Washington: The White House strongly defended US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents following violent unrest in Minneapolis, accusing Democratic leaders and sections of the media of inciting hostility against federal law enforcement officers carrying out immigration operations.

Addressing reporters at a packed White House briefing, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said ICE agents were enforcing immigration law and acting to protect themselves during a targeted operation in Minneapolis that escalated into violence.

“This is some of the most disturbing crimes you will ever read about,” Leavitt said, referring to the individuals ICE was seeking to detain. “And there’s only a few reporters in this room who will actually talk about these individuals.”

Leavitt rejected media reports suggesting that federal agents acted improperly, saying the administration would not tolerate what it views as misleading coverage. “If you want to know the truth, you can look at what the Department of Homeland Security released,” she said.

According to Leavitt, ICE agents were conducting “a targeted operation against a Venezuelan illegal alien who was unlawfully present in the country.” She said when agents attempted to detain the individual, “three more of his comrades came rushing out of a house and started ambushing and attacking the ICE agent.”

“They used a shovel or a broom to smash his face in,” she said. “And so, yes, that agent had to use self-defense and take up his weapon to protect his own life.”

Leavitt said the administration believes inflammatory rhetoric from Democratic officials has contributed to violence against federal officers. “These Democrat governors and mayors in not just Minnesota but in states across the country essentially — who’ve referred to ICE agents — who, again, are brave men and women,” she said, accusing them of being demeaned and targeted.

She said such language has had real-world consequences. “They’ve even referred to them as Nazis and as the Gestapo, and that is absolutely leading to the violence we’re seeing in the streets,” Leavitt said.

Responding to questions about protests and vandalism linked to the incident, Leavitt blamed elected officials in so-called sanctuary jurisdictions. “That’s what’s happening on the streets of Minneapolis,” she said. “That’s what’s happening on the streets, unfortunately, of these Democrat-run cities and states, where you have elected officials who are encouraging such violence against our brave men and women in law enforcement.”

Leavitt also accused the media of playing a role in inflaming tensions. “The media is absolutely complicit in this violence,” she said, citing what she described as inaccurate headlines about the incident.

During a heated exchange with a reporter who challenged the administration’s characterization of ICE actions, Leavitt accused the journalist of bias. “You’re a left-wing hack. You’re not a reporter,” she said. “You should be reporting on the facts. You should be reporting on the cases.”

She went on to defend ICE more broadly, saying agents are enforcing the law under direction from their superiors. “These are great patriotic men and women who have families, who put on the uniform every day and are following our nation’s immigration laws,” Leavitt said.

On the broader immigration enforcement push, Leavitt said ICE remains focused on detaining individuals unlawfully present in the United States. “ICE is focused on detaining individuals who are unlawfully present in the country,” she said, noting that “hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens have been arrested and detained and deported from this country by ICE over the course of the last year.”

She said that remains the administration’s goal. “That’s their intention and that is their goal,” Leavitt said.