ICE Agents Crack Down on Citizens Who Follow Them, Leading to Arrests and Government Database

In the dead of night, the streets of downtown Minneapolis become a battleground for a different kind of war. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, armed with their unmarked vehicles and a Title 18, Section 111 citation, are on the prowl for anyone who dares to follow them. The Trump administration’s crackdown on citizens who live here has led to a surge in arrests, and a government database where names, photos, and information are being kept.

One suburban Minneapolis resident, Becky Ringstrom, found out the hard way what can happen when ICE decides it doesn’t want you near them anymore. Ringstrom was heading home after following federal immigration officers in her gray Kia SUV when she was suddenly boxed in by unmarked vehicles. At least a half-dozen masked agents jumped out to arrest her, one knocking on her windshield with a metal object as if threatening to use it to break her window.

Ringstrom had watched federal immigration officers for about 45 minutes as they sat in a parked car in her neighborhood on Thursday, January 29. When they started to move, she decided to follow along in her SUV, keeping a distance of multiple car lengths behind. At a roundabout, a Border Patrol agent approached her car and said, “Last time I’m going to warn you,” according to video Ringstrom recorded on her phone.

The officers went right at a stop sign and she went left, she said. Several minutes later as she started to head back toward her house, multiple vehicles with federal officers stopped and arrested her, she said. “I know what I’m doing is not wrong,” Ringstrom said later in an interview with Reuters. Still, she said she was terrified when federal officers approached her car. “There was a moment where I thought I could be Renee Good,” she said.

After her arrest, which was recorded by a bystander, the 42-year-old was transported to the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis. There, she was given a citation charging her under Title 18, Section 111, and she was told her name and photo would be added to a government database. Oddly, the court date was listed as “TBD,” according to Reuters.

Though Ringstrom said she turned in an opposite direction from ICE at that intersection, Tricia McLaughlin, a U.S. Department of Homeland Security spokesperson, told Reuters that she had “stalked law enforcement” and attempted to obstruct them from “performing their sworn duties.”

This is not an isolated incident. The Trump administration has prosecuted at least 655 people under Title 18, Section 111 across the U.S. since ICE and other border patrol agencies began harassing folks who live here last summer, according to a review of federal court records done by Reuters. It’s more than double what the numbers were during the same period in 2024-2025.

The government’s actions are a clear attempt to dissuade people from their right to protest and surveil ICE officers. But the consequences are real, and the fear is palpable. As Ringstrom said, “There was a moment where I thought I could be Renee Good.” Renee Good was a mother of six who was killed by a police officer in 2014. Ringstrom’s experience is a chilling reminder of the dangers of government overreach and the importance of protecting civil liberties.