Minneapolis live updates: ICE arrest powers expanded, memo says

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said Thursday he agrees with Vice President JD Vance on the need for peaceful protests and public safety, but sharply criticized the federal government’s current response in the city, calling it excessive, poorly coordinated and harmful to residents who have done nothing wrong.

He said he welcomes any message that encourages calm demonstrations and public order. However, he said the vice president’s comments overlook what is actually happening on the ground in Minneapolis. The mayor said the city has been dealing with unrest and safety concerns for weeks.

The mayor said he agrees with calls to send federal agents home and noted that city leaders have been making that request for weeks. He said the presence of more than 3,000 federal immigration and border agents in Minneapolis has no clear plan and feels like an occupation in a city that is far smaller than New York or Los Angeles.

According to the mayor, the situation has worsened because agents are arresting U.S. citizens, detaining people without cause and stopping residents based largely on how they look. He said people have been detained on their way to work, while dropping off children or even while off duty from law enforcement jobs. He said these actions amount to constitutional violations happening in real time.

-ABC News' Jason Volack

The Pentagon said it is dispatching 25 military lawyers to Minneapolis to assist federal prosecutors, the latest step in a broader push to place military attorneys in civilian courtrooms.

The deployment follows the assignment of 20 military lawyers to Memphis, Tennessee, in recent weeks. Another 20 were detailed to Washington, D.C., in August.

“The Department of War is proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with our law enforcement and Department of Justice partners,” a Pentagon spokesman said in a statement.

When military lawyers are assigned to assist federal prosecutors, they serve as special assistant United States attorneys, known as SAUSAs. In that role, they are authorized to perform much of the same work as career federal prosecutors, including questioning witnesses and arguing cases in court, three military attorneys and two U.S. officials told ABC News.

The assignments are voluntary. Before beginning the work, the lawyers undergo training at the National Advocacy Center in South Carolina, a Justice Department facility, where they receive up to a three-week crash course introduction to civilian legal practice, including courtroom procedure, mock trials and administrative requirements, according to two U.S. officials.

The program has existed largely unchanged since the 1960s, when it was used during the Vietnam War to allow military lawyers to assist civilian authorities, particularly in cases involving deserters. Historically, it has been used sparingly, with U.S. attorneys’ offices sometimes supplemented by one or two military lawyers at a time, and has largely been viewed as a fellowship-style opportunity rather than a large-scale staffing solution.

“To my knowledge, this has never been done at this scale before,” Michael Dunavant, the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Tennessee, said in an interview with ABC News.

The lawyers do not wear uniforms while serving in the role. Though they continue to be paid by the military, they function as civilian prosecutors, effectively on loan to the Justice Department.

-ABC News' Steve Beynon

Asked about the detention of a 5-year-old by federal agents earlier this week, Vice President JD Vance defended the immigration crackdown in Minnesota, saying he is "proud of the fact that we are enforcing the country's laws."

Vance said he looked into the case and found that "the 5-year-old was not arrested, that his dad was an illegal alien and when they went to arrest his illegal alien father, the father ran," Vance told reporters Thursday.

"So the story is that ICE detained a 5-year-old, well, what are they supposed to do? Are they supposed to let a 5-year-old child freeze to death? Are they not supposed to arrest an illegal alien in the United States of America?" the vice president said.

Vance argued that having cooperation between local and federal officials would bring down the chaos.

"If the argument is that you can't arrest people who break laws because they have children, then every single parent is going to be completely given immunity from ever being the subject of law enforcement. That doesn't make any sense," Vance said.

A third person was arrested in the case of the disruption of church services in St. Paul, according to the Justice Department.

"William Kelly is being charged with conspiracy to deprive rights, a federal crime, for his involvement in the St. Paul church riots," Secretary Kristi Noem posted on X alongside a photo of him.

He, along with two others, were charged with disrupting church services in St. Paul over objections that of the leaders was a local ICE leader.

-ABC News' Luke Barr and Olivia Rubin