What was supposed to be a normal lunch break turned into a disturbing display of mob mentality in Minneapolis, where a group of software engineers were harassed, insulted, and accused of horrific crimes—all because anti-ICE activists wrongly decided they “looked like” federal agents. Apparently, ordering lunch is now probable cause.
The incident unfolded at Clancey’s Deli, where several software engineers—described as white males dressed casually in sweatshirts and jackets—were eating lunch when one of them received an alert from an anti-ICE Signal chat claiming that plainclothes ICE agents were inside the restaurant, according to Alpha News.
The irony couldn’t be richer. One of the men, who identified himself as Lee, said the individual who received the alert is actually politically aligned with the anti-ICE movement.
“My friend was shocked,” Lee explained. “He’s on the [anti-ICE] side politically. He lives nearby. He’s eaten there before. And suddenly he’s seeing messages saying we’re ICE.”
After the alert circulated in the “SW Minneapolis Rapid Response” chat, dozens of anti-ICE agitators descended on the deli, peering through the windows and creating an intimidating scene, as captured in video filmed by one of the men.
When the group finally left the restaurant, the harassment escalated. On the street, members of the crowd hurled profanities and abuse.
“You’re a f------ bootlicker b----!” one agitator shouted.
“Get out of our f------ neighborhood!” screamed another.
According to Lee, it quickly went from hostile to downright deranged. “Next thing we know, people are yelling, ‘I hope you die,’ and calling us pedophiles,” he said.
One of the men attempted to calmly explain reality to the crowd, noting they were software engineers just trying to eat lunch.
“We do custom apps for a whole bunch of companies around Minnesota and the country,” he said.
That explanation did little to slow the frenzy.
“Do I look like an ICE agent?” one of the men asked, only to be met with a woman shouting back, “Yeah, you look like a f------ ICE agent.”
As whistles blew and voices yelled “Get the f--- out,” one of the men summed it up plainly: “This is what’s wrong with your guys’ cause.”
And he wasn’t wrong. When innocent people are targeted, threatened, and dehumanized based on rumors pushed through activist chat groups, the problem isn’t law enforcement—it’s lawlessness. The good news is that moments like this continue to expose the consequences of radical mob behavior, and more Americans are waking up to the importance of order, truth, and basic decency.
