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Army veteran tackled and held 8 hours by ICE, denied attorney access in Minneapolis

Jan 23, 2026·Location: Minneapolis, MN

Country of origin: Mexico

Army veteran tackled and held 8 hours by ICE, denied attorney access in Minneapolis
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William Vermie, a 39-year-old Army combat veteran and Purple Heart recipient, was tackled and detained by ICE agents while standing on a public sidewalk in Minneapolis observing agents detain two young men during an operation the government called Operation Metro Surge. He was taken to the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building and held for eight hours without being allowed to contact an attorney or his family, despite repeatedly requesting legal representation and his wife having already secured a lawyer on his behalf. DHS said Vermie was arrested for allegedly assaulting a law enforcement officer. Four attorneys told ABC News they were denied access to clients held at the same facility, with multiple attorneys reporting similar complaints from others arrested in recent Minneapolis ICE operations and alleging violations of Fifth and Sixth Amendment due process and right-to-counsel protections.

Timeline

Jan 23, 2026—Report details attorneys' accounts of being denied access to clients detained at Whipple Building during recent ICE operations
Jan 13, 2026—William Vermie tackled and detained by ICE while observing an enforcement operation in Minneapolis, held 8 hours at Whipple Federal Building without attorney access
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