Journalist attacked during Minneapolis blockade says anti-ICE agitators tried to ‘deter' the truth

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Journalist attacked during Minneapolis blockade says anti-ICE agitators tried to ‘deter' the truth

Jorge Ventura says agitators tried to steal his phone to prevent him from publishing footage of the makeshift checkpoint

Taylor Penley Fox News

Published

February 3, 2026 1:56pm EST

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Journalists attacked by left-wing activists in LA and Minneapolis

Laura Ingraham discusses reports of journalists being attacked by left-wing activists during protests in Los Angeles and Minneapolis. The Daily Caller News Foundation's Jorge Ventura weighs in after he fell victim to an attack.

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Journalist Jorge Ventura spoke out Monday after reporting on an anti-ICE blockade on a Minneapolis street that he said turned violent when agitators confronted him, attempted to seize his phone and assaulted him, leaving his hand bleeding.

"They do this, Laura, because they want to deter journalists like myself who actually show the truth of what's going on on the ground," Ventura told "The Ingraham Angle."

"And we will not be deterred at the Daily Caller News Foundation," he said.

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minneapolis protestors at night with ICE OUT sign

Protesters with a large anti-ICE sign stand outside the Henry Bishop Whipple Federal Building on Jan. 18 in Minneapolis, Minn. (Jim Vondruska/Getty Images)

The incident unfolded Monday when Ventura went to the scene of a makeshift anti-ICE "checkpoint" in South Minneapolis where agitators checked license plates and monitored traffic for potential ICE vehicles.

The situation escalated into a physical confrontation as he began recording what he saw.

"When we were there documenting these, they actually started to assault us very brutally, shoved me very aggressively. They made several attempts to actually steal my phone, so I couldn't publish the footage that we just showed right now," he said.

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Screengrab of Daily Caller journalist Jorge Ventura

Daily Caller News Foundation journalist Jorge Ventura appears on the Feb. 2 broadcast of "The Ingraham Angle." (The Ingraham Angle/Screengrab)

"They actually caused my right hand to bleed. They attacked the photojournalist I was with."

Video of the incident shows an agitator standing in front of the camera, telling Ventura and the photojournalist, "You guys have got to get out of here."

The duo were urged to "get in the f---ing car" and appeared to be pushed into a vehicle.

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Local law enforcement push cooperation with ICE as Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey refuses

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"They do feel like they're fighting a Gestapo," Ventura said, telling Fox News' Laura Ingraham that an overwhelming majority of the protesters were White liberals who have been "emboldened" by rhetoric from local law enforcement and politicians.

Minneapolis Public Works and police eventually cleared debris and homemade roadblocks, per a CBS News report.

Taylor Penley is an associate editor with Fox News.

Journalist attacked during Minneapolis blockade says anti-ICE agitators tried to ‘deter' the truth