{"id":69245,"date":"2026-01-19T05:24:43","date_gmt":"2026-01-19T05:24:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sochtimes.com\/2026\/01\/19\/mob-or-mistake-5-minneapolis-tech-workers-targeted-at-lunch-over-ice-rumours-video-goes-viral\/"},"modified":"2026-01-19T05:24:43","modified_gmt":"2026-01-19T05:24:43","slug":"mob-or-mistake-5-minneapolis-tech-workers-targeted-at-lunch-over-ice-rumours-video-goes-viral","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sochtimes.com\/hi\/2026\/01\/19\/mob-or-mistake-5-minneapolis-tech-workers-targeted-at-lunch-over-ice-rumours-video-goes-viral\/","title":{"rendered":"Mob or mistake? 5 Minneapolis tech workers targeted at lunch over ICE rumours; video goes viral"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\"Mob<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\u2018Just Trying to Eat Lunch\u2019: 5 Tech Workers Misidentified as ICE Agents, Accosted by Anti-ICE Mob in Minneapolis<\/span><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

A casual lunch turned into a frightening ordeal for five software engineers in Minneapolis last week after they were mistakenly labelled as federal immigration agents and confronted by an angry crowd outside the restaurant where they were dining. The incident, which took place at Clancy\u2019s Deli near 38th Street and Grand Avenue South, highlights the heightened tensions over Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity in the Twin Cities as protests and community unrest escalate.According to accounts obtained by Alpha News, the group of software engineers, all white males dressed casually, were quietly eating lunch when one of the men received a message on an anti-ICE Signal chat group claiming that plainclothes ICE agents were inside the restaurant. Within minutes, protesters gathered outside, surrounding the deli, shouting insults and blowing whistles at the men as they attempted to leave. \u201cWe were just trying to eat lunch,\u201d one of the engineers, identified as Lee, told Alpha News. \u201cNext thing we know, people are yelling, \u2018I hope you die,\u2019 and calling us paedophiles.\u201d<\/p>\n

From signal alerts to street confrontation
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Viral<\/a> videos of the incident circulating online shows the group being pelted with insults and whistles as protesters attempt to block their exit, even after the men repeatedly explained they were not ICE agents. One person in the crowd can be heard dismissing their claims, \u201cDo I look like an ICE agent?\u201d to which a protester responded, \u201cYeah, you look like a f—ing ICE agent.\u201d The tense encounter forced the men to leave under duress, leaving some questioning their own political assumptions after the incident. <\/p>\n

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Five random White guys eating lunch in Minnesota get reported as \u201cundercover ICE agents\u201d to an anti-ICE Signal chat by the restaurant\u2019s owner and the next thing they know a mob has showed up to accost them. <\/p>\n

And because Minneapolis has a \u201cno cooperation with ICE policy\u201d the\u2026 https:\/\/t.co\/2Aykxdl2cz<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/PQKS3vhqIl<\/a>\u2014 Mel (@Villgecrazylady) January 18, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n