Flanked by ICE SUV's, American flags - and the former flag of Minnesota - U.S. Vice President JD Vance just wrapped up his visit to the Twin Cities where he held a roundtable discussion on ways he says - to turn down the temperature in Minneapolis following the killing of Renee Good by an ICE officer earlier this month.
Vance says exacerbating the problem is the fact that local and state officials are giving no help to federal law enforcement.
"Look, I don't need Tim Walz or Jacob Frey or anybody else to come out and say that they agree with JD Vance or Donald Trump on immigration," he said. I just don't need that. What I do need them to do is empower their local officials to help our federal officials out in a way where this can be a little bit less chaotic, and it can be a little bit more targeted."
Vance says at this point, invoking the Insurrection Act where military would be sent in to perform law enforcement duties is not needed.
Vance does add, however, if the chaos gets worse and if more ICE agents get assaulted, that would be a real problem and President Donald Trump would reconsider that.
The vice president said he was feeling positive after his visit, thinking that going forward there would be more local cooperation.
"But if a protester shows up and that protester turns violent against our immigration officers, we really, really need the cooperation of our local partners," Vance explained. "We haven't gotten it yet, but I think if we do, we really can lower the temperature."
But Vance also claimed local leaders are telling police to "stand down."
"My understanding is that the actual beat cops on the ground, they would love to help out, but they're being told by somebody, I don't know if it's Mayor Frey, they're being told by somebody not to cooperate at all," Vance claims. "What kind of a person tells their local police don't protect somebody if they're being assaulted by a rioter? It's crazy and it's got to stop."
WCCO Radio has reached out to the MPD for a response.
Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth (R), who is also running for governor, said she met with Vance today in Minnesota, posting to social media she was grateful for his efforts to "bring down the temperature."
The VP was clear: 'with a little more cooperation we can lower the chaos — I couldn't agree more," she said. "State and local law enforcement should be working closely with the federal government to arrest and deport criminals who are here illegally. That work should start immediately!"
Another group that has confirmed they met with the vice president is the the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce. Doug Loon, President and CEO of the Chamber, released this statement:
"The Minnesota Chamber has a long history of engaging leaders at the state and federal levels to advance the interests of Minnesota’s business community. Given the challenges facing the state we love and call home, this role has never been more important. Our goal is clear: to help engage federal and Minnesota public officials deescalate the current situation and put our communities and economy back on track.”
Vance also spent time with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Minneapolis, which has been roiled by protests since an agent fatally shot Renee Good, a mother of three, during a confrontation this month. The Republican vice president has played a leading role in defending that agent and said Good's death was “a tragedy of her own making.”