In Minnesota did a baby almost die when father got lost and ended up in middle of ICE protest
Executive summary
A Minneapolis-area family says they drove into a clash between anti-ICE protesters and federal agents on the evening of Jan. 14, 2026, and that an infant in their car stopped breathing after tear gas was deployed, requiring CPR and hospitalization, according to the family’s account to CNN and a city statement cited by People and ABC7 [1] [2]. Reporting does not support the specific claim that the baby “almost died because the father got lost and ended up in the middle of an ICE protest”; available accounts describe the family encountering a protest while driving home, not a father who was lost [1] [2].
1. The incident as reported: family drove into protest and an infant required emergency care
Destiny Jackson, 26, told CNN that she, her husband and their six children were returning from a basketball game when they encountered a protest and were exposed to crowd-control agents; Jackson said she had to give a baby CPR during the incident, an account summarized by People [1]. The Minneapolis Office of Community Safety said two children, including a roughly six‑month‑old infant, were hospitalized after federal agents deployed tear gas and that the baby “began to experience breathing difficulties” and “reports also stated that the baby had stopped breathing,” according to ABC7’s reporting [2].
2. What federal and local reporting confirms about tear gas and health impacts
City and media statements confirm federal agents deployed chemical irritants during clashes around mid‑January protests in Minneapolis, and that health impacts to bystanders—including children—were reported by local authorities and news outlets [2] [1]. Broader coverage of the unrest notes widespread demonstrations and confrontations after an ICE agent fatally shot a Minneapolis resident, which set the context for aggressive crowd-control uses and subsequent injuries [3] [4].
3. The “father got lost” element is not substantiated in available reporting
None of the cited accounts describe a father becoming lost and then stumbling into a protest; instead, the narrative in People and CNN is that a family driving home encountered a protest and was exposed to tear gas, while city communications described children hospitalized after agents deployed chemical agents near vehicles and residences [1] [2]. Without direct sourcing for the “got lost” detail, that element cannot be confirmed from the reporting provided.
4. A separate but related controversy: detained children after arrests, which may cause confusion
Separate reporting documents a different but highly publicized case in the same period in which a five‑year‑old, Liam Conejo Ramos, was taken into ICE custody after agents arrested his father in a Minneapolis suburb; U.S. officials said the father ran and the boy was left behind, a distinct fact pattern that has fueled national debate and sometimes conflation with other child‑impact incidents [5] [6]. That detention case and the tear‑gas hospitalizations both occurred amid intense enforcement operations and protests in Minnesota, which helps explain why different child‑related stories have been mixed together in public conversation [7].
5. Legal and policy context: limits on crowd-control tactics and ongoing disputes
A federal judge later barred certain crowd‑control tactics and arrests of peaceful protesters by federal agents in Minneapolis, reflecting judicial concern about how enforcement measures were being used amid the protests and operations that produced the family‑exposure reports [8]. The ruling, and the widespread protests documented by national outlets, show the government and courts were actively litigating the balance between enforcement and public‑safety concerns during the unrest [7] [8].
6. Bottom line and reporting limits
The core factual claims that are supported by contemporaneous reporting are that a Minneapolis family says they were tear‑gassed while trying to go home, that an infant stopped breathing and received CPR and was hospitalized according to local authorities and the family’s account, and that these incidents occurred amid large anti‑ICE protests [1] [2] [7]. The specific formulation that a baby “almost died when father got lost and ended up in middle of ICE protest” is not corroborated by the sourced reporting—the “almost died” corresponded to the infant’s reported medical distress and hospitalization [2], but the “father got lost” detail is unsupported in the available accounts [1] [2]. Further confirmation would require direct medical records or additional on‑scene investigative reporting that is not included in the cited sources.