The Height of Close-Combat Weaponry Is on This Woman's Doorstep
Images of the immigration crackdowns in Minneapolis and across the United States have been likened to those from the country’s wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The helmets, camouflage and tactical gear all look straight from the battlefield.
Nowhere is that more apparent than in a single photo taken on Jan. 11 by John Locher of The Associated Press. It captures a line of federal agents on the doorstep of a woman’s home, rifles in hand.
Upon closer inspection, the agents’ equipment tells its own story. Their gear is the physical manifestation of decades of war, fine-tuned and perfected for close-quarters killing over myriad operations in faraway lands but now wielded in broad daylight in American cities. This type of equipment is often reserved for SWAT and hostage rescue units.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/28/us/ice-agent-weapons-minneapolis.html?unlocked_article_code=1.H1A.8DXp.73o375_ogwlz