Hundreds of anti-ICE protesters brought pots, pans, guitars, smoke detectors and whistles to what organizers called a “noise demonstration” outside the Graduate Hotel on the night of Jan. 13, following allegations of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s occupancy in the hotel.

The protest, organized by the University of Minnesota Students for a Democratic Society, aimed to urge Graduate Hotel management to take action and disrupt ICE officers who they believed were staying at the hotel.

Addressing the protest and arrests in a statement, the University said the protest conditions resulted in property damage and hazardous conditions, according to WCCO. In dispersing the crowd, the University said the officers from the Minneapolis Police Department, Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office and State Patrol office were recruited for assistance.

During the protest, officers surrounded the area, equipped with batons and chemical agents. Police dismissed the crowd from the area shortly before midnight.

In the chaos, University police arrested two protestors — one outside of the hotel and one near Coffman Union. Both were released the next morning. 

Police also reported a trespassing offense.

Among the crowd was Gabriel Black Elk, a local activist and organizer for Native Lives Matter. He said the violence he has seen in the past months hits close to home, as his family has borne the brunt of extreme law enforcement brutality. 

In 2015, Denver police shot and murdered Black Elk’s brother, Paul Castawaywhen his mother called police to assist him amidst a mental health emergency. The tragedy garnered national attention.

Castaway is now memorialized in a mural in George Floyd Square, with his son painted alongside him.

In 2016, Black Elk’s cousin, Raymond Gassman, was shot and killed by Sioux tribal police.

This is not Black Elk’s first time protesting at the University. Years ago, he protested police presence on campus, which he says is an ongoing fight.

He was wary about the coming week. 

“The ICE agents ain’t gonna stop terrorizing citizens,” Black Elk said. “The best thing for us to do is keep showing up. Bring your friend. Tell your friend to bring their friend.”

Toward the front of the protest stood local musician Jared Burnett, who decided to bring his guitar and amp to the protest, purposely tuning the guitar to sound worse.

When he caught wind of the noise demonstration, Burnett said it was a no-brainer as to how he would contribute. 

“I have thousands of dollars for musical equipment that I can walk outside with and just use. This is the only time I’m really gonna be able to do this easily. So of course I’m gonna go out and do it, you know?”

In a Jan. 20 press conference, Border Patrol senior official Gregory Bovino said the more coordinated anti-ICE efforts are, the less success for law enforcement. He said the people of Minneapolis are different from other cities, referring to the city’s activists as anarchists.

“The groups are a bit better organized,” Bovino said. “They’ve got some excellent communications. And that coupled with a very poor response from the mayor and the governor, those two things coupled together make that a difficult operating environment at times.”

Scattered along the outskirts of the crowd were neon yellow-vested protest marshals. Among them was SDS organizer Fae Hodges, who said SDS finds experienced and knowledgeable protesters to help keep protests safe.

“We just monitor conditions like police presence or counterprotesters and help people get earplugs, whistles, whatever they need,” Hodges said.

The protest was what the Sunrise Movement and SDS call a “Wide Awake,” a loud and peaceful noise demonstration that uses whistles, instruments, car alarms or horns and other noisemakers to express dissent and wake people up, according to a joint post.

In the coming weeks, SDS members plan to host walkouts and protests to denounce the University’s ambiguous student support. In the meantime, Hodge said, they are going to protect each other.