Bounty hunters seen in viral videos brandishing weapons in Minneapolis charged with felonies

Elliot Hughes, The Minnesota Star Tribune on Apr 1, 2026

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MINNEAPOLIS — Two bounty hunters seen in viral social media videos pointing weapons at protesters and firing less-lethal munitions are now facing felony charges in Hennepin County.

Garrett C. Willis, 28, and James R. Willis, 54, both of Ardmore, Oklahoma, were charged Tuesday with two felony counts each of threats of violence. If convicted on both counts, they face up to six years in prison and $13,000 in fines.

The charges stem from two incidents on March 3 in Minneapolis, as the two bounty hunters made an arrest in the Phillips West neighborhood and later dropped the person off at the Hennepin County jail downtown. Nonviolent protesters disrupted the hunters on both occasions, leading to tense confrontations.

Bounty hunters, or fugitive recovery agents, are contractors who apprehend fugitives who have posted bail through a bond agency but fail to appear in court. There are no licenses needed to operate as a bounty hunter in Minnesota, although they are bound by state laws that apply to all citizens.

In a phone interview with investigators, James Willis admitted that he and everyone on his team carried pepper ball pistols made to look like real firearms; that he fired a pepper ball gun at the feet of protesters; and that he and Garrett Willis pointed weapons at protesters.

At the time, the federal government’s Operation Metro Surge was winding down, and concern had emerged that bounty hunters — who sometimes dress similarly to ICE agents — were helping enforce the crackdown on immigration.

“There’s a lot of rules when it comes to bounty hunting in the state of Minnesota. Pulling guns on people is one of them. That’s against the law,” Teschone Shannon, bounty hunter and owner of Minneapolis Criminal Apprehension Taskforce, said of the incidents in March.

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said Tuesday the lack of regulation for bounty hunters “is a problem that needs to be fixed by our legislature.”

“This was disturbing, unlawful behavior that terrified the civilians involved and shocked a community that was still reeling from the federal government’s occupation,” Moriarty said in a video announcing the charges against Garrett and James Willis.

Neither suspect had an attorney listed in online court records as of Wednesday afternoon. Both are set to make a first court appearance April 21.

According to the criminal complaint:

Protesters began questioning the two bounty hunters as they led a man away near the intersection of Oakland Avenue and E. 28th Street on March 3.

Video shows at least one of the bounty hunters point a gun at the driver of a car. The driver told investigators that he saw two people point guns at him as he tried to back up and leave.

Later that day, local law enforcement were called to an area outside the jail in downtown Minneapolis following a confrontation there.

Garrett Willis at one point leaned out from the driver’s seat of a van and pointed a handgun-style firearm at protesters standing in front of the car.

Then James Willis, holding a rifle-style weapon, fired pepper balls at protesters’ feet. Garrett Willis once again leaned out from the driver’s seat and appeared to fire his weapon. That weapon was never recovered by law enforcement to determine if it was real or a replica.

Witnesses told investigators they thought the weapons were real firearms and called the incident frightening. They said protesters had not been violent.

James Willis spoke with investigators over the phone March 13 and told them he had been dreading the call.

He said after making the initial arrest, protesters followed the bounty hunters to the county jail. As they dropped off the arrested person, he and his team received threats that they would be “scalped” and shot in the head, so he discharged his pepper ball rifle at the feet of protesters.

Videos from the incident do not capture such threats, and none show protesters brandishing weapons.

James Willis also said the weapon Garrett Willis appeared to fire from outside the driver’s seat was a pepper ball gun with an empty cartridge and nothing was discharged.

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(Jeff Day and Louis Krauss of the Minnesota Star Tribune contributed to this story.)