A video circulating on the social media platforms elicited severe reactions from netizens and top US officials alike on Sunday (US time). The now-viral clip amassing millions of views on X appears to show an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer arguing with an alleged protester (off-camera) over the agitator’s purported interference in an operation targeting an alleged child sex offender in Minnesota.

Prominent US figures like Elon Musk, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt and Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin have also re-posted the viral video on their respective X accounts, reiterating their pro-ICE stance amid the ongoing Minneapolis crackdown.

Did ICE agents accuse Minneapolis protesters of disrupting a child sex offender arrest in a viral video?

The video shared online shows an ICE agent pulling up his car close to someone recording a video. “We are here to arrest a child sex offender, and you guys are out here honking,” the ICE officer calls out the person behind the camera.

In response to his hefty allegations, the individual filming the video is heard calmly saying in the background, “No, we’re press. We’re not honking.”

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Upon hearing the answer, the ICE agent turns around and points towards someone else behind them.

“That person is honking and impeding our investigation while we’re trying to arrest a child sex offender. That’s who you guys are protecting. Insane!” After saying his piece, he drives off.

The original video, though re-shared and amplified countless times on X already, was first posted by a user named Oliya Scootercaster, who, according to her X bio is a self-proclaimed ‘Ukrainian-American journalist.’

As many appeared to have misinterpreted the situation after watching the video on X, Scootercaster issued a clarification in a follow-up comment. “As some big accounts who reposted this seem confused – the agent clearly points with his finger behind him to specify who he is talking about, then addresses the journalist camera as his message to protesters,” she wrote online.

According to the footage bearing the ‘FREEDOMNEWS.TV’ watermark and Oliya’s recent social media activity on X, the confrontation took place in Saint Paul, a city in Minnesota.

The video later cuts to a wider shot, showing an argument between the agent and someone else, as they sat in their respective vehicles. As established in the clip, the other person appears to be questioning the ground of the arrest being made by the ICE agents.

At another point, a woman can also be seen standing behind the ICE agent’s vehicle, saying “Just go. They’re lying. Don’t listen to them.”

Sharing another video, presumably filmed around the same location, Scootercaster wrote on X, “Activists blow whistles and confront ICE agents in St Paul after a Detainement.”

In this particular video, the person driving the other vehicle can clearly be seen repeatedly honking, as a few ICE agents appear to be walking beside the vehicle. Like the car’s occupants, activists standing in the street were heard blowing whistles in retaliation against ICE. A masked ICE agent standing out in the snow speaks to the agitators filming the development in the area.

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“Thank you guys for being respectful. Thank you guys for recording. Have a good day today,” he says before getting into the car.

Elon Musk and other officials react to the viral video

Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s recent social media streak has involved re-sharing quite a few protest videos coming in from Minnesota, while plugging a one-word or brief reaction with the post.

In one such post, he shared the viral video of the ICE interaction in Minnesota, and simply wrote: “Crazy.”

DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin also responded to the video over the weekend, praising officers in the area for standing their ground. “God bless the men & women of [ICE] and [Customs and Border Protection] who risk their lives to arrest these criminals,” she wrote.

Similarly, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt posted, “God Bless ICE.” Her three-word response was eventually reposted by the official White House X account as well.