Left-wing protesters in Minneapolis managed to turn themselves into an unintentional comedy act this week after attempting to harass Vice President JD Vance—only to discover they were loudly protesting an empty hotel in subzero temperatures.
The scene unfolded outside a Minneapolis hotel where activists believed the vice president was staying during a visit to the Democrat-run city. Bundled up against brutal winter weather, the protesters banged pots, played instruments, and made as much noise as possible in an effort to disrupt Vance’s stay. There was just one problem: he had already left.
Vice President Vance shared a video of the spectacle on social media, letting the footage speak for itself, accompanied only by a laughing emoji. Conservative commentators quickly filled in the rest. Popular X user Johnny Maga summed it up perfectly: “LMAO. Libs in Minneapolis are currently standing outside a hotel in -15 degree weather banging pots and playing instruments to keep JD Vance from sleeping inside his hotel. Little do they know, JD Vance landed back in D.C. 5 hours ago.”
The mockery poured in. Conservative activist Robby Starbuck joked that the protesters were all on left-wing social platform Bluesky, so “they won’t figure it out until a few days from now.” Another commenter wondered aloud, “Do you think they’re still out there?” as the freezing demonstrators continued their futile protest.
The reason for the outburst, of course, was immigration enforcement. Minneapolis has become a hotbed of anti-ICE activism, with far-left groups aggressively opposing federal agents who are carrying out arrests of criminal illegal aliens. Rather than targeting violent offenders or cartel-linked criminals, activists have chosen to target law enforcement—often with harassment, doxxing, and intimidation.
According to Breitbart News, Vice President Vance addressed this very issue during a speech in Minneapolis, delivered to an audience that included ICE agents themselves. Vance didn’t mince words when it came to the media narrative surrounding immigration enforcement.
“One of the things I learned is that the guys behind me are doing an incredible job,” Vance said. “And frankly, a lot of the media is lying about the job that they do every single day.”
He acknowledged that no organization is perfect, but pushed back hard against the blanket demonization of ICE officers. “Very often, if you look at the context of what’s going on, you understand that these people are under an incredible amount of duress, an incredible amount of chaos,” Vance explained. He blamed “a few very far-left agitators” for creating an environment where officers are routinely harassed, doxxed, and even assaulted. “That’s totally unacceptable,” he added.
This isn’t the first time Vance has stood firmly behind federal law enforcement. Weeks earlier, following the shooting death of a protester who allegedly attempted to use a vehicle to strike an ICE officer, Vance made the administration’s position crystal clear.
“I want every ICE officer to know that their president, vice president, and the entire administration stands behind them,” he wrote. Then came the warning to the radicals: “To the people assaulting them, doxxing them, and threatening them—congratulations, we’re going to work even harder to enforce the law.”
In the end, Minneapolis activists accomplished little more than freezing themselves in the night while providing the internet with a viral punchline. JD Vance, meanwhile, was already back in Washington—doing his job while the protesters banged pots for no one at all.
