Independent journalist Nick Sortor detailed a harrowing escape from Minneapolis on Monday, describing how he and fellow reporter Cam Higby were forced to flee in their vehicle after being surrounded by a crowd during anti-immigration enforcement protests.
Speaking on “The Ingraham Angle,” Sortor leveled heavy criticism at the Minneapolis Police Department, alleging that officers failed to respond to his repeated calls for help even as the situation escalated into what he described as a “mob attack.”
Sortor told host Laura Ingraham that he remained on the line with dispatchers while the crowd encircled his car, warning them that he was facing an imminent threat.
READ: Border Czar Tom Homan Hits Back After Sheriff In Pennsylvania Threatens To Arrest ICE Agents
“I was telling them, ‘You got to get here. You got to get here because I’m not going to have a choice,'” Sortor recounted. “If they try to disable my vehicle or they break a window, I have to go.”
Video footage of the confrontation, which the journalists later posted to X, appears to show a streamer encouraging the crowd as they closed in on the vehicle. Sortor stated that he provided ample opportunity for the individuals to move, claiming he gave a “15-minute warning” for people to clear the path before he was forced to drive through the blockade to safety.
“And of course, they didn’t show up. No, of course not. They never show up,” Sortor said regarding the lack of police presence.
The confrontation occurred amidst heightened tensions in the city following the death of Renee Nicole Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE agent during an enforcement operation in Minneapolis last Wednesday.
Sortor, who was previously arrested on a disorderly conduct charge while covering unrest at an ICE facility in Portland, Oregon, expressed fear that the political climate in Minnesota under Governor Tim Walz posed a specific danger to independent reporters.
READ: Minnesota Declares Legal War On Trump’s ‘Invasion’ After Enforcement Surge
“The problem is we’re in Tim Walz’s Minnesota, and every minute we’re here [increases] the risk he’s going to take us as political prisoners,” Sortor wrote on X, adding that he believed state leadership would “rather us just die” than intervene against the rioters.
Please make a small donation to the Tampa Free Press to help sustain independent journalism. Your contribution enables us to continue delivering high-quality, local, and national news coverage.
Sign up: Subscribe to our free newsletter for a curated selection of top stories delivered straight to your inbox
