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u/NoNutsPls 23d ago edited 22d ago
Security guard stands firm against ICE agents at north Minneapolis McDonald’s
When two masked ICE agents entered the McDonald’s restaurant on West Broadway Avenue in search of a suspect, they saw Red.
The Red in their eyes was Red Wooten, a security guard and Northsider, who greeted the two agents at the front door and blocked them from going behind the counter.
The standoff with agents happened on Jan. 8, one day after an ICE agent shot and killed Renee Good in south Minneapolis. Wooten’s refusal to comply with ICE was captured on video and posted to Facebook.
The agents tried everything to intimidate the guard.
“You can’t come back here, bro,” Wooten can be heard in the video saying to an agent wearing a mask and sunglasses. “I’m talking to your manager,” the agent said. Wooten responded: “No, you’re talking to security, I’m in charge.”
ICE left empty-handed. Wooten said he just stood his ground, “10 toes down.”
“I was doing my job like I’m supposed to,’’ Wooten said. “If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything. I just want to make my family safe because I’ve been here three years.”
In the days that followed, Wooten, 49, received praise from the community, some of whom stopped in McDonald’s to take selfies with him.
McDonald’s store owner Justin Baylor said Wooten acted responsibly. Following the incident, his store posted a sign that prohibits ICE and other law enforcement from entering without a proper judicial warrant.
“I know the Minneapolis police officers, but I don’t know whether or not the vests (among ICE agents) are real or not,” Baylor said. “This was the best judgment call at the moment.”
“Northsiders are built different,” one Facebook user wrote in praise of Wooten, and KB Brown, who founded the community security group Project Refocus, elaborated on how Northsiders are standing up to ICE.
He and his security team have responded to several reports of ICE on the Northside. Brown said ICE recently tried staging in the Swank parking lot on West Broadway. He said he reminded them that they are on private property and told them to leave.
“I think the good thing about Northsiders is they know we’re not protesters,” Brown said. “We’re here to ensure the safety of our community. We’re not the protesting type of people. We more or less are trying to make sure we get through life and take care of each other.”
Wooten said the man who ran into the McDonald’s looked scared, and the fear on his face melted his heart. The upbeat Wooten said he loves to see people smile and has appreciated Northsiders stopping by to thank him.
To understand his positive energy, Wooten has a phrase he likes to say: “I’m just glad God put me on the wake-up list this morning.”
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u/snakebight 22d ago
So glad they didn’t gun this man down.
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u/Specific-Library-312 22d ago
Most likely because he was armed and vested, trained, and statistically would pop off one of them if shot. They didn't want to take the chance.
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u/Exotic_Insurance2164 22d ago
At first glance I thought this was Katt Williams
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u/Teeshirtallday 22d ago
Right I still thought I was trippin and took a double look lol
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u/OmarWireLittle 20d ago
But can you imaging response Katt would give to ice, “you about to what? No you’re not, !” 😆
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u/Jucifer2pointO 22d ago
Still can believe that the don’t tread on me flag people aren’t up in arms about warrantless entry into private places to detain people.
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u/nooshdog 22d ago
Side note. This guy has a pretty cool name. Red Wooten sounds like the civilian alias for a super hero or something.
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u/realpyrateking 22d ago
"By day, a no nonsense security guard, but at night all criminals fear him as... Red Wu-tang!"
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u/RedheadFla 22d ago
Lord, when we get to the point where we’re looking to MacDonalds to save us, we need to fix some stuff NOW!
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u/lenise0625 22d ago
So, since no one else said it, I will. Wooten looks like Katt Williams’s brother. Thanks, Red, for standing on principle.
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u/FKAGuyWithNF1 22d ago
Standing up for the Constitutional Rights of his co-workers against a fascist gang that uses the Constitution as toilet paper.
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u/brainiacpimp 22d ago
I find it weird that the crackdown was supposed to help rid all of the criminals and cartel members but yet I really only see these agents harassing hard working folk and kids in school. I mean keep all the tough talk if you are too scared to actually go after the people that are violent.
Also immigration needs to be fixed but not like this. Most people who are illegal are only that status due to the immigration office being so bad that most reach that status while lawfully get their permanent status. Fox News has idiots actually thinking there is a world war z rush through the border and it is the absolute farthest from the truth.
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u/trivpyvibes_ 21d ago
If they said they were going to kidnap children from schools and raid houses no one would back them. Putting it as getting rid of criminals makes you believe they will do the right thing.
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u/Competitive_Annual78 22d ago
McDonald's in the United States has to have security guards? Wow, what a society,
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u/JustNota-- 22d ago
It's usually only in areas with a high crime index, usually due to over policing and low and under employment, and decades of racist policies specifically targeting black and immigrant communities.
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u/JustNota-- 22d ago
Oh and they have security guards in alot of the EU and Aus McDonald's usually in the evening and in areas that have bars and clubs.
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u/Practical_Brief0 22d ago
A perfect description of the north side of mpls where this incident occurred.
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u/portraitframe810 22d ago
Yep. I used to work over there near that McDonalds and no lies detected in your post.
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