The local police chief in St. Peter, Minnesota, intervened to prevent federal immigration agents from detaining a local resident who had been observing ICE actions.
When agents noticed she was recording, they swerved their vehicle in front of her, stopped, stepped out with guns drawn, removed her from her car and took her into custody.
The video below, via MPR News, is from the woman’s dash cam.
From Minnesota Public Radio:
Agents in three vehicles began chasing her and trying to force her to pull over. Eventually they box her in, three agents get out of the car in front of her, with their guns drawn and try to force her out of her vehicle.
“Get out of the car! Get out of the car,” the agents scream at her repeatedly, while she calmly responds, “No. I will not get out of the car.”
While she’s alone in the car, the woman can be heard talking with other observers on speaker phone and she tells them to call 911. The agents open the door, which unlocked automatically when she put the gearshift in park, they drag her out and force her to the ground.
She said the agents were overly aggressive and physical as they pinned her down and handcuffed her, leaving her with multiple cuts, scrapes and bruises.
The woman’s husband eventually arrives and tries to intervene, and he made a separate recording of the interaction on his phone. He tells the agents not to search her car because they don’t have a warrant and it would be an illegal search.
The agents appear dismissive of his constitutional concerns. “I’m not getting into the legality of everything,” one agent responds tersely.
The police chief got her out of the DHS vehicle as the agents who grabbed her were driving her to the DHS jail. When told that they were acting illegally, one agent just says: “I’m not getting into the legality of everything.” https://t.co/EGZC2xEi45
— David J. Bier (@David_J_Bier) January 31, 2026
The woman tells MPR News she was put into one of the ICE vehicles, and the agents began driving toward the Twin Cities, possibly to the Whipple Federal Building where ICE has an immigration detention facility.
But 20 minutes into the drive, one of the agents received a call, and the car changed course heading back to St. Peter.
Related: Multiple videos contradict DHS version of Alex Pretti shooting
The husband shared that after his wife was taken into custody, he called his attorney, and not long after received a call from St. Peter Chief of Police Matt Grochow, whom he said he has known for years.
“He asked me, ‘what was your wife’s name’? I told him my wife’s name. He said, ‘was she picked up in a bronco?’ And I said, ‘I’m not sure, but it was an SUV, dark colored. I’d have to look at my video.’”
“He goes, ‘I think I got her. I’ll call you back.'” Minutes later, the police chief rang back saying, “I got her. I’m bringing her home.”
The agents had delivered the woman to the St. Peter police station, where she says Chief Grochow was there to meet her. After speaking with her, he had her get into his squad car, and took her home.
MPR News says this might be the first time a local police department in Minnesota has intervened in a federal law enforcement action since the ICE surge began two months ago.
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