A Minneapolis man is facing charges of obstructing and fleeing police during a federal raid earlier this week.
Chaos erupted for several hours Tuesday on East Lake Street in Minneapolis following false social media reports of immigration raids taking place near Bloomington Avenue on the city’s south side.
Crowds started forming around mid-morning and escalated to pushing, shoving, and throwing trash, while others tried to block law enforcement vehicles from driving in the area.
In reality, the law enforcement action was related to the execution of eight search warrants involving a “transnational criminal organization,” said Hennepin County Sheriff Dawanna Witt.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said the operation “focused on serious criminal activity, including drug trafficking and human trafficking.”
Maxwell Louis Collyard, 33, allegedly reached for an officer’s vest and tore something off of it during Tuesday’s clash, according to charges filed Thursday. The officer then placed Collyard under arrest, but Collyard refused to cooperate and resisted arrest, the charges say.
"Theater artist" and "server of food and maker of song," Maxwell Louis Collyard, 33, of Minneapolis is currently in the "find out" phase following his arrest at the Lake Street protest yesterday on probable cause 4th degree assault on police.
Stay tuned. pic.twitter.com/HF6saghYCg
— CrimeWatchMpls (@CrimeWatchMpls) June 5, 2025
The officer used takedown maneuvers in an attempt to gain control of Collyard, who then “sprayed an unknown substance” in the officer’s face, according to the charges. Collyard stood up and ran away from the scene. He was eventually apprehended and taken to the Hennepin County Jail.
He’s facing a gross misdemeanor charge of obstructing the legal process by interfering with a peace officer and a misdemeanor charge of fleeing police. He hasn’t been charged with assault.
Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association general counsel Imran Ali called on elected leaders to apologize for statements they made that “inflamed the situation.”
“This week, law enforcement executed several criminal search warrants in Minnesota including one in Minneapolis targeting human trafficking. Unfortunately, officers were threatened, assaulted, and obstructed from collecting evidence. Irresponsible, false statements by Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty, Senator Omar Fateh, some county board members and more further inflamed the situation,” said Ali.
“It appears these leaders are more interested in division that could erupt into chaos,” he added. “Hennepin County leaders must correct their statements and apologize immediately.”
Anthony Gockowski
Anthony Gockowski is Editor-in-Chief of Alpha News. He previously worked as an editor for The Minnesota Sun and Campus Reform, and wrote for the Daily Caller.
