Violent Raids on Non-Violent Family Man Spark Outrage

In a shocking display of law enforcement overreach, Ryan Brandstrom, a non-violent Minnesota father, endured two traumatizing incidents—a December 2023 raid on his home and an August 2024 ambush—prompting calls for his case to be dismissed under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 12(b)(3). The aggressive tactics, which included officers pointing a loaded pistol at Brandstrom’s infant and ambushing him with M16 rifles while he shopped for school supplies, have left his family scarred and neighbors fearing law enforcement, not Brandstrom.

The December 2023 raid saw armed officers storm Brandstrom’s home at 7:00 a.m., terrorizing his sleeping wife and five children. One officer held a gun just a foot from his infant’s face, leaving his daughters too afraid to sleep alone even a year later. His son, feeling betrayed, rejected Brandstrom’s attempt to call the officers “nice cops.” In August 2024, six agents with military-grade weapons shackled Brandstrom in a public spectacle, despite Prosecutor Bradley Endicott’s later admission on January 23, 2025, that Brandstrom posed no danger. Both times, Brandstrom was released the same day, exposing the baseless aggression.

Brandstrom, a peaceful man with legally owned, cased firearms, was known to agents as a “good man and father” through prior monitoring. Yet, the militarized tactics—typically reserved for violent gangs—shattered public trust and violated the Fourth Amendment’s protection against unreasonable seizures. The raids’ recklessness, from endangering an infant to traumatizing bystanders, reflects a callous disregard for life and mental health, undermining justice and public confidence. Dismissal is demanded to deter such abuses and restore faith in the system.