Incident details
- Date of incident
- February 7, 2026
- Location
- Fort Snelling, Minnesota
- Targets
- Aaron Johnson (Independent)
- Assailant
- Law enforcement
- Was the journalist targeted?
- Unknown
Assault
A Hennepin County sheriff’s deputy at a protest outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Fort Snelling, Minnesota, on Feb. 7, 2026. Independent journalist Aaron Johnson was thrown to the ground while documenting the demonstration.
Independent journalist Aaron Johnson was thrown to the ground by sheriff’s deputies while he documented an immigration protest outside a federal building in Fort Snelling, Minnesota, on Feb. 7, 2026.
The Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, which houses an Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing center, has been a focal point of protests. Demonstrations intensified in January after federal immigration agents shot and killed two Minneapolis residents, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, and wounded a man in separate incidents.
Johnson, who publishes his reporting on social media and contributes video with nonprofit newsroom Unicorn Riot, told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he was wearing a bulletproof vest identifying him as press. He said he repeatedly yelled, “I’m press, I’m press,” after Hennepin County sheriff’s deputies forced protesters into a police kettle.
Deputies initially backed away after hearing Johnson identify himself, but the situation escalated moments later. The journalist told the Tracker he heard an officer yell for someone to get off the fence when deputies started advancing on the crowd.
“It felt like I was in a mosh pit,” he said. “I got thrashed around by the sheriffs.”
As the crowd compressed onto a sidewalk, deputies began grabbing people indiscriminately, Johnson said. He was jostled, thrown to the ground and separated from his camera before others pulled him to safety. Although the camera was undamaged, the fall aggravated his neck.
The Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office has not responded to requests for comment about its use of force against the press.
The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker catalogs press freedom violations in the United States. Email tips to [email protected].
