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Turning Point USA reporter attack: FBI investigating attack at Whipple protest

By FOX 9 Staff
Published  April 12, 2026 5:59pm CDT
Minnesota
FOX 9

The Brief

    • The FBI is investigating the assault of a Turning Point USA reporter who was physically attacked by multiple protesters during an anti-ICE rally outside the Whipple Building.
    • The Hennepin County Sheriff's Office also said Saturday that three people will face charges related to the attack.
    • TPUSA reporter Savanah Hernandez was punched and knocked to the group while covering a protest at the Whipple building. She claims she never interacted with the main perpetrator.

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Federal authorities say the FBI is investigating the assault of a Turning Point USA journalist by protesters outside the Whipple Building on Saturday during an anti-ICE rally.

Whipple Building scuffle

What we know:

The Hennepin County Sheriff's Office said it was investigating the incident outside the Whipple federal building on Saturday.

Deputies said four people will be charged in connection to Saturday's protest. Deputies say three will be charged in connection to the assault of a journalist and a deputy.

The fourth individual is set to face charges related to gross misdemeanor obstruction with force against a deputy, the sheriff's office adds.

Local perspective:

The Whipple Building houses Minnesota's local ICE field office as well as an ICE detention facility.

The backstory:

Videos posted by Savanah Hernandez, a contributor with Turning Point USA – the conservative advocacy group founded by Charlie Kirk – show her being attacked by protesters during Saturday's protest.

At first, the videos show protesters just yelling, making noise, and blowing whistles at Hernandez. But then the altercations turns physical, with one woman throwing punches. Hernandez is knocked to the ground by the woman.

Some members of the crowd try to de-escalate the situation. But then a man comes up from behind Hernandez and again shoves her from behind to the ground. After Hernandez gets back up, there is another scuffle, and she is again tackled to the pavement. Eventually, good Samaritans in the crowd were able to calm tensions and get Hernandez to safety.

FBI investigating assault

Big picture view:

Along with potential charges in Hennepin County, in a tweet on Sunday, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon confirmed the FBI had opened a federal criminal investigation into the attack.

The exact nature of the FBI's investigation is not known.

What they're saying:

In a tweet on Sunday, Hernandez said she woke up with a headache and a stiff neck. She also said that charges would be filed against the man who shoved her to the ground, his wife, and his daughter.

"A second angle shows that he had to be held back by 5 men as he continued to charge at me," Hernandez wrote. "I didn't speak a word to him all day yet he repeatedly called me a bitch and very clearly looks like he wanted to violently hurt me even worse than he did."

In her tweet, she identified the man. FOX 9 is not yet identifying the man as it is against our policy to identify suspects before they have been charged.

In another tweet, Hernandez also thanked attorney Mike Davis with the Article III Project, who she said helped elevate the incident to federal authorities.

MinnesotaCrime and Public SafetyImmigration