Wrecktangle Pizza, with six locations in Minneapolis, found itself in the eye of an ICE storm recently as it raised funds to help local immigrants during a federal government crackdown.
News outlets have reported that several ICE agents tried to enter the Wrecktangle store in the LynLake neighborhood on Monday, January 12, only to be turned away by defiant employees and members of the community.
Video footage posted on CNN’s website shows armed men in camouflage being confronted by individuals at the entrance to Wrecktangle Pizza. After one agent attempted to walk through the pizzeria’s door and then stepped back, another agent approached and guided him away. A small group of people can be heard shouting at the retreating officers.
One agent appears to have deployed a gas canister before getting into an SUV with other officers. Someone in the crowd kicked the canister back underneath the SUV, which then drove away.
The tense confrontation is the latest in an ongoing saga following the death of a civilian woman, Renee Good, who was reportedly shot and killed by an ICE agent in Minneapolis.
In cities across the country, including Minneapolis, some immigrant workers have been staying home and missing work to avoid ICE detection.
In a social media post on Thursday, January 8—a few days before Monday’s incident with ICE officers—Wrecktangle Pizza positioned itself as a haven for locals fearful of raids. “Pizza is comfort, Wrecktangle is friendship, and all locations are open today,” the post read. “If you need somewhere safe to gather, we are here.”
Wrecktangle said that for every pizza sold at any of its locations, the company would donate a 13” thin-crust frozen pizza to organizations “that will safely and confidentially distribute these frozen meals to friends and families affected by the increased ICE presence in our community.”
“It’s hard to hear really big, chaotic news and know what to do,” Breanna Evans, co-owner of Wrecktangle Pizza, told KARE 11 after the confrontation with ICE agents. “It’s best to lean on the familiar. What we know how to do is make food.”
In a post on January 11, the pizzeria announced that it has raised more than $83,000 and is “working hard with nonprofit organizations to make sure these funds do the most good.” It had also sold 1,636 pizzas and thus far distributed 600 frozen pizzas, along with non-perishables and toiletries, to families in need. “We have been working only with volunteers we personally know and trust to ensure the safety of our community,” the post continued.
“We’re trying to extend our arms of outreach as far as we can,” Wrecktangle Pizza Co-Owner Jeff Rogers told KARE 11.
Rogers said, “We never expected anything to blow up like that, you know. We have now a larger responsibility to continue on making these things happen and putting these funds where they need to be. It’s a responsibility that we are more than willing to do and willing to have.”
In a video shot at the scene of the incident, Rogers’ partner Evans said, “We probably put a target on ourselves like that by helping people, which is sickening.”
She added, “We defended this community….They don’t belong here. They’re not this community. They’re not what we believe in. We support and love each other, and you can see from that video exactly what happens when they try to f*** with us.”
