CAUSING MISCHIEF

ICE Stooges Target Toy Store After Owner Was Mean to Them on TV

A St. Paul shop says it was targeted within hours of an interview about federal agents having “terrorized” the community.

A family-run toy store got hit with a federal audit notice just hours after one of its owners went on TV to condemn ICE’s tactics.

Mischief Toy Store in St. Paul, Minnesota, has openly criticized the Trump administration’s immigration sweeps in the state, having painted “ICE OUT” on the store’s window. On Friday, the store featured in an ABC News segment for handing out whistles that can be used to alert neighbors and schools when ICE agents are spotted.

Just three hours later, two ICE agents turned up and hand-delivered a notice demanding employment documents, owner Dan Marshall told the Pioneer Press. The “Notice of Inspection” set a deadline of Wednesday, Jan. 21.

Marshall linked the inspection to the public comments made by his daughter and fellow Mischief co-owner, Abigail Adelsheim-Marshall, earlier that same day on ABC News, saying he was “incredibly proud” of her for speaking out. In the interview, she had accused federal agents of “terrorizing” the community and doing more harm than the immigrants they are ostensibly targeting. The whistles given out by the store, she said, were a way to protect other members of the community.

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The timing has drawn comparisons to the case of preschool teacher Jessica Plichta, 22, who was arrested on camera moments after criticizing President Donald Trump during a TV interview earlier this month.

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Mischief’s audit notice, tied to the agency’s Homeland Security Investigations arm, seeks I-9 forms, plus payroll records, tax returns, articles of incorporation, and a roster of all employees past and present.

Marshall said the store had been audited in the past and was familiar with the process, which Friday’s audit notice appeared to deviate from. The store’s legal name was not used in the notice, despite that being the typical practice, and past audits were always delivered by mail, he said.

The incident appears to only have encouraged more sales at the store. Marshall said customers packed the store over the weekend, and the shop sold 250 anti-ICE yard signs in the first three hours of business on Saturday.

Mischief also had to shut down its online sales arm after being overwhelmed and asked people to donate to local charities instead.

It plans to close down all day Friday, “in solidarity with our community,” as part of a protest calling on “Congress to stop the illegal occupation of Minnesota NOW.”

The store’s whistle effort has been part of a broader local response to ramped-up enforcement across the Twin Cities. The area has seen a large surge of immigration agents since 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good was shot dead by ICE agent Jonathan Ross, 43, during a Jan. 7 immigration raid protest.

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Federal agents have also targeted restaurants as part of their sweep, at one point even detaining workers who had earlier served them at one Willmar diner.

It’s not the first time that Mischief has hit the headlines since the start of Trump’s second term. Last April, it joined a lawsuit challenging Trump’s 145 percent China tariffs, arguing the levies are unlawful and could force price hikes.

The Daily Beast has contacted the Department of Homeland Security for comment.

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Tom LatchemLead Global Correspondent

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