Minnesota Vikings announcer Paul Allen appears to believe that “paid protesters” are part of the massive groups of people in and around Minneapolis dissenting and protesting the aggressive tactics and violence related to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and other federal agents, which has now led to several deaths.
During Friday’s episode of The Paul Allen Show on Twin Cities radio station KFAN, Allen, Chad Greenway, and Alec Lewis opened the show discussing the intense cold weather in the region. One person mentioned the recent story about a Los Angeles Rams player putting cayenne in his socks to stay warm, and Allen mentioned the urban legend about trees “exploding” from cold weather.
Umprompted, Allen then interjected by asking, “In conditions like this, do paid protesters get hazard pay? Those are the things that I’ve been thinking about this morning.”
“Yeah, probably not going to touch that one,” replied one of the other hosts.
A few minutes later, the conversation switched to football, and Allen once again worked a paid-protester reference into a discussion about NFL coaching hires.
“Everybody’s catching strays this week. [Brian] Flores, Kevin Stefanski from Baker [Mayfield], Charlie ‘Biyatch’ caught one out of nowhere. They’re just all over, paid protesters caught one this morning,” he said, referencing his earlier comments.
Minnesota Vikings play-by-play announcer Paul Allen pushed the paid-protestor conspiracy during Friday’s episode of his radio show (https://t.co/b4lydpKe5z)
“In conditions like this, do paid protesters get hazard pay? Those are the things that I’ve been thinking about this… pic.twitter.com/I403IC2GWY
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 24, 2026
Allen’s specific comments appear to have been removed from the show’s podcast feed.
The paid protestor conspiracy theory is one that right-wing politicians and conservative groups have pushed strongly in recent years to downplay the authenticity of movements against their policies or aligned issues. President Donald Trump has often made unfounded claims about paid protesters during both presidencies, including the protests in Minneapolis over ICE agent agitation.
ICE agents have been stepping up aggressive tactics in the Minneapolis area all month in what officials describe as the largest federal immigration enforcement operation ever carried out. There have been numerous reports of ICE agents using unnecessary force, intimidation, and unconstitutional methods, often against American citizens. This has led to widespread pushback from locals.
On Saturday, federal agents shot and killed a 37-year-old Minneapolis resident, prompting clashes between law enforcement and protesters. This is now the second death related to federal agent activity in the area, following an ICE agent shooting at and killing Renee Nicole Good as she was driving away from him on January 8.
Homeland Security officials said that the man approached Border Patrol agents with a gun and the intent to “massacre” them. However, footage obtained by The New York Times contradicts that account and shows the man holding a phone in his hand, not a gun, before federal agents took him to the ground and shot him.
At some point on Saturday morning, Allen posted on X about former Minnesota Golden Gophers basketball player and Big Ten Network college basketball analyst Parker Fox, praising his strong television work by saying he was “firing bullets.” He would later delete that post and offer an apology, saying he “did not know at that time about the shooting of a man in MPLS. I do now and yanked the tweet because my description of his performance lacked tact given the current situation.”
Allen then posted several times about the ongoing situation in Minneapolis as federal agents continued to clash with protesters, often using violent tactics.
“I have to stop watching all this for a little bit,” Allen wrote on X. “I’m so sad this terror is happening all around us here in MN. I just prayed to God’s will for it to somehow stop and now and started crying. I truly am sorry for all hurting like me through this, and I just want us to be a Love Covenant again. Truly. Let’s all pray this stops somehow because it’s awful. And no more cheap one-liners from me.”
Allen also shared the news that the Timberwolves-Warriors game scheduled for Saturday had been postponed.
Allen has been the Vikings’ play-by-play announcer since 2002 and has hosted his sports radio show since 1998.