White House expresses anger, FBI offers reward in connection with damage, theft from government vehicles in Minneapolis

Paul Walsh, Star Tribune on Jan 15, 2026

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MINNEAPOLIS — The White House is expressing anger while the FBI is putting up a reward in hopes of tracking down whoever damaged agents’ vehicles and stole government documents during unrest that followed a federal officer shooting and wounding a man on Jan. 14 in north Minneapolis.

FBI Director Kash Patel announced on Jan. 15 that his agency is offering a reward of up to $100,000 for information related to last night’s vandalism and theft of government property in Minneapolis.

Patel pledged in the posting that “if you harm law enforcement or destroy/steal federal property this @FBI will not hesitate to pursue you, find you, and bring you to the fullest extent of justice.”

The director’s announcement included a poster that showed two agents’ vehicles vandalized and tagged with profane graffiti.

The poster said the FBI is seeking information “leading to the recovery of the stolen government property and/or the arrest of the individuals responsible for the destruction and theft of government property.”

The FBI said tips can be submitted by calling 800-225-5324 or online at tips.fbi.gov.

Videos recorded from the scene showed protesters gathering documents and other possessions they said belonged to federal agents.

One video making the rounds under the watermark “Status Coup” showed a woman holding what she said were papers from one agent’s vandalized, abandoned vehicle “with FBI operational info. It’s got full names of FBI agents, phone numbers, emails. There’s maps on where they’re staying, where they’re holding immigrants. There’s hotel names in there. There’s judge names.”

She went on to say the papers included instructions on “operational posture,” explaining to agents how they’re supposed to stand and how to handle protesters.

During the White House’s daily press briefing, press secretary Karoline Leavitt showed photos of the damaged vehicles and said, “If you look at the images out of Minneapolis last night, look at this vehicle. Look at what is says. It says F ICE.

“You have these individuals who are putting their middle finger (up) proudly ... at the camera. Another ICE vehicle was vandalized last night by these left-wing agitators. People don’t do this without encouragement from people in power who make them feel like it’s OK.

While holding up one photo, Leavitt said it appeared the graffiti said “the best agent is a dead agent, or something to that effect.”

Andrew Mercado, who has been streaming ICE activity since the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown began, said in Wednesday night’s broadcast that he saw protesters who “got ahold of ICE’s entire game plan” from a ransacked and graffiti-tagged SUV believed to be connected to the agents. At least one other agent vehicle was similarly damaged, he said.

Mercado aimed his camera into one abandoned vehicle and pointed out a safety vest and a two-way radio. He also said two agents’ identification badges were grabbed by protesters. He also recorded various documents strewn on the pavement.

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