Protests

Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) represents a district of the city of Minneapolis, and she's known for her progressive views and outspoken tendencies, which have earned her the support -- and ire -- of many ... including the president of the United States.

Here's a look at the politician's background and see how she dealt with a surprising attack during a town hall meeting this week ... on her home turf.

Bruce Springsteen went for the jugular on his new track "Streets of Minneapolis" ... trashing the Trump Administration's attitude and actions against the city and its ongoing unrest.

Springsteen dropped the track accompanied by a statement n his website, explaining he wrote the song on Saturday, recorded it Tuesday, and released it today ... he dedicated it to the citizens of Minneapolis, immigrant neighbors, and the memories of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, who were both shot and killed by federal agents in the city this month.

Springsteen makes several references to "King Trump" and brands federal officers "thugs."

He also calls out "dirty lies" pushed by Trump adviser Stephen Miller and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, who both defended the actions of the federal officers who killed Pretti and falsely labeled him a terrorist.

Noem claimed Pretti brandished a gun at the agents who shot him ... though video later showed he never touched his firearm, which he was legally permitted to carry. Miller also alleged without evidence Pretti "tried to murder federal agents."

Springsteen's song finishes with a pledge to "remember the names of those who died on the streets of Minneapolis."

Springsteen isn't the only one who's spoken out about the unrest in the Twin Cities recently ... celebrities like Billie Eilish and Jimmy Kimmel have been loud about federal immigration activity in Minnesota.

Actor and comedian John Leguizamo is drawing a line in the ICE ... telling fans if they support U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement -- then don't bother supporting his work.

He laid it out crystal clear in his Instagram Story on Wednesday ... demanding folks who are happy with the way ICE is carrying out their work to stop buying tickets to his shows and watching his films, and says they should unfollow his social media as well.

John's command comes as tensions continue to boil following the shooting death of Alex Pretti Saturday in Minneapolis. While the Department of Homeland Security initially said Pretti approached agents with his weapon drawn ... video shows he never brandished his concealed firearm.

Ice-T might share a common name with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, but that's where the similarities end ... he told us citizens should be careful, even when protesting peacefully ... because ICE agents might attack.

We got the rapper and actor out in NYC Tuesday, where he had a message to his fans in Minnesota who are demonstrating their dissent against violent immigration raids ... "Stand strong and stay out the way. These cats will kill you."

The Grammy winner has actually been outspoken against ICE for a while now. Clips from an old live show have been making the rounds lately, showing Ice-T changing the lyrics of his classic "Cop Killer," singing "ICE Killer" instead.

Since then, things have sadly gotten much worse.

Two different agents shot at Alex Pretti in the incident Saturday that left him dead ... this according to a Department of Homeland Security report to Congress.

Customs and Border Protection relayed the results of its initial investigation into the shooting of Pretti ... admitting to Congress a Border Patrol agent and a Customs and Border Protection officer both fired their guns.

According to CNN, the report reads ... "CBP personnel attempted to take Pretti into custody. Pretti resisted CBP personnel’s efforts and a struggle ensued. During the struggle, a (Border Patrol agent) yelled, ‘He’s got a gun!’ multiple times. Approximately five seconds later, a (Border Patrol agent) discharged his CBP-issued Glock 19 and a (Customs and Border Protection officer) also discharged his CBP-issued Glock 47 at Pretti.”

Anti-ICE protesters in Minnesota became unwilling astronomers Monday night ... taking in the full moon when a man dropped his pants and slapped his butt cheeks up against a hotel window.

The impromptu peep show took place at the SpringHill Suites by Marriott in Maple Grove, Minnesota, where demonstrators -- who believed outgoing United States Border Patrol Commander-at-Large Gregory Bovino and other federal agents were inside -- protested from the curb outside.

Their message wasn't well-received by one guy in the hotel standing near a window with a group of his pals ... who decided to lodge a counter-protest of his own -- by mooning the crowd.

Border Czar Tom Homan's going to get hands-on with the tense situation in Minnesota ... because he's being sent there by President Donald Trump.

POTUS announced his plans for Homan on Truth Social Monday morning, saying Homan "knows and likes many of the people" in Minnesota ... without specifying whom he was referring to.

Trump described Homan as "tough but fair" and said he would directly report to him during his time in Minnesota. Trump did not indicate what Homan will do in his capacity there.

A third person has been taken into custody following a controversial anti-ICE protest in Minnesota this week ... after he dared U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to arrest him.

Bondi announce William Kelly's arrest on social media Thursday, writing ... "Our nation was settled and founded by people fleeing religious persecution. Religious freedom is the bedrock of this country."

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem later announced -- on social media -- Kelly has been charged with conspiracy to deprive rights.

Earlier this week Kelly -- a U.S. Army veteran who's been active in challenging ICE, CBP and the Trump Administration -- called Bondi a "traitorous b****" and dared her to "come and get" him on his TikTok account, @dawokefarmer2.

In the video he claimed children are being "dragged into concentration camps."

ICYMI ... protestors entered Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, this past Sunday to confront pastor David Easterwood, who is an ICE official. Easterwood wasn't at the church at the time.

11:40 AM PT -- Don Lemon posted a statement from his attorney, Abbe Lowell, on his official IG account Thursday after the judge rejected the DOJ's attempt to charge him … noting journalists' First Amendment rights were properly reinforced by the federal judge.

The statement concludes … "Should the Department of Justice continue with a stunning and troubling effort to silence and punish a journalist for doing his job, Don will call out their latest attack on the rule of law and fight any charges vigorously and thoroughly in court."

Don Lemon looks like he's off the hook in Minnesota ... because a judge reportedly swatted away the U.S. Department of Justice's first attempt to charge him with a crime over an anti-ICE protest that tore through a church service.

CNN reports a federal magistrate judge rejected the DOJ's bid to bring charges against the former CNN host, who reported live from Sunday's protest at Cities Church in St. Paul.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, who is in meeting with federal prosecutors in Minnesota, is reportedly "enraged" at the judge's decision.

Local and federal authorities are investigating after a group of anti-ICE protesters crashed a Minnesota church service ... and one of the demonstrators tells TMZ she'd still do it all over again.

Here's the deal ... the DOJ and local police are investigating after protesters interrupted a service at the Cities Church in St. Paul ... which is getting major headlines because Don Lemon was in the mix live-streaming the incident.

Chauntyll Allen, leader of Black Lives Matter Twin Cities, who was among the group, tells TMZ … the jarring protest inside the church was necessary to make clear to the parishioners that having a pastor who is also an ICE official is unacceptable.

Donald Trump just cosigned a social media post saying Don Lemon should go to prison for reporting from an anti-ICE church protest in Minnesota.

On Truth Social Monday, the U.S. president reshared a post from an account called "MoniFunGirl," who said she wants to see the journalist slapped with 40 years in prison just for showing up at the protest crowd outside Cities Church in St. Paul on Sunday.

The number didn't come out of thin air ... Moni claimed a group of elderly women got 40 years in prison for protesting at an abortion clinic under the FACE Act, and basically insinuating Don was doing the same, and should face the same consequences.

The U.S. Department of Justice has launched a criminal probe into an anti-ICE protest that tore through a Minnesota church service Sunday ... and former CNN host Don Lemon could be swept up in it under the century-old "KKK Act."

DOJ Assistant AG for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon tells TMZ ... every demonstrator who stormed the Sunday service at Cities Church in St. Paul is now under federal investigation. When we asked if Don is in the crosshairs, Dhillon wouldn't confirm or deny it, telling us to connect the dots ourselves.

Don says he was merely doing his job -- reporting a news story from the scene. But, on his livestream, Don is seen kissing the organizer of the protest on the cheek, which the feds might interpret as him having a closer connection to the group.

Dhillon says FBI agents are already talking to witnesses, and while no formal charges have been filed yet, it’s "fair to say" charges are coming under the Face Act and KKK Act, that make it a crime to terrorize and violate the civil rights of citizens.

President Donald Trump has threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act in response to ongoing protests over ICE activity in the state of Minnesota.

The Insurrection Act has not been used in more than three decades -- last employed during the 1992 Los Angeles riots. President George H.W. Bush sent troops to the city at California Governor Pete Wilson's request following unrest in the wake of four LAPD officers being acquitted of police brutality in the videotaped beating of Rodney King.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has not requested federal assistance ... quite the opposite. He has called for ICE and CBP personnel to leave the state.

POTUS posted on Truth Social Thursday morning ... "If the corrupt politicians of Minnesota don’t obey the law and stop the professional agitators and insurrectionists from attacking the Patriots of I.C.E., who are only trying to do their job, I will institute the INSURRECTION ACT, which many Presidents have done before me, and quickly put an end to the travesty that is taking place in that once great State."

The Insurrection Act allows the President to deploy the military and federalize state National Guard forces in limited circumstances.

Before 1992, it was utilized during a civil rights dispute in 1957 in Arkansas, and during the Civil War and Jim Crow eras.

This isn't the first time Trump's threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act ... he floated the idea of invoking the act in October on cities like Portland and Chicago.

Sam Asghari went all in for his roots ... storming the streets of Los Angeles to stand loud, proud, and unmissable in support of the Iranian people.

In an IG video posted Sunday night, the Iranian-born model showed himself waving the Iranian flag shoulder to shoulder with massive crowds in L.A., home to one of the largest Iranian-American communities in the country.

Sam and the crowd gathered near the federal building in Westwood ... making it clear they were pushing back against political repression and calling for regime change among all the protests and chaos that have erupted in Iran.