Tess Hawkins clarifies that Federal Air Marshal Service agents are present at the Minnesota State Fair for public safety.
Tess Hawkins, the Supervisory Air Marshal in charge of the Minneapolis field office, confirmed that agents from the Transportation Security Administration’s Federal Air Marshal Service are currently stationed at the Minnesota State Fair. This clarification follows social media reports that led many fairgoers to believe the agents were involved in immigration enforcement.
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Hawkins stated that the Federal Air Marshal Service is a separate entity from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The agents are not sharing information with ICE and are not working with the agency. State Fair Police Chief Ron Knafla confirmed that the TSA and federal air marshals are completely separate from ICE and are not public safety partners at the fair. The TSA and the Federal Air Marshal Service have partnered with fair law enforcement for the past four years. Their role at the fair is to support public safety and transportation security, specifically focusing on the transit hub. Agents provide services such as drone detection, nuclear detection, and monitoring the bus transit gate to ensure the safety of fairgoers who use public transportation. Knafla noted that having TSA agents at the bus transit gate allows more officers to remain inside the fairgrounds.