It was the coldest day of the year so far in a place that has very cold days. Wind chill temperatures were around 30 below. Nevertheless, they persisted. In early afternoon, tens of thousands (earliest estimate was 50,000) marched in Minneapolis against the federal armed invasion of their city and state.
Towards evening thousands gathered in the Target Center for a rally. The New York Times quoted Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, praising the day's protests. "We are meeting ICE violence with nonviolence," she said. "We are meeting their chaos and cruelty with passion and community."
There was a related protest earlier in the day at the Minneapolis airport which ended with an act of civil disobedience, as around 100 faith leaders were arrested by local police for briefly blocking car traffic (and later released.)
The day began with a first in this wave of protests: a general strike that brought the Twin Cities to a virtual standstill on Friday morning. Though first called by faith leaders and quickly supported by labor unions, this shutdown included hundreds of businesses that voluntarily closed for the day in support.
The action was statewide, so in addition to Al's Breakfast in Minneapolis and the Black Coffee and Waffle Bar in St. Paul, self-striking businesses included the Battleground Cafe in White Bear Lake, Cafe Meow in New Hope, Bliss Acai in St. Louis Park, and businesses in Duluth, Rochester, Edina, Richfield, Grand Marais, Excelsior, Two Harbors, Osseo, Prior Lake, Apple Valley, Stillwater, Shoreview, Crystal and other municipalities in every part of Minnesota.
A good many cafes and eateries in Minneapolis opened their doors in the afternoon to warm protestors and provide them with free coffee and soup. One of these was The Lotus, run by Yoom Nguyen, quoted by CBS News. "This is not about money for us. We've been here since 1984. This community embraced our family when we were going through tough times, and we feel it's our turn to return the favor, bring some hope and some joy and some warmth to people."
Along the march route organizers passed out hand warmers and a kiosk gave out paper cups of Somali tea.
Commenting on the protest on MSNow, Nicole Wallace called it "an act of historic bravery."
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