The FBI on Sunday signaled it is looking into a Minneapolis confrontation in which conservative journalist Nick Sortor alleged a protester stole his camera and dragged him down the street with a car as he tried to recover it.
Shortly after Sortor posted video of the incident to X on Sunday, an account affiliated with the FBI reposted the footage with the message “We’re on it,” signaling federal authorities were aware of the allegations. The violent incident marked one of several that took place in Minnesota on Sunday amid the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, known as “Operation Metro Surge,” in Minneapolis.
The chaotic encounter unfolded as Sortor, a right-leaning social media personality known for livestreaming protests, was driving down Riverside Plaza, a large tenement-style complex known for housing members of the Somali community in Minneapolis. In the video filmed by fellow conservative journalist Cam Higby, a woman is seen approaching the vehicle and appears to grab a camera directly from his hands.
“What did she just do?” Higby asks as his car comes to a stop.
Sortor then jumps out and chases after the alleged thief, who he later said made off with roughly $1,000 worth of equipment. A brief scuffle occurs on the roadway, partially obscured from view in the footage.
Moments later, the alleged thief is seen getting into a car and attempting to flee. Footage shows Sortor clinging to the driver’s side door handle as the vehicle accelerates. The car swerved into an icy sidewalk as Sortor struggled to keep his footing, sliding alongside the moving vehicle before eventually breaking free.
“My hand got trapped in their door handle and I was dragged down the street,” Sortor wrote in his account of the incident, later showing an image of severe bruising on his hand.
“They just stole my camera,” Sortor said after the vehicle sped away.
A tense standoff followed as several bystanders surrounded Sortor and his team, yelling at them to leave the area. One man in the crowd can be heard shouting profanities and warning them to “get out of here right now.”
“Nobody stepped in,” Sortor complained in the video, while his cameraman insisted they had a right to be present, saying, “It’s the United States of America.”
Sortor later claimed online that he and his crew had been followed throughout the day by a group of demonstrators connected to local protests against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.
Minneapolis police have not announced any arrests, and it is unclear whether a police report has been filed in connection with the theft. The Washington Examiner contacted the Minneapolis Police Department for more information.
Sortor has built a large online following by attending left-wing demonstrations around the country and documenting confrontations with protesters. His presence has frequently drawn hostility from activists who accuse him of provocation.
This is not the first time he has been involved in a confrontation while covering protests.
In October, Sortor was arrested outside an ICE facility in Portland, Oregon, during an anti-ICE demonstration. The Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office later declined to file charges, concluding prosecutors could not prove disorderly conduct beyond a reasonable doubt.
Sortor claimed after that arrest that Portland police were targeting conservative influencers at the direction of city officials and announced plans to sue the city for $10 million, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting, although it is not clear whether his lawsuit ever materialized.
In recent weeks, Sortor has focused his reporting on Minneapolis, where demonstrations have intensified over ICE enforcement operations. Earlier this month, he reported from outside a downtown Hilton hotel that faced backlash for refusing to host federal immigration officers.
He was also present after the fatal shooting of Renee Good by an ICE officer, an incident that triggered protests across the city.
The confrontation on Sunday came as the FBI asked agents from field offices across the country to travel to Minneapolis voluntarily for temporary assignments as the city faces rising tumult and protests against ICE, largely driven by Good’s death earlier this month.
In addition to requests for FBI agents in the city, the Pentagon has requested 1,500 active-duty troops to remain on standby for possible deployment.
PENTAGON ORDERS 1,500 ACTIVE-DUTY TROOPS TO PREPARE FOR MINNESOTA DEPLOYMENT
Protests over the death of Good crossed a new line Sunday evening after demonstrators disrupted a Christian church service. Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon announced hours after the protest that her office was looking into possible violations of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, which generally protects houses of worship.
The Washington Examiner contacted the FBI but did not receive a response.