YOU NEED TO KNOW
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Pastor Kenny Callaghan says he was detained by ICE in Minneapolis after walking to a protest near his church
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He tells Fox 9 Minneapolis that agents repeatedly asked him, “Are you scared now?” while he was handcuffed inside an SUV
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Callahan said he was eventually released after an agent allegedly told him, “You’re white and you’re no fun anyway.”
A Minneapolis pastor said he was detained by ICE after walking toward protests near his church. Pastor Kenny Callaghan of All God’s Children MCC shared his account with Fox 9 Minneapolis, saying that the meeting took place on the morning of Wednesday January 7th.
Callaghan told the shopkeeper that he realized something was happening nearby when he heard whistles and car horns outside. He said he blew his own whistle and walked towards the commotion, only for the situation to quickly escalate.
He told Fox 9 he managed to take a few photos as the vehicle drove down Portland Avenue before pocketing his phone when he noticed agents surrounding a “brown-skinned woman.”
Callaghan said he joined as a crowd chanted, “We are not afraid,” and tried to redirect the attention to himself, telling the agents to arrest him instead of the woman they were surrounding.
“Before I knew it, they were putting handcuffs on my arms and asking me, ‘Are you scared now?’ ” he recalled.
He said he replied, “No, I’m not,” as the agents continued to detain him. Callaghan told Fox 9 he was held in the SUV with two other detainees as agents returned several times to question him.
Callaghan said the message remained the same during those check-ins, with agents repeatedly asking if he was scared. He also said that they asked for his ID and his phone while he stayed in the back of the vehicle.
At one point, Callaghan said he asked if he was under arrest and was left alone for a period of time afterwards. He also told Fox 9 that an agent allegedly pointed a gun in his face, and while fear flashed for a moment, it was quickly overtaken by anger.
“And then they came back one last time and said, ‘Are you still afraid?'” he said. “And I said, ‘No.’ “
Callaghan said he was ultimately released after an agent made a remark he described as both dismissive and disturbing. “Well, you’re white, and you wouldn’t be any fun anyway. Get out of the car,” he recalled saying.
Callaghan said he was detained for less than an hour, but left feeling shaken by what he believes the interaction revealed. “Now I was confronted with the fact that these ICE agents who were supposed to be keeping my neighborhood safe were actually there for sport,” he said.
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Despite what he described as an intimidating encounter, Callaghan told Fox 9 he won’t hesitate to enter again. “I will always stand up for people who are being mistreated because they are just human,” he said, adding, “It’s not good. It’s wrong.”
PEOPLE did not immediately hear back from DHS and ICE when contacted for comment.
The incident involving Callaghan occurred amid unrest in Minneapolis after driver Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old mother, was killed by an ICE agent during an immigration enforcement operation.
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