A pair of hotels in downtown St. Paul, Minnesota, have temporarily closed over safety concerns after protestors claimed they were accommodating ICE agents.
TwinCities.com reports the Hilton DoubleTree Downtown St. Paul sent letters to their guests telling them to find another hotel beginning on Sunday.
“Please know that your safety and well being will always be our top priority,” the letter stated. “Due to heightened public safety concerns in St. Paul, we have made the difficult decision to temporarily close our hotel, and your reservation will be canceled (effective Sunday, Jan. 18).”
The IHG InterContinental also closed during the weekend, joining the DoubleTree with signs posted out front stating they were “temporarily closed for business until further notice.” Both hotels are independent franchises owned by the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe of Minnesota.
A third hotel, the Hilton Canopy in Minneapolis, has stopped accepting reservations but is still open for business. Demonstrators targeted the three hotels with claims that federal agents were staying there.
Earlier this month, the Hampton Inn Lakeville, located in a Minneapolis suburb, canceled bookings by ICE agents and refused to accept new reservations. That hotel, which was an independent franchise owned by Everpeak Hospitality, was dropped from the Hilton system.
