**MINNEAPOLIS** – Jacob Frey was officially sworn in for his third term as mayor of Minneapolis on Monday, January 5, 2026, during a ceremony at the Pantages Theater. The inauguration solidifies his leadership for another four years following a hard-fought victory in the November 2025 election, though the event was met with both celebration and vocal demonstrations demanding greater accountability from his administration .
Frey's path to a third term was secured in a competitive ranked-choice voting race. He ultimately defeated a field of challengers, with his closest competitor being democratic socialist state Senator Omar Fateh. According to election officials, Frey captured **50.03% of the vote** compared to Fateh's 44.37% . This victory was seen as a win for the city's more moderate Democratic establishment over the progressive wing that has gained significant ground in recent years .
The race drew national attention, with pundits drawing parallels between Fateh's campaign and that of Zohran Mamdani in New York City . Despite forming an alliance with other candidates and urging supporters not to rank Frey, Fateh was unable to unseat the incumbent, who benefited from strong financial backing from business interests and endorsements from prominent figures like U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar . The election results also signaled a slight shift in the City Council's makeup, which, while still holding a progressive majority, saw key wins for more moderate candidates, potentially paving the way for a less adversarial relationship with the mayor in his final term .
## A Mandate for Housing, Safety, and Reform
In his first address to the city following the win, Frey framed his re-election as a mandate for pragmatic progress. His office outlined key priorities for the next four years, focusing on housing, public safety, and economic opportunity.
"The next four years will focus on reducing concentrated poverty, expanding housing choices, and ensuring that growth reaches middle- and upper-income neighborhoods that have historically excluded new affordable housing," his office stated in a news release following the inauguration .
On the critical issue of public safety, Frey's administration aims to grow the Minneapolis Police Department while simultaneously expanding behavioral crisis response teams. A central focus will be the implementation of "durable reforms" under a federally mandated consent decree, which requires the city to meet specific policing goals to address a pattern of discriminatory practices and excessive force found by both state and federal investigations . This commitment to reform comes even as the Trump administration has dismissed similar police reform agreements made with other cities following the murder of George Floyd in 2020 .
Frey's tenure has been indelibly shaped by Floyd's killing, which sparked global protests and a national reckoning on race and policing. He has overseen immediate reforms, including a ban on chokeholds, and has consistently pledged to overhaul the police department . His opposition to a 2021 ballot measure that sought to dismantle the police department put him at odds with some progressives but resonated with voters concerned about public safety amid a surge in crime and police departures following the unrest .
## Calls for Accountability Disrupt Inauguration
Despite the formalities of the swearing-in ceremony, the day was not without significant dissent. Demonstrators gathered outside the Pantages Theater, using the occasion to demand police accountability, specifically calling for justice for domestic violence victims Mariah Samuels and Allison Lussier .
The protesters' grievances highlighted a perceived failure by the Minneapolis Police Department. Lussier's family alleges she made multiple calls to police to report domestic abuse by her ex-partner before her death. Similarly, Samuels, a dog groomer and mother of two, was killed last September. Her family stated she had made several calls to police and had posted a video on Facebook of her ex-boyfriend hitting her just minutes before she was fatally shot .
According to a statement from the protesters, they are formally asking the city for **$5 million to establish an independent investigative unit** to review domestic violence cases. They are also demanding a public acknowledgment from both Frey and Police Chief Brian O'Hara that the Minneapolis Police Department failed Lussier and Samuels .
## Confronting a New Federal Battle
As Frey begins his third term, he is immediately grappling with a new and intense challenge that has thrust him back into the national spotlight: a massive confrontation with the Trump administration over immigration enforcement. The city has become the epicenter of "Operation Metro Surge," an aggressive operation that has seen the deployment of thousands of federal agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) .
Frey has been unsparing in his criticism of the operation, describing the presence of an estimated **3,000 to 4,000 agents** as an "invasion" and an "occupation" that is terrorizing his city's immigrant communities . He has directly challenged President Trump and border czar Tom Homan, refusing to direct local police to assist in federal immigration enforcement.
"That's not our job. I want our police officers doing their own work, not somebody else's," Frey stated in a recent interview. "I don't want them spending a single minute hunting down a father that just dropped his kids off at daycare, who's about to go work a 12-hour shift, who happens to be from Ecuador" .
The conflict escalated following the fatal shootings of two American citizens by federal agents in the city, leading Frey to issue a stark public warning to immigration authorities, telling them to **"get the f--- out of Minneapolis"** . He has since taken his fight to Washington, D.C., addressing the U.S. Conference of Mayors and warning his colleagues that if they do not speak out, "your city is next" .
As he settles into his third and final term, Jacob Frey navigates a city at a crossroads—balancing his domestic agenda of housing and public safety against a volatile national political battle over immigration and federal overreach, all while facing persistent calls for accountability from his own residents.
