type: timeline_event
Federal agents deployed chemical irritants outside Roosevelt High School in Minneapolis during student dismissal around 3:30 PM. Witnesses reported agents spraying students and staff, with Education Minnesota president Monica Byron stating agents were "pepper spraying students." Video showed an agent spraying a student with a chemical irritant after the student threw a snowball. Multiple staff members were hit with the chemicals, described as feeling like pepper spray in gas form.
A special education assistant (U.S. citizen) was detained during dismissal in front of students, though later released the same day. The Minneapolis Federation of Educators said the staff member was "abducted" while assisting with safe dismissal. DHS denied using tear gas but acknowledged "targeted crowd control" without specifying the method, claiming they were pursuing a U.S. citizen who had rammed their vehicle after a five-mile chase.
The incident occurred on the same day as the fatal shooting of Renee Good by an ICE agent in south Minneapolis, leading Minneapolis Public Schools to cancel classes district-wide for January 8-9 "out of an abundance of caution."