Battlefield 'voice of God' sonic weapon unleashed on Minneapolis protesters

 A military‑grade device capable of projecting a deafening, focused sound was deployed during a tense anti‑ICE protest in Minnesota Monday night.

State patrol troopers faced off with activists outside the SpringHill Suites in Maple Grove, where demonstrators believed federal immigration agents were staying.

Officers threatened to engage a long‑range acoustic device (LRAD), giving the crowd a countdown before deployment. 

The system, a highly directional loudspeaker, can emit piercing deterrent tones or amplified voice commands over long distances and was originally developed for military and crowd‑control use.

Experts warn that exposure to the device at close range can cause permanent hearing loss, ruptured eardrums, constant ringing in the ears, migraines, nausea, balance problems and even panic responses.

Marine Colonel Mark Cancian, a senior adviser for the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said, 'We used it in Iraq … if you're in the cone, it sounds like the voice of God is speaking to you.'

State patrol officials said they checked the device's volume, issued dispersal notices and did not actually use tones or sirens, despite reports circulating on social media.

The night ended with 26 arrests, whom the police said were allegedly taking part in 'unlawful assembly and riotous conduct.'

Monday's demonstration came on the heels of a shooting on Saturday.

Alex Pretti, 37, was killed shortly after 9am local time after an altercation involving multiple federal officers. 

The protest in the Minneapolis suburb came as federal law enforcement leadership in the state was in flux, with Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino and some agents expected to soon leave Minnesota after intense public scrutiny of recent actions by immigration authorities.

It was not immediately clear whether Bovino or other federal agents were staying at the hotel where demonstrators gathered. 

The department issued a statement saying: 'While we respect First Amendment rights, we will not tolerate property damage or violence in our community.'

The protest was declared unlawful after demonstrators caused property damage and engaged in violent behavior, which is not protected under the First Amendment. Officers deployed the LRAD after the crowd failed to comply with a dispersal order.

The military-grade loudspeaker can project spoken commands at intense volumes or emit piercing tones designed to get attention and deter movement. 

Even when only issuing voice commands, the device can be overwhelming.

'I think we saw that in the video there of the system, because it's so loud, I mean, it pushes you back,' Cancian told CBS News.

The system was developed as a non-lethal alternative to traditional crowd-control methods such as pepper spray, tear gas, and rubber bullets. 

'In some situations where you might end up using force, kinetic force, or even lethal force, you know this can avoid that and avoid permanent damage to people,' said Cancian. 

LRAD uses an array of high-frequency speakers to produce highly directional sound, concentrating audio into a narrow beam rather than dispersing it broadly.

This technology allows sound to travel long distances while maintaining clarity, so spoken messages or warning tones can be heard over ambient noise.

The LRAD system can switch between voice communication and a high-decibel deterrent tone, with volume and frequency precisely controlled by the operator.

The device is portable and can be mounted on vehicles, tripods or handheld platforms, and operators can adjust range, angle, and intensity depending on the situation.

It has been suggested that this is the same 'secret sonic' weapon President Donald Trump said US special forces used during the daring capture of the Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro earlier this month.

Trump bragged last week that 'nobody else' has it, while glorifying the capabilities of the US military.

The exact nature of the weapon and how it was used is unknown. Trump was coy when giving details during an interview with NewsNation anchor Katie Pavlich.

Pavlich asked Trump whether Americans should be 'afraid' of these sonic devices.

'Well, yeah,' Trump responded.

He then added that only the US military has access to the sonic weapons by noting, 'It's something I don't wanna… nobody else has it.'

'But we have weapons nobody else knows about.' Trump continued. 'And, I say it's probably good not to talk about it, but we have some amazing weapons.'

Following the capture of Maduro, reports surfaced that special forces used unknown sonic weapons to disable the Cuban bodyguards assigned to protect the Venezuelan dictator.

Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt took to X to share an interview with an unnamed security guard who claimed to be working the night the US struck Venezuela and took Maduro on drug trafficking charges.

'Stop what you are doing and read this,' she wrote, alongside five American flag emojis.

The interview saw the security guard reveal the terrifying capabilities of the mysterious new US military weapon, which he described as a 'very intense sound wave' that disabled Venezuelan forces. 

'Suddenly I felt like my head was exploding from the inside,' the security guard reportedly said. 'We all started bleeding from the nose. Some were vomiting blood. We fell to the ground, unable to move. 

'We couldn't even stand up after that sonic weapon or whatever it was.' 

The security guard claimed moments before the raid that snatched Maduro, 'all our radar systems shut down without any explanation.' Then eight helicopters arrived and around 20 soldiers descended.