A Sky News correspondent was caught in a cloud of tear gas as tensions between federal immigration officers and protesters in Minneapolis erupted into chaos on Thursday.
Correspondent Overcome During Live Broadcast
Sky's Martha Kelner was reporting live outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, a local branch of the US Department of Homeland Security, when masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers deployed tear gas against demonstrators. The incident occurred a week after an ICE agent fatally shot a woman in the city.
In dramatic footage, Kelner described the scene as police tried to establish a larger perimeter. "You can hear some flash bangs going off... there's tear gas too, and people panicking trying to get away," she reported, before a dense cloud of gas passed the camera.
The correspondent, her nose and mouth covered by a mask, was overcome by the fumes, coughing uncontrollably and struggling to speak. "Apologies... that tear gas really, really catching in the throats of everyone here," she managed to say before the team moved to put on proper gas masks. In the background, the sounds of others coughing and struggling were clearly audible.
Escalating Tensions and a Federal Buildup
The protests have persisted for days, with anger further fuelled by another incident on Wednesday where a federal officer shot a man in the leg after being attacked with a shovel and broom handle. Kelner described the scene as one of "utter, utter chaos" with police using crowd dispersal techniques to push back protesters.
The federal presence in the area is substantial. A federal law enforcement official told Sky's US partner NBC News that there are roughly 3,000 federal agents on the ground in the Minneapolis area making immigration arrests. This force includes more than 2,000 ICE officers and agents, hundreds of Border Patrol agents, and personnel from Justice Department agencies.
Political Appeals as President Threatens Military Deployment
The situation has drawn a direct political response. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz made a public appeal to former President Donald Trump on social media platform X. "Let's turn the temperature down. Stop this campaign of retribution. This is not who we are," he wrote.
This plea came after the former president threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act, a move that would grant him the authority to deploy the US military domestically without prior approval from Congress. The threat has added a significant national political dimension to the local unrest.
