A Liberian man repeatedly detained in Minnesota was released Friday, hours after his second arrest during what authorities called a routine immigration check-in. Garrison Gibson was first taken into custody last weekend when agents broke down his door with a battering ram, a moment captured on video.
U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Bryan declared Gibson’s initial arrest unlawful on Thursday, ordering his release. Yet when Gibson appeared at an immigration office Friday, he was detained again, only to be freed a few hours later.
“In the words of my client, he said that somebody at ICE said they bleeped up and so they re-released him this afternoon and so he’s out of custody,” said attorney Marc Prokosch, referring to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
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Gibson, 37, fled Liberia as a child during the country’s civil war. Although a 2008 drug conviction led to a removal order, the charge was later dismissed. He has remained in the U.S. legally under an order of supervision, regularly checking in with authorities as required, Prokosch said. The judge ruled that officials violated protocol by not giving Gibson proper notice before revoking that status, and ICE is now “going through their proper channels” to finalize the revocation.
The arrests come amid a sweeping immigration operation that has seen more than 2,500 detentions across Minneapolis and St. Paul in recent weeks, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Tensions have risen since the fatal shooting of Renee Good on January 7.
Video and official logs show Good, 37, suffered multiple gunshot wounds, including two to her right chest, one to her left forearm, and a possible wound on the left side of her head. She was behind the wheel of her Honda Pilot, which partially blocked a street, when officers approached and demanded she open the door. Another officer fired at close range after she began to drive away. DHS says the shooting was in self-defense.
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The incident sparked further unrest, with property damage reported to government vehicles, including an FBI SUV. FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed at least one person has been arrested for theft, while Attorney General Pam Bondi claimed body armor and weapons were stolen. President Donald Trump warned he could invoke the Insurrection Act to control the unrest but later tempered his stance. “I don’t think there’s any reason right now to use it, but if I needed it, I’d use it,” he told reporters outside the White House. Minnesota’s attorney general has vowed to sue if such action is taken.
Amid the crackdown, Native American and tribal leaders are urging members to carry tribal IDs when in public. Ben Barnes, chief of the Shawnee Tribe in Oklahoma and chair of the United Indian Nations of Oklahoma, called reports of ICE stops “deeply concerning.” Local organizers in Minneapolis have set up tribal ID application booths, and Democratic lawmakers met with residents describing aggressive encounters with immigration agents. St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her, who is Hmong American, said people are carrying passports after reports that ICE agents have gone door to door “asking where the Asian people live.”
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