffic stop … of an illegal alien from Venezuela who was released into the country by Joe Biden in 2022,” the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement posted to X.
The suspect allegedly fled the scene in his vehicle, crashed into a parked car, and then fled on foot. When the law enforcement officer caught up to the subject on foot, the suspect “began to resist and violently assaulted the officer.”
DHS says two other subjects then “came out of a nearby apartment and also attacked the law enforcement officer with a snow shovel and broom handle.” As the two other individuals violently attacked the agent, the original suspect allegedly broke loose and grabbed either a “shovel or broom stick” and began beating the officer.
The officer, being ambushed by three individuals, “fired a defensive shot to defend his life” and the Venezuelan man was struck in the leg.
Those are the facts as laid out by DHS nearly immediately. But they are not necessarily the facts the public saw first.
Instead of leading with the violent and almost deadly ambush of a federal law enforcement officer, members of the propaganda press framed the incident around the shooting itself.
The New York Times initially covered the shooting by headlining their piece: “Federal Agent Shoots Immigrant in Minneapolis, Homeland Security Says.”
“The agent shot an immigrant from Venezuela in the leg, an official said,” The New York Times’ Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs, Mitch Smith, and Hamed Aleaziz wrote in their initial publication of the article. “The shooting comes a week after an ICE agent fatally shot a woman in the city.”
Notably, these NYT ‘reporters’ already had the public statement from the DHS that explained the ICE agent was being violently attacked. Rather than report those facts plainly, The Times cautioned readers that “the federal government’s narrative could not be immediately verified.”
But it turns out The Times’ “narrative” could not be “verified.”
The Times later updated their piece four times, eventually updating their headline to read: “Federal Agent Shoots Man in Minneapolis, Prompting Tense Protests.”
The Times changed the subhead to read that the Venezuelan man was shot after “resisting arrest.”
But The Times was hardly alone in its propaganda.
People Magazine’s Charna Flam and Danielle Bacher headlined their piece: “Venezuelan Man Shot By ICE Agent in Minneapolis, Causing ‘Unlawful’ Protests.”
Al Jazeera’s Sarah Shamim wrote “ICE officer shoots Venezuelan immigrant in Minneapolis: What we know.”
NPR’s Sergio Martínez-Beltrán and Jasmine Garsd headlined their piece: “DHS: ICE officers in Minneapolis shoot Venezuelan man in the leg” as if that’s all DHS said.
The Washington Post wrote: “Federal agent shoots person in leg as Minneapolis protests flare.” It took The Post three paragraphs to get to the real story which is that an ICE agent was violently attacked.
The Guardian’s Maanvi Singh and Gabrielle Canon wrote: “Federal agent shoots man in Minneapolis as tensions in city run high.”
It took Singh and Canon 10 paragraphs to mention the agent was violently attacked.
Politico framed it as “a federal agent shot and injured an immigrant in Minneapolis” “just over a week after Renee Good was shot and killed.”
Politico mentions that law enforcement was trying to “arrest the Venezuelan man, whom DHS said fled from the agents” — conveniently leaving out that that same man allegedly violently assaulted the officer, alongside two others.
The ICE agent didn’t merely shoot an immigrant. He survived an ambush. That distinction mattered, but the propaganda press worked overtime to make sure you didn’t see it.
Brianna Lyman is an elections correspondent at The Federalist. Brianna graduated from Fordham University with a degree in International Political Economy. Her work has been featured on Newsmax, Fox News, Fox Business and RealClearPolitics. Follow Brianna on X: @briannalyman2
