A Minneapolis special education assistant has filed a federal claim against the U.S. government, alleging that Border Patrol agents assaulted and wrongfully detained him outside his school before the Trump administration publicly accused him of attacking federal officers in a criminal case that was later dismissed. Quentin Williams, who works at Roosevelt High School, alleges that federal agents shoved him, pulled his hair, tackled him to the ground and pressed on his neck and back during an immigration enforcement operation outside the Minneapolis school on January 7, 2026. Williams says he did not threaten, attack or resist the officers.
The allegations are detailed in a Federal Tort Claims Act claim, a filing used to seek compensation from the federal government. The document represents Williams' account of what happened and does not constitute a court finding that his allegations are true. "My life completely changed when federal agents invaded my school community, attacked and falsely arrested me," Williams told Newsweek.
"Every day, I look forward to going to school to be with my kids at Roosevelt. Some days are harder than others, but I am trying my hardest to heal." The incident happened during Operation Metro Surge, an immigration enforcement campaign that brought thousands of federal immigration agents to the Minneapolis area beginning in December 2025. The operation, which included more than 3,000 Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers and Homeland Security Investigations agents, was launched in part to target alleged fraud within Minnesota’s Somali immigrant community but was quickly overshadowed by the fatal shootings of U.S. citizens Renee Nicole Good by an ICE agent and Alex Pretti by two Border Patrol agents in January 2026, as well as allegations of misconduct, racial profiling and violations of due process.
Hours after federal agents shot and killed Good on January 7, a convoy of federal officers commanded by Greg Bovino was carrying out enforcement operations in South Minneapolis when agents pursued a driver through the neighborhood around Roosevelt High School, the filing says. Newsweek reached out to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for comment on Tuesday. A DHS spokesperson previously told Newsweek that Border Patrol agents were conducting immigration enforcement operations in Minneapolis on January 7 when a U.S. citizen allegedly impeded officers, rammed a government vehicle and led agents on a five-mile pursuit that ended near Roosevelt High School.
DHS said that “at no point was a school, students, or staff targeted,” and that agents would not have been at the school “if not for the dangerous actions of this individual.” The department said that while agents were removing the driver, “an individual who identified himself as a teacher proceeded to assault a border patrol agent,” as a crowd formed and threw objects and paint at officers and their vehicles. DHS said officers used “targeted crowd control” after repeated warnings and added: “No tear gas was deployed.” Agents boxed in the driver's vehicle outside the school shortly after 3:30 p.m., smashed its windows, pulled the driver out and made an arrest, according to the claim. The filing says the driver had been handcuffed and placed in a government vehicle by around 3:33 p.m. and that bystanders had not interfered with the arrest.
Williams alleges that agents then moved onto school property while dismissal was wrapping up and students were still present. School administrators identified themselves and instructed the agents to leave, but the officers instead began shoving and yelling at staff, according to the filing. Williams had been behind the school helping with transportation for special education students when he came to the front to see whether colleagues needed assistance.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
