What we know about ICE arrest, detention of observer Brandon Siguenza in Minneapolis

On Jan. 11, 2026, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detained Brandon Siguenza, a U.S. citizen, in Minneapolis, according to social media posts.

The posts claimed that while Siguenza and his friend Patty O’Keefe were observing an ICE operation, agents pepper-sprayed their car before smashing its windows, opening the doors and pulling the two out of the vehicle. Siguenza and O’Keefe were then put in separate unmarked vehicles, driven to the Whipple Federal Building in St. Paul and detained for eight hours, according to the posts. 

During the detention, Siguenza reportedly claimed, agents offered him money or legal protection for undocumented relatives, even though he has none, if he provided them with names of immigrants or protest organizers. 

Snopes readers wrote in looking for more information about the detention. We reached out to Siguenza to ask for more information about the incident, but had not heard back at the time of publication. We also contacted the Department of Homeland Security and ICE. 

In an emailed statement, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said “any claim that DHS is offering money to agitators for information leading to the arrest of illegal aliens is FALSE,” and that O’Keefe and Siguenza committed a felony by “stalking and obstructing ICE law enforcement.” Siguenza said he was released without being charged.

Because we could not independently confirm Siguenza’s account, we’ve left this claim unrated. We will update this story if we receive additional information. 

In addition to his Facebook post, Siguenza and O’Keefe spoke to KARE, the Twin Cities’ NBC affiliate, about their experience. The news outlet uploaded a 17-minute video of an interview with the two to its YouTube Channel. O’Keefe also detailed her experience to the Minnesota Reformer, a nonprofit news organization. 

According to their interview with KARE, Siguenza and O’Keefe responded to an ICE sighting at East 42nd Street and South 16th Avenue in south Minneapolis. After they followed two ICE vehicles, agents allegedly got out of their cars and sprayed pepper spray into the vents of O’Keefe’s car before breaking their windows, taking them out of the vehicle and arresting them. 

The KARE interview included a photo from inside the vehicle, reportedly taken by Siguenza, of an agent pepper-spraying the vents of the car. The news outlet also shared videos of the arrest captured by neighbors, which showed the same event from a different angle as footage posted to the ICE_Watch subreddit (archived). Using those videos, Snopes geolocated the arrest to the 4300 block of South 16th Avenue, a little more than a block from where O’Keefe and Siguenza said they responded to the ICE sighting. After Siguenza and O’Keefe were arrested, they were reportedly put into separate cars and driven to the Whipple Federal Building.

Any information beyond this point came solely from Siguenza and O’Keefe’s recollection. O’Keefe told KARE and the Minnesota Reformer that while in the car, one of the agents told her to stop obstructing ICE. The agent allegedly said, “That’s why that lesbian b**** is dead,” in an apparent reference to an ICE agent’s shooting of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis less than a week prior. Siguenza said in his post (archived) that the ICE agents drove erratically and did not buckle his seatbelt during the car ride.

O’Keefe and Siguenza both said there were many people being held at the federal building when they arrived, and that buses and vans were being prepared to drive detainees to the airport. O’Keefe said she heard “desperate, desperate crying from a room full of women,” and a man repeatedly yelling, “Let me go!”

During their eight-hour detention, Siguenza said he was given a phone call, while O’Keefe said she was not. Both said they were read their rights. 

In his Facebook post, Siguenza said he tried to request food, water and the bathroom through the intercom in his cell, but never got anywhere. He claimed he resorted to “pounding on the glass when someone happened to walk by and beg them directly.”

Siguenza also wrote that at one point, three men from DHS took him into a cell and offered him money or legal protection for undocumented relatives if he provided them the names of immigrants in the country illegally or protest organizers. Siguenza turned down the request and said he did not have undocumented relatives. 

The two were released at 7 p.m. without being charged, according to the KARE interview.