On January 15, 2026, John Abernathy, a 61-year-old Minnetonka photographer, went to the Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis to document a veteran-led protest against federal immigration activity. Federal agents tackled him from behind, shot him twice with what he believed were pepper bullets, and gassed him at close range while kneeling on his back. When he could no longer breathe, an agent pepper-sprayed him directly in the right eye.
Agents held him for approximately two hours without reading him his Miranda rights and issued him a citation for impeding or obstructing normal access. Doctors later diagnosed him with a chemical burn to his eye, a deep bone bruise at his elbow, and other cuts, bruises, and abrasions.
But Abernathy's account isn't only about what agents did to him — it's also about what he observed agents not doing: making no move to stop a group of pro-ICE civilians carrying what appeared to be bear spray who were taunting protesters from within feet of the agent line. Among them, he says, were Jayden Scott — a Michigan man who had gone viral days earlier for shouting "we executed one of you yesterday" at anti-ICE protesters — and an individual he later identified as Zak X, a St. Cloud man who had been charged with misdemeanor assault at the same building weeks before and who, Abernathy says, casually told agents he was carrying a Glock.
The group, Abernathy says, appeared to move freely among the agents — and one of them was escorted into the Whipple Building without handcuffs while Abernathy himself remained restrained.
This is Abernathy's account, in his own words and photos:
❝I am a resident of Minnetonka, Minnesota, where I have lived for the past 20 years. I am 61 years old. I currently work as a handyman. Previously, I worked as a professional photographer. I'm still an independent photographer and document major public events like protests, including protests and riots in Minneapolis after the killing of George Floyd in 2020. I think it is important to document events like these to help ensure the public sees what is really happening in our community. I share my photos and video of these events publicly, including via social media. Some of the timing estimates I provide below are based on data associated with my photos.
On January 15, 2026, sometime around noon, I went to the Whipple building to photograph what I heard would be a veteran-led protest against federal immigration activity in Minnesota. I had multiple pieces of camera equipment with me and two bags, including a distinctive purple one. At various times that day, I took photos with a camera in one hand while I also livestreamed video of the events to social media using my phone in the other hand.
When I arrived, I saw a large group of protesters across the street from the Whipple building. They were yelling and carrying flags and signs. Many were standing on the snow-covered grassy area across the street. Some stood in the street, and occasionally some of them went farther into the street towards the gate where cars could drive to the Whipple building. I also saw two squad cars and approximately four agents nearby who seemed to be watching to make sure protesters did not interfere with traffic in and out of the gate.
At some point around 12:36pm, a large group of agents — I'd estimate somewhere between 60 and 100 — came out of the Whipple building. They came near where the squad cars were and were in formation in multiple rows as they walked out to the street. About a minute later, at approximately 12:37pm, they formed a line directly across the street from where the protesters were. In the center were agents dressed in what looked like black uniforms and whose vests and sleeves had markings on them identifying them as Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents. On either end of the line from them were agents dressed in green, at least some of whom had markings that said "federal officer" and "BOP" identifying them as being federal officers from the Bureau of Prisons. There may have also been Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents among them. I noticed the agents had helmets, goggles, and gasmasks on, and were carrying batons, pepper bullet guns, batons, and sidearms, among other things. Their arrival felt like a show of force and seemed unnecessary given the scope and nature of the protest. I did not see protesters throw anything or use force towards agents.
After these agents showed up, it felt like the energy level escalated. About two minutes after lining up in front of protesters, at approximately 12:39pm, agents began pushing protesters back. This began a pattern of pushbacks — all of the sudden pushing protesters off the street onto the ground, into the grass or snow, or into the entry to the driveway opposite the Whipple building. Then agents would retreat, eventually leaving some of the protesters to come back into the street. Even though there were some protestors in the street, vehicles were able to enter and leave through the Whipple building gate throughout the time I was there.
Agents were back in line at around 12:42pm or 12:43pm. At approximately 12:44pm, I saw approximately four men coming from the left side of the Whipple building on the Whipple building side of the street. They caught my eye because they were entering from a side of the building or street that few, if any, protestors seemed to arrive by. They walked noticeably closer — within a couple of feet — to the agents than other protestors. I was surprised at how close they were to the agents and how comfortable next to the agents they seemed, given that they were carrying canisters of what looked like bear spray or pepper spray and large American flags in their hands. I noticed that the agents made no move towards the four men or to take their bear spray or flags. I heard the men threaten to spray the crowd with the bear spray. They seemed to be taunting the protestors, saying things along the lines of, "Why don't you like America?" and "If you come closer, I'm going to spray you." I later recognized one of the men at right-wing influencer Jake Lang's event in Minneapolis on January 17, 2026, where he appeared to be guarding Lang. Photos and other information I found in media later identified three of the men I saw at the Whipple building as "Zak X," "Jayden Scott," and "Gregor." I have been unable to find any identifying information for the fourth man. The man I identified as Jayden Scott can be seen holding a megaphone and a large flag pole in the photo below.
As these men tried to rile up the protestors, I saw protestors encourage each other to remain calm. At some point, agents threw tear gas or a flash bang into a group of protestors. I went to photograph this as a protester tried to contain the source of the gas with a bucket. I was about 10 feet away and not near the agents. Suddenly, I was shot twice by what I thought were pepper bullets from the white marks on my pants where I was shot. One hit my outer thigh below my hip, the other just above my knee on my inner thigh. It hurt like hell and I felt like I needed to move to another area of the protest, even though I knew it probably would not improve my overall safety given how the agents seemed to be escalating things.
At some point around 12:50pm or so, I saw the man I later identified as Jayden Scott arguing with a protester. I noticed the bear spray in his hand was hanging loose, so I took it and tried to toss it away under a tree so no one could get sprayed with it. It ended up landing by the entry driveway across from the Whipple building. At some point later I picked it up and threw it into some trash so no one would use it. I never used the spray. I noticed Jayden looking at me as I got rid of the bear spray. He looked disappointed.
A short time later — at approximately 12:52pm — multiple agents encircled Jayden in a sort of huddle. It seemed like an orchestrated move. Jayden did not appear to struggle and the agents did not use any spray or force on him from what I could see. From there, the agents encircling Jayden walked with him into the Whipple building. It struck me as strange for how coordinated it seemed. Jayden had a flag with a pole that I would have thought they would see as a potential weapon, but I did not see whether agents ever took it from him.
By approximately 12:55pm, the agents were back in formation. I took a photo of protestors in front of the agents holding flags and signs, yelling and giving agents the finger. Then there was another pushback from the agents around 12:56pm, who pushed protesters to the ground.
After that, I was all the way across the street from the Whipple building, about 10 feet off the street. I did not expect agents would come up that far. At some time between approximately 12:56pm and 1:01pm, I was facing away from them, holding my camera in one hand and my phone in the other, when I was suddenly tackled to the ground by agents from behind. I think two or three of them tackled me and that they were wearing green. I was completely surprised. I remember being on the ground, looking at it, and wondering how I got down there. I was surrounded by multiple agents and what felt like at least two knees on my back holding me down on the ground. I managed to take one last photo from the ground at approximately 1:01pm, which is provided below.
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https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72047643/146/tincher-v-noem/]
