I don’t know how America survives this level of willful, institutionalized savagery. By most counts, ICE pumped ten bullets into a ICU nurse, Alex Pretti, for the crime of filming them and trying to intercede on behalf of a woman they had shoved to the pavement. The evidence of the execution is clear cut. ICE has not just gunned down an innocent man, but is also successfully terminating what remained of the rule of law in the US. A sampling of the evidence:
Video proves beyond a doubt that ICE murdered Alex Pretti in cold blood, he never unholstered his weapon, and was disarmed when the regime thugs shot and executed him. This was 100% intentional. It's a homicide. #3E #GoodvsEvil pic.twitter.com/CmQ2fXcJjO
— Anonymous (@YourAnonCentral) January 24, 2026
1/12
Frame by frame breakdown of this MURDER shows ICE is lying!
-ICE had ALREADY disarmed the man before shooting.
-The man NEVER drew his gun.
At the 0:06 second mark we see the man’s hands on the ground covered in large gloves.
His hands are empty. pic.twitter.com/o7flTX54Wd
— Adam Cochran (adamscochran.eth) (@adamscochran) January 24, 2026
ICE clearly attacked this man and executed him. He didn’t even fight back. They started the whole thing.
pic.twitter.com/JC0BbPYd0F— Alex Cole (@acnewsitics) January 25, 2026
The ICE Nazi narrative is already falling apart. We now know the 37-year-old man who was executed by ICE Nazis on Nicolette Ave was not only a US citizen, but was legally armed and had a permit to carry. He was a law-abiding US citizen who was acting as a legal observer. 😳👇 pic.twitter.com/Z33K8XN44U
— Bill Madden (@maddenifico) January 24, 2026
BREAKING: A witness who was just 5 feet from Alex Pretti filed an affidavit depicting what she saw.
She says he didn’t touch any of the officers and didn’t appear to be resisting. He was merely helping a woman who had been pepper-sprayed.
She’s is terrified that ICE is… pic.twitter.com/zMfecaZGF7
— Ed Krassenstein (@EdKrassen) January 25, 2026
Her fear is not paranoia:
NEWS: Star Tribune reports ICE agents have taken multiple witnesses into custody in Minneapolis.
Let that sink in.
They didn’t just shoot a man.
Now they’re detaining the people who saw it happen.
— Brian Allen (@allenanalysis) January 24, 2026
More efforts to document what happened as part of an emergency legal filing:
MORE: Plaintiffs in the case have added a declaration from a pediatrician who sought to administer aid to Alex Pretti after he was shot. "ICE agents appeared to be counting his bullet wounds." https://t.co/2Jw11lIAvO pic.twitter.com/1lx6qNLH4Z
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) January 25, 2026
Update 8:00 AM EST. Lead story in the Financial Times, with no VPN to pretend I am in the US:
Back to the original post:
I hope this outrage rouses enough people to stand up to this violence. Trump targeted Minneapolis out of pique (Mike Walz), perhaps a desire to punish the city for its effective George Floyd protests, but most of all, that its police force is small enough that he could muster enough ICE goons to outnumber them. ICE is not yet big enough to subdue the US. There is a window for action that is closing. Can enough citizens muster the courage and organization to thwart Trump’s clear intent to use brutality to mow down all opposition?
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The equally scary part is the number of people on social media supporting ICE and the Administration’s response. Ironically, these are the same people that vocally supported Rittenhouse and the January 6th protesters. Especially their right to carry firearms…
I think rank political tribalism will be the end of the US.
I fear you’re right. Where are the Don’t Tread On Me and 2nd amendment fans now?
Paid political propaganda does not public content make. Most commentators should be able to spot an astroturfed destabilization operation by now, and I think many in the public can smell a rat as well.
By the numbers, there are thousands of people out on the street in mass anti-ICE protests. The ICE patrols are facing constant public opposition to the point of now repeatedly shooting them. There’s no-one on the other side holding rallies standing up for all this. No counter-gang block.
The political class is of course, vacillating. No doubt the usual cadres of spooks, tech-bros, and oligarchs are egging on escalation and chaos, offering plum donations and pliable media in exchange for keeping this going. That the Democrats in general, and Waltz and Frey in particular, have not moved to end this chaos is in my mind a worse indictment than the Trump admin’s push to keep it going.
But the people, the institutions, and a good chunk of the middle political layers have not signed up to see suburban moms and military veterans having their heads blown off by ‘sandbox’ Black and Tans in the middle of Middle America. I don’t see the other law enforcement bodies being overly keen to back the desert camo blue here. I think most of the Trump aligned academics, businessmen, indeed the Republicans, are keeping quiet or eyeing the exits.
The original Black and Tans were very similar to ICE. Motley crews of former military and para-military men, equipped eclectically with surplus military gear from the latest military misadventure. Poorly trained, ill-disciplined, with a reputation for brutality and reprisal. In forming them the British government was warned it had “liberated forces which it is not at present able to dominate”. Their various outrages did more than any other element to undermine public trust in law and order and ultimately the British state in Ireland.
But whereas the Black and Tans were formed in response to a rebellion, ICE have gone even beyond this and are provoking a rebellion to justify their own formation. There was some talk of ‘immigration policy’ at one point, but that’s long forgotten by now.
That the Democrats in general, and Waltz and Frey in particular, have not moved to end this chaos is in my mind a worse indictment than the Trump admin’s push to keep it going.
I asked the following question in a previous post and it went nowhere so I’ll ask it here again.
I live within walking distance of 34th and Portland and 26th and Nicollet and went to sleep last night to the serenade of helicopters circling overhead. From my vantage point, Walz and Frey don’t have any options to end the siege of my city. If you (or anyone in the commentariat) have constructive criticism of my elected officials, I’d love to hear it so I can start advocating for them to take action.
I think that’s a very good question. I think this is a chess game at this point and the Fascists still have all their pieces on the board. Any move now available to the people is at best the least-worst.
Fascism is no longer hyperbole, IMO.
I wish my opinion was more valuable, but I think your question is important, so there you go.
Right, no more thoughts and prayers or strongly worded letters. What Waltz and other Minn leaders have left is leadership. Call out every company that supplies these thugs with their weapons showing the names and faces of corporate leaders who are profiting. Gather all sympathetic congressional members publicly and demand they occupy the house and senate floor with clear demands to pull funding and investigate troops and leaders, with the intent of shutting down Congress or forcing the arrest and jailing of protesting Congress members. Publicly call all unions nationwide to converge on Minnesota and DC with intention of shutting everything down to stop fascism.
The only thing Waltz and co have is outside-the-box, in your face and emotional leadership. Shut it down and fill the jails. That is deadly and dangerous to all who participate, but that seems to be where we are.
Two people have been shot dead, many would say executed, in broad daylight, on camera. The thing Waltz and co are supposed to have is the law of the land. And they are not applying it.
The officer who killed George Floyd was convicted for far less direct actions causing death. Would he have gotten away with it if he had simply pulled out a gun and executed Floyd on camera instead? Or if he had been wearing an FBI jacket instead of a police jacket? This is farcical. Inaction on this is an open invitation to chaos on the streets. I find it difficult to grasp how any state or federal government can tolerate this.
I will state again that, if this situation is allowed to continue, I will be amazed if intelligence agencies foreign or domestic, do not take the opportunity to foment the likes of a color revolution. It will be difficult for them to resist the temptation.
Some things to keep in mind:
1) Derek Chauvin was a Minneapolis police officer not a federal agent and the legal avenues for prosecution are much different.
2) The feds are deliberately impeding the state of Minnesota’s ability to mount a prosecution. In the aftermath of their exclusion from the investigation of Renee Good’s death, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (the entity charged with investigating these types of incidents) obtained an emergency judicial search warrant yesterday morning to gain access to the crime scene at 26th and Nicollet and were denied access by federal officials at the scene.
From Minnesota Public Radio:
When the occupying force is not abiding by the law, or is operating above the law, relying on the (Federal) legal system for relief isn’t effective.
There needs to be a confrontation between state and federal forces. The insurrection act is inevitable at this point. Acting first force the opponent to react. Turn the police around and have them arrest the Feds for something, anything to gain some initiative and bring this to head.
Congress has no troops, their legislation will not be enforced by this regime. It’s clear that the “Executive” is in charge.
I am not a lawyer, but to me it seems well within the means of either the mayor or especially the Governor to declare a state of emergency, and restrict or forbid the activities of all forces state or federal, and/or place them under the direction of the national guard. The various legislatures are also free to pass statutes forbidding or curtailing the farcical standoffs, street-fights, and shootings ICE is constantly getting into. I do not accept that the state of Minnesota and city of Minneapolis are powerless here. Both are larger than several nation states, and MN possesses it’s own national guard forces. Both have independent police and court systems.
Yet they continue to permit an untrained undisciplined, boorish Federal militia to stir up chaos on their streets as an end unto itself. Their own citizens are being arrested, maimed, dying and are now protesting in droves. Yes the federal administration is a driving force, but that does not abrogate state and local officials of their own duties to stop chaos and keep law and order.
The Republicans had much criticism for MN during the George Floyd protests for allowing the riots and street fights to continue. I cannot help now but compare these events, with the common link being a local government unable or unwilling to take reasonable measures to restore calm. All I’ve seen from Frey in particular is profanities and pontification from a podium for ICE to get out, but where are the indictments? Has the city so much as issued traffic tickets to ICE for vehicle collisions and chases through the street. How much chaos will MN tolerate, even if it is from the Federal government, even as their own authority is being eroded.
International experiences shows Trump respects leaders who stand up to him and push back. The Maryland Governor did so early, and Trump backed off. In the dangerous situation Washington now keeps pushing, shouting from a podium is not going to cut it. When people get shot, just apply the laws as they are written and stop waiting as events overtake you.
Trump lacks escalation dominance, at least in this window.
His next play would be to try to call some sort of emergency to justify the deployment of the military.
MN goes to court and gets at least an injunction. The fact set would not warrant it. I sincerely doubt even these Supremes would back him now or now-ish.
Trump tries ordering the troops in anyhow. You then get a Trump Saturday Night Massacre, some officials refuse and Hegseth fires them.
Regardless, the US military is not yet captured enough to fire on US citizens or state/local police.
Yeah,
I think the chump administration is walking on thin ice. They are bluffing , maybe even deluding themselves that even if they send american military into Minnesota to back up ice… that in the hearts and minds of those soldiers… they will begin to use deadly force against peaceful protesters. As opposed to the depraved individuals who would voluntarily sign up to be ICE; who are just itchin’ to bust heads…
That is something he would have to bet on. The military units siding with the ICE thugs over all the rest of the americans. My guess is that he would lose that bet.
Federal law enforcement is allowed to kill civilians with impunity. Recall the shooting of Jan. 6 protester Ashley Babbit. The circumstances are different but also Vickie Weaver by an FBI sniper and no one lost a day’s pay over the militarized Waco raid when the ATF fired first and the subsequent Branch Davidian pogrom using tanks and flammable gas.
This is off point and a straw man of what I said.. The issue is bringing in the military. This is not a gambit that will work now. Later with new facts perhaps but not now.
Babbitt was an entirely different situation, she was part of a mob that had already broken through a police cordon and was running amuck inside the capital. She and others broke the window next to a barricaded door leading to Speakers lobby where members of Congress and their staff were. Like it or not protecting congress critters and their staff is a major part of the Capital Police duties which includes not a letting a mob into the Speaker’s lobby. After breaking the window she began crawling through it and ignored several orders by a capital police officer to stop. The officer fired a single shot, not multiple rounds, and things stopped being internet and got very real for that mob and no one else attempted to make their way through the broken window in to the Speaker’s Lobby. Other than in all 3 cases someone died the Babbitt incident has little to nothing in common with what occurred with Good and Petri and attempts to link them are entirely disingenuous. The Babbitt shooting was entirely justified given the situation and she was given several clear orders to stop before she was shot. Good and Pretti can be fairly called innocent victims, Babbitt effed around and found out.
From how you describe the Babbit killing it was an excessive use of force and most likely a murder. So I would say that the two situations are very similar. The only difference is which side of the aisle you are on.
The Capitol Police have a duty to protect congress critters and their staff, no matter if you like that or not. There were a number on Congress critters and staff who were squirreled away in the speakers lobby, hence why the door to the lobby had been barred. Babbitt was a part of mob letting one member of the mob through would encourage others to go through and likely unbar the door letting the whole mob through and endangering the lives of the aforementioned congress members and staff which the Capitol Police have a duty to protect. This aint rocket surgery.
An important point: while the US military may not yet be captured enough, clearly DHS, CBP, ICE, among others, are fully captured. Unless the military decides on their own to mobilize against this, no one else can peaceably end this.
I dunno, maybe every last one of us with pitchforks.
Having had dozens of interactions with Border Patrol,CBP,ICE and military along the border give me the military every time.
Thank you, Balan Aroxdale.
Respectfully, exactly how are Minnesota officials supposed to stop what is happening?
I am also not a lawyer but my understanding of the Supremacy Clause in the U.S. Constitution means the Feds hold all of the cards here:
Local law enforcement does not have the power to intervene in federal operations and the National Guard can be federalized (see Alabama, 1963).
Any attempts by local/state law enforcement to stop federal agents pretty much guarantees the invocation of the Insurrection Act.
Does this mean Federal agents, from the FBI to the IRS to the EPA, are immune to the laws of the states they are operating in? They can in the apparent course of their duties simply execute citizens? What then is the point of the individual states? All those excess civil servants and bureaucracies and separate police agencies?
I would not be prepared to swallow 2026 Washington mantras and absurdities about “absolute immunity”. The mid west is not the West Bank. Such thinking is coming from the same school of mad fiat as the Maduro trial or the Guantanamo excuse parade. If Americans are prepared to put up with it being applied on their own streets they may as well give up and appoint an absolute monarch with hereditary aristocrats to govern them. It might be cheaper.
Let’s take the example I cited in an earlier comment about the BCA being denied access to the crime scene despite having taken what local officials are now calling “an unprecedented step” in obtaining a judicial search warrant granting them access.
Respectfully, what actions should have been taken by state and local law enforcement to execute that warrant in the face of federal obstruction before the crime scene had become hopelessly contaminated?
I am not a lawyer and I am at a loss here.
It’s America. You start charging and suing and take it up the legal line. Who are the courts going to back? The ones serving the warrant or the ones obstructing it?
Yes the legal process is slow. It’s not an immediate fix. But you have to start waving the threat of consequences at some point or else there will be no brakes on the chaos whatsoever. How long is any state supposed to tolerate being dragged about by the loudest hothead with a gun?
MN officials should go after the rich donors that back Trump and the Neocons?
Shut down their businesses.
General Strike against them.
Very much appreciate this thread and thank you for the comments.
Bring the cops (or National Guard) and arrest/detain everyone that turns them away
No, johnnyme, you are sorely mistaken in your understanding of the US Constitution. The Constitution reserves the Police power to the states. See the Tenth Amendment and this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Police_power_(United_States_constitutional_law)
you know how they do it. They put their boots on the ground.
The ice force is strong compared to unarmed civilians. not so much compared to any other organized force. These people are oldish,fat,stupid,AND untrained.
As for “the law”.
Aren’t we a little past that point now?
What law? Chump is the one who thinks the law means nothing. those around him think the law means nothing.
And these scum of the earth may be in charge for the moment…. but THEY are not the US gov’t. They are traitors to the constitution. Their side is the lawless side. The masses(though misled) are not going to support lawlessness. Most people don’t want petty criminals running things.
So, the point remains…. I guess we will see what shakes out.
I can only wonder if Walz has been ‘ordered to stand down’ by the Dem estab thinking a disaster in Minneapolis will help the Dem party in the 2026 midterm elections. The Dem estab has form here: Minneapolis 2020 and Charlottesville VA in 2018. Remember Neera Tanden? / my 2 cynical cents
He’s the executive of the state. What Dem can “order” him to do anything?
“It’s a big club and you ain’t in it.”
-George Carlin
Introduce articles of secession for a snap referendum and begin talks with Canada to join a country of laws.
Trump is ok with being the man who ended the US republic and began the empire; but, being responsible for its disassembly probably not.
They already tried that and guess what, the Union troops eventually prevailed. A second try will require a lot of Minnesotians to die.
It is the other side that wants a civil war. If the roles were reversed, and it was a Democrat administration prosecuting a police action against a red state, the right wing crazies would be showing up in droves with their guns to get their piece of the action.
I realize the knee jerk reaction is to shoot back but I am not enthusiastic about fighting the federal government to the last Minnesotian. My understanding is under the insurrection act, the order to shoot a civilian would be legal.
States Rights Don’t Tread On Me
Oh, don’t be silly. Trade T for King Chuck?
The extent of King Chuck up here north of the border is hanging a photograph in school hallways.
There’s plenty of serious incompatibilities to work through that make it a non-starter (healthcare, banking regulations (no such thing as a fixed rate mortgage the way USians are used to), corporate resistance, vastly different agricultural regimes etc etc). But the monarchy isn’t one of them.
Trump will keep escalating (killing people, blowing out eyes, disappearing citizens, etc.) in MN until he gets the reaction he wants to justify calling in the military. This is only a matter of time. If Walz/Frey do nothing to protect peaceful protesters from violent ICE thugs, eventually there will be a violent “citizen” reaction (agent provocateurs) which will lead to military invasion.
The state is the last significant civil institution to protect citizens. If it refuses to use its police powers, we are left to protect ourselves. Can we generate enough nonviolent action (protests, shutdowns, etc.) to make a difference? I’m skeptical.
Blue states/cities need to work together now utilizing overwhelming nonviolent protest actions. But, if that doesn’t work, states need to use their full legal/police powers to protect their citizens. If MN is subjugated, other states are next. And we are all screwed. No freedom. No justice. No elections.
united we stand, divided we fall
See my comment above. “Calling in the military” does not work on the current fact set in MN. He loses that play now. The military will not fire on US citizens given the current givens. And if the courts rule v. Trump (again which I deem likely on current facts, even the Supremes; he’d need to gin up worse “facts” to have a chance), trying to get the military to go in = illegal order.
So then why not bring in the National Guard to protect the people
I think this post is the first time I’ve seen your handle here.
Walz must declare an emergency, call up the Minnesota National Guard, and deploy them throughout Minneapolis as unarmed observers equipped only with cameras and radios to document the abuses by Trump, Noem, and Bovino’s Constitution-trashing masked goons and to call in state and local police to process the crime scenes.
This is how you combat the lies. “Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants; electric light the most efficient policeman.”
Apparently the MN National Guard has now been called up. But their role seems to be to protect the federal building and assist the city police:
https://www.minnpost.com/metro/2026/01/federal-officers-shoot-and-kill-man-in-minneapolis/
Local residents are already performing that task en masse. The flood of clips on social media and all of the different angles of Pretti’s murder shows that pretty much everyone who is out and about here has their cell phone at the ready and I’ve been encouraging those who do not have video capable cell phones to go out and buy one of those $30 “kids” digital cameras that can take 1080p video.
Not only thinking about “the court of public opinion” here. Minnesota has actual courts, and it would help to have officially gathered evidence for the eventual prosecution of these murderous federal goons — and their handlers.
They all took an oath to support and defend the Constitution. Their immunity is qualified when trashing it on behalf of a convicted 34-time felon.
Thank you, David.
I’m very curious now — based upon your experience as a prosecutor, would the courts lend greater credence to video evidence obtained by a National Guard member vs. evidence obtained by an ordinary citizen? I could potentially see chain-of-custody being issue in today’s AI slop infested world but the technology isn’t quite there yet to be fully able to exclude citizen acquired footage.
I think that the courts are quite capable of working through the issues of AI doctoring, authentication, and admissibility of citizen-recorded evidence.
As a former prosecutor who has tried close to a hundred cases to jury verdict my concern is that juries will then get to independently weigh the credibility and reliability of this kind of evidence. Citizen monitors can be made to look biased, because they generally are biased — that’s why they’re out there braving the cold, the gas, and the unlawful ICE assaults on their persons!
This is where an official source and ironclad chain of custody can make a huge difference. I think that it’s imperative that state and local authorities closely monitor the lawfulness of ICE activities in their communities. It seems like this would be an effective use of the National Guard.
That’s an excellent point and one I had not considered. Thank you very much for your thoughtful reply!
Yes, chain of custody is essential in citizen cellphone video. It is important that ALL the metadata (time/date/location/device type/#) is contained within the video file. Do Not transfer the video file through an App (Apple AirDrop obscures metatdata). Take your phone directly to local police and have their specialists copy ALL of the file info and maintain chain of custody from that point forward.
Phone video is “documentary evidence” and is admissible if a subscribing witness testifies under oath that it accurately shows the events it purports to represent. That testimony may be attacked by an opposing party if it can be shown to be inaccurate or altered, by way of witness testimony.
The court determines these preliminary facts outside the presence of the jury. Metadata is helpful to the admissibility but not determinative.
The feds apparently have Alex Pretti’s phone and have refused to comply with a Minnesota search warrant obtained by AG Keith Ellison on behalf of the BCA. It is unclear whether Ellison will now seek an Order to Show Cause for non-compliance with the warrant from the issuing court. I would.
Presumably the Feds have Pretti’s cell phone and the chain of custody is not compromised. No discussion of where it went or who has it that I can see.
It will be interesting to see how long it will take for the inevitable FOIA request for his phone footage to be granted, if ever.
Call a general strike.
Make capital scream.
Precisely.
That’s what is behind the curtain scapegoating and provoking this.
Even with the Twitter algos tuned to promote right wing/pro-Trump content and dampen criticism, I see a big drop in ICE defenses after this execution. There’s no way to ‘splain away all the video evidence.
Also, my YouTube shorts are about 2/3 of business owners and property managers yelling at ICE to leave their premises, refusing to serve them, etc. And I have seen reports somewhere in the MSM that ICE goons are having trouble buying coffee, getting food and even lodging.
People in the States always thought the 3rd Amendment to the constitution was a bit of a joke/anachronism, I mean why do you need a whole amendment to say the government can’t force you to put soldiers in your house. Let’s see if it finally gets a chance to be broken too!
The owners of the restaurant in Maine where my kid works have told employees that ICE is not to be allowed on the premises.
The mothers of at least two local high school kids have been snatched so far., aming others who’ve been taken.
If I was an ICE person, I’d pack a thermos and lunch. No way I’d trust the food served in occupied territory.
If you have never done field work in a Minnesota winter, let me assure you that a thermos isn’t going to keep liquid hot in -10F temps for very long. The box lunch is going to be half-frozen unless you keep it on the manifold of the truck. Placing it over the defroster on the dash for an hour will only prevent a lunch from freezing and does not heat it up. Plus you then must eat it in the cold, as a truck or car heater can only do so much to warm things up. To actually get warm you have to remove your boots, and tactically that isn’t possible for the goons to do.
This cold snap has actually kept the goons on their better behavior as its too cold to be outside for very long, especially if you are some new J6er ICE recruit from Texas who has never thought cold like this was possible.
I hope you are right, but I feel that an uncomfortably high number of people are perfectly fine with that is going on.
We should get an idea of this soon enough through updated polls and more reporting. Not perfect indicators by any means, but it will be better than trying to guess based on what is seen via social media.
To cheer you up, here are some. The first is from Sky and recall they are Murdoch:
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/vKsJeG7Il2A
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/5IJdL_Lymk8
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Vn3l76TBJOs
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/rvVNu4y1Huo
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/awLcI2-UPDE
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/1ZqeoJCMpYI
This is a remarkable and refreshing series of encounters between ordinary Americans and Nazi law enforcement.
We all like to think that our friends and neighbors would do “the right thing” when confronting an unjust situation. In reality, sometimes it happens and sometimes it doesn’t. But it’s good to see that regular people are not always intimidated when confronted with badges and uniforms.
(I especially like the middle-aged man behind the counter in the deli. Check out his eyes: He is really pissed, I assume not at the agents in front of him but at the whole situation he has found his City in. Hopefully this reaction is widespread and will provide a stabilizing influence in the city, state, and country. And world.)
It pains me greatly to say this, but upon repeated viewing, I am of the opinion that the last 4 of those appear to me to be AI generated.
#3) faces of patrons in background weirdly distorted, all 3 agents rise as if on cue
#4) none of the lettering (sign in window, prices on cheese) make any kind of sense
#5) hard to believe an ICE agent would take a smack in the face like that and just walk away
#6) reflection of lettering on officer’s front is gibberish and changes through the clip
Also – 3-5 are from a channel chock full of obvious AI slop.
1. As far as I can tell, these shorts don’t have ads so YouTube is not making money from them. These shorts appear to be intended to increase engagement
2. YouTube is promoting, not suppressing, anti-ICE content.
So this looks significant even if your take is correct.
Further cheering up here, from a short documentary with 1.6 million views in the last month: https://youtu.be/-yKSgM0G1xQ
From the auto-summary: This video focuses on Ben and Sam Luhmann, teenage brothers from Chicago who actively patrol their community to track and film ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) raids (0:47). They are homeschooled and dedicate five hours daily to a rapid-response network that documents ICE activities and supports families affected by arrests.
The brothers started patrolling after an incident in September when ICE made multiple arrests in West Chicago (2:05). They learned about the complexities and flaws of the immigration system and witnessed the devastating impact of the Trump administration’s policies on families (2:14-2:31). Despite the administration’s claims of targeting violent criminals, the brothers often find that those arrested have no violent backgrounds (2:34-2:47). Records from the Department of Justice show that only a small percentage (2.6%) of people arrested during Operation Midway Blitz were deemed a high public safety risk (3:21-3:29).
Ben and Sam use their privilege as white minors to challenge ICE agents, recognizing that their presence alters how agents interact with them (8:23-8:47). Their parents, devout Anglican Christians, view resisting the immigration crackdown as an extension of their faith (9:00-9:06). They worry about their children’s safety but believe it’s essential to fight for those who live in constant fear of being racially profiled or arrested (9:12-9:55).
The video highlights the unpredictable and often violent nature of ICE arrests (1:47-1:54) and the inhumane conditions in detention facilities (11:27-11:47). Despite threats of arrest and intimidation from agents (7:15-8:16), the brothers remain committed to their work, believing that widespread resistance can stop these operations (12:02-12:09). The video concludes by noting that ICE’s budget is set to triple by 2026, indicating an expansion of their operations, but communities continue to push back (10:50-11:05).
Thank you so much for sharing this, really uplifting.
Much the same thing might be said about the SA: their lack of discipline, insubordination, inclination to stir up trouble when inconvenient, etc were what got them the Night of Long Knives. Summary execution of the SA leadership, though, if anything accelerated the Nazi ascendancy if only because many of the respectable people who held the “brown dirt” in contempt began to look upon them more approvingly (esp the army, notwithstanding the murders of von Schleicher, the former chancellor, etc–I take that army generals thought of Schleicher as a politician in uniform rather than a real (former) general.) I’d be tempted to worry more if Trump pretends to rein the more obvious thugs in.
I think you are very wrong about the actual number of people that support this. Trump’s core base are still on board with the actions of ICE and DHS. And while that may only be around 30% or so, that is still a frightfully high number considering what has happened over the past few months.
I have an inactive FaceBorg account that I keep for work-related reasons. Most of my oldest friends who stayed home (only about 200 miles from where I live now) seem to be all-in on ICE, Barbie Ice, and the Current Occupant. Whether they have watched the videos that show plain as day the young ICU nurse was murdered, after being pepper sprayed while assisting a woman observer who was thrown to the frozen ground, I do not know. Probably wouldn’t matter. And it won’t matter to them until one of their grandchildren is caught up in a civil protest and has to face their preferred consequences. Or maybe they will just disown the little twerp for not being a good patriotic American who does what s/he is told, no questions asked or answered.
Balon Aroxdale: “…military veterans having their heads blown off…”
I don’t know what you’re saying here. Are you aware that half of the ICE force IS military veterans? Are you saying that ICE veterans are blowing each others’ heads off?
My understanding was that Pretti was a veteran, but it appears he may have only worked in the department of veterans affairs. Would this not make him another federal employee however?
Let’s just clean up all the “I’m not a lawyer, but … ” nonsense.
I am a lawyer.
And, no lawyer in their right mind wades into a thread dispensing legal advice.
Lawyers give legal advice to “clients” because they have established contractual relationships with those clients and a duty to zealously represent them. No such relationship exists in a thread.
The issues here are subtle, and likely novel. Meaning, there is no clear cut answer until a court establishes precedent.
If someone in the thread wants to “hire” a lawyer to advise them on the questions being posed in this thread, they are then free to break attorney/client privilege and share said advice with the commentariat.
ps … this isn’t self serving advertising. I’m not for hire. Just a PSA.
pps … “Family blog” ICE!
Please accept my apologies. I did not realize that my efforts to determine whether or not the accusations made against my elected officials had any merit could be interpreted as a request for representation. That was not my intent.
I’m a retired lawyer with a pretty good understanding of the lawyer/client relationship. After seeing your comment I just read through this entire sub thread again and did not see any comments requesting legal advice nor did I see any comments dispensing legal advice. This is a discussion involving legal issues and legal issues are being appropriately discussed and analyzed.
Please don’t discourage this discussion with an unnecessary warning. The lawyers in the NC community provide valuable input, and I have yet to see any of us crossing any lines.
BrianH is right. Your comment is out of line. We do not allow commenters to censor discussions. That is in the authority SOLELY of site moderators.
Waltz and Frey in particular, have not moved to end this chaos is in my mind a worse indictment than the Trump admin’s push to keep it going.
You want a civil war? Minnesota and Minneapolis police move against ICE, Trump brings in regular army. This is not a good mixture.
I noticed a couple of Canadian bloggers with relevant backgrounds discussing the possibility of a US civil war and what we may need to prepare for. The Canadian military is already modeling a US invasion I imagine they con keep going and model a US civil war
I took a look at some of the comments on posts showing the video yesterday. Way too many avatars of handsome black men and pretty Hispanic women commenting that the victim deserved it for me to believe they were posted by real humans and not bots or paid trolls.
The parallel between MSP 2026 and Munich in the 1920’s is chilling. Hitler’s small minority activist group combined unrestrained violence by extremist young men with the influence of wealthy elite supporters to paralyze all opposition in Munich and Bavaria. You know the rest of the story.
Yes. H was financially supported by wealthy industrialists and business owners. He charmed them with promises never to hurt them while he went about getting rid of trade unionists, communists, and others they disliked.
William Shirer – who spent 1934 to 1940 in Germany as an American journalist correspondent for Hearst publications and Edward R. Murrow’s radio broadcast – later wrote The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich.
In the book he mentions talking with the rich and influential Germans about H, and asking if they could really trust his movement not to turn on them eventually. He was particularly worried that the Jewish men of wealth and influence did not see the danger ahead. They seemed certain H was sincere when he flattered them and promised them he could always be trusted. H was by all accounts a very charming liar to those he wished to disarm or whose help he needed. Once his need for them was over the gloves came off and the knives came out.
Adding: H’s charm seduced some of the best people of the time. He seduced the UK’s Edward VIII, aka, the Duke of Windsor. He seduced famed American aviator Charles Lindbergh. He seduced the then UK PM Neville Chamberlain into thinking his lies meant “Peace in our time.” He seduced the UK mainstream press, who were desperate to believe a way to avoid another WWI disaster that killed the flower of their earlier generation had been found.
H was a skillful liar.
I formally studied this period of European history.
I should note here, although this does not negate your point, that many of the people who used ‘Hitler’s charm’ as an excuse were trying to excuse their own complicity against people of their own nationality, ethnicity and/or class. Hitler was not superhuman or unnatural, he was empowered by people who saw economic, social or political profit in him and they used a range of justifications for their actions. The post-war ‘Hitler-Svengali’ model was part of the general exoneration Nazi, German and Western accomplices in Cold War writing. Hearst is one of those persons as were those who wrote for him.
Thank you, ChalkLine. Given your priors, the slim book “Zwischen Monarchie und Münchner Freiheit” might interest you if you read German (I can’t find a digital edition for auto-translation).
It’s a set of four historical walking tours of central Munich that uses the sites of H’s rise to power locally in the 1920’s as the framework of an extensively detailed retelling of the related events, key figures, and business and political groups. It starts with the short-lived Munich socialist “Räterepublik” led by the assassinated Kurt Eisner, which governed the city and its region from Nov. 1918 until the Reichswehr brutally surpressed it in May 1919. It continues, following H’s rise as a local power, then onward to the national level, and concludes with 1945, always with a local focus.
I’d love to but I can’t afford to get to the shops at the moment let along Germany :)
My degree is in European Studies and Germany is an amazing region rich in culture and history. I have a feeling if I went there I’d never come back. Then again I’d be slowly working my way from Ireland to the Urals.
There’s no telling how many of those ‘people’ are computer bots generating comments to push a narrative.
we might not know how many, but we can judge from the tactics the zionists have been using of maximum propaganda always was unleashed during any physical push.
we are all Palestinians now.
An aside: I’ve been thinking about the core political philosophy of Zionism. It seems to me the core philosophy is revenge. That’s it.
To quote the great Bilbo Baggins in Lord of the Rings:
“It is useless to meet revenge with revenge: it will heal nothing. “
It’s possible that many of those comments are likely from bots.
They use the same techniques to sell things. Everyone is doing it!
It’s all an op now.
Fascism is testing US waters to check if it can stick around. I feel sorry for the killed man, for the Minnesota people and USians in general. I hope you can be strong and resist for the sake of humanity.
Fascism has been here for a while. We appear to be too poor and tired to mount an effective campaign to expunge it. Not least of which because our leaders want the ability to keep the undesirables down.
“Fascism has been here for a while.”
How the Nazis Were Inspired by Jim Crow
because our leaders
….unsanctioned payrolls might also be in play
There is a very timely and convenient way to stop this. Reports say that Senate Democrats oppose additional funding for ICE. That is not enough. The deadline to avoid another government shutdown is January 30. No funding should be approved until ICE is withdrawn from Minneapolis. Trump is not likely to sacrifice the entire economy for the pleasure of terrorizing the people that community. Think of the humiliation that would inflict all that insufferable fool.
Colonised. People’s minds are colonised by their constant use of FB, Googl, etc etc.
A new form of colonisation, but colonisation all the same.
The colonised usually lose because of the superior strength of the colonisers. That is the case here. The dissenters are too few and scattered to do anything.
Because of colonisation, the opposition is completely controlled. Uproar everytime there’s killings and kidnappings. Then people all settle down again in the main.
The problem isn’t a killing here and a kidnapping there. It’s the ongoing colonisation and plundering of people’s livelihoods, neighbourhoods, children and lives by the fascist oligarchs and their toadies.
They are more than Pretti Good.
They are the best of us.
And monsters run free.
Came across this, from Chris Hedges. Don’t know him but these words make sense.
https://x.com/ChrisLynnHedges/status/2015241118343200999
This seems like the moment.
If it doesn’t stop (or get stopped) now, it’s not stopping.
Peace and love to my US brothers and sisters.
“This seems like the moment” was exactly what I was thinking last night as I watched the videos of this incident. We will see if there is ANY integrity or spine left in Congress, if there are ANY real defenders of the Constitution in the media or in (local) law enforcement, or ANY actual defenders of liberty among so-called conservatives or Republicans.
I spent eight years criticizing liberals for throwing the F-word around indiscriminately. Now it’s time to start yelling it loudly. We already know that a powerful segment of the billionaire class welcomes such an army of fascistic thugs; it fits well with their vision our neo-feudal future. A crucial question, I think, is whether there are enough of our elite left who still believe in their rhetoric about this country and will use their resources to stop it. Since they have managed to weaken and de-legitimate most of the institutions that were suppose to protect us, this won’t be easy.
Let’s put Vance in the dock as well. He told these thugs in tactical gear that they had absolute immunity.
Who could & would stop it?
Elected Republicans?
Supreme Court?
The streets?
The streets.
Soon we’ll see if any well armed civilians are tired of waiting for a government response against this behavior. Of course, that will give Trump a perfect excuse to use the Insurrection Act. It will also herald some awful times to come. But at this point in time I can’t see any institutional resistance to ICE holding up or doing any good. National level Democrats won’t even denounce what’s happening without making sure they wont annoy donors. I’m not sure there are enough Republicans who disagree with Trump to matter. So it falls to the people to stop this. Which will be the genesis of many little Gazas spreading throughout my country. God help us all.
Mr. Market. But he may not act quickly enough.
I said “Short America” before this happened. Any investor with an operating brain cell should cut his US exposures and buy just about any other country’s investments.
Not gold? Particularly if Germany is stymied in it’s attempts to repatriate bullion…
Despite the press trying to say otherwise, the gold boom is mainly retail.
https://robinjbrooks.substack.com/p/debunking-the-myth-of-central-bank
And institutional investors can’t engage in style drift. So an equities or bond fund, which is what the overwhelming majority are, cannot buy gold.
It’s retail perhaps, but it’s worldwide.
There are ‘plays’ available to regular ‘Joes’ in the gold trade. Newmont Mining (NEM) stock price has tripled since Jan 2025. While you can’t eat bullion it will retain its value to someone worldwide. First rule of purchase: food first; habitat second; group support third; investments (gold) fourth.
It is one thing to describe the obvious direction of travel and how in a very general way to avoid undue harm. It is quite another to recommend particular securities. That IS giving investment advice, which is a violation of house rules. Stop NOW.
Devaluing the dollar ensures US assets maintain and even go up in nominal dollars. Sure – international assets will go up even more, But is that enough to give pushback to Trump’s policies?
HUH? You have this backwards.
Plus the dollar plunge after Liberation Day was due to the sale of stock by foreign investors. It was the stock market fall that got Trump to back off.
If the dollar is devalued by 50 percent that means a stock worth 100 today is worth 200 tomorrow. A 1 million dollar property is worth 2 million.
The dollar plunge after liberation day was foreign investors fleeing faster than the US can devalue its currency. At a certain point that effect must wane (there are no foreign investors left). But the US can continue printing money and using the Fed to overpay for assets in perpetuity
In an inflationary environment, the uneven ascent of prices contributes to the erosion of real income for some consumers. This loss of purchasing power constitutes the single largest cost of inflation. The concept of purchasing power affects every aspect of economics, from consumers acquiring goods and services to investors purchasing stocks, and even extends to a country’s overall economic prosperity.
Finding a $2M buyer for your million dollar property gets harder as the dollar depreciates. Extraordinary inflation is a crapshoot if the general populace can afford food.
The loss of purchasing power for some (most likely the working poor) must be offset by others (Likely the rich with access to the Fed’s discount window and government handouts). This is precisely whay is mean when I say Trump and Trumps handlers will not be dissuaded by the market. They simply won’t be allowed to fail
You REALLY do not know what you are talking about.
See the 1970s during the last weak dollar era. It was so bad for stocks that Business Week had a cover story on the death of equities.
Not the streets. Not Mr. Market. The workplaces. Shut down the airports, the hotels, the gas stations, the restaurants. The convenince stores. The delvery services. Everything ICE needs to operate, shut down the supply chain.. Starve them. Run them out of gss.
I agree that a general strike is the thing that will make TPTB take serious notice. Easy to do (everybody stays home) but difficult to organize,
No, not even easy to do. In quite a few industries, work stoppages are illegal.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strike_action
Most employees in the US are hired on an “at wllI” basis, so the boss can fire you because you look at him cross-eyed. So right wing bosses would be free to fire staffers who participated in a general strike.
While everything you said is true; isn’t that the point?
Right now, Is the time for people to do the most effective thing they can do. And I agree with others that the thing to do is to have massive strikes. It is THE non-violent expression that gets attention.
Yes, it is “against the law” for a lot of people… but really this is a “post-law” era right now. If people were following the law, people wouldn’t need to strike. which is why what everyone needs is solidarity.
If those essential workers strike…. sure they may be fired… but who is going to walk in and do their job? And really, any good person would re-hire someone in a heartbeat, someone with actual morals and standards and convictions. My guess is that those getting fired would be the competent ones in the workplace. All the scammers who don’t really deserve a paycheck, who wouldn’t strike, are the ones who probably couldn’t get the job done were they to be left alone to do it. What ever it is.
Now, I would also say, those people need to have back up. When those people are fired. Others need to strike as well.
It is like when someone has the courage to step into a fight on the street to help someone, what they need is others to be inspired by their courage to also step in and overwhelm the attackers. Otherwise, the good guy may also fall victim to the goons.
What we need is solidarity. We all have to pile on in some way. We all have to know who to pile on top of.
And I can’t say that the important leverage that prevents this, which is lack of money in the hands of working people to weather the storm for their families and loved ones; Isn’t a big enough hurdle for most people to make this a non-starter.
So I’m just a moron in the woods like all the rest, without a real way forward. But this is what is needed. Whether it is legal or not. I for one only want to ever give any form of business to those who resist tyranny… but in a world monopoly we have to at least imagine every sort of retaliation against those who are destroying our world and the world of our children. Their crimes deserve punishment someday
How about everyone ignores April 15?
Carefully orchestrated by the T admin for their own ends, imo.
Yesterday in the links, someone left a video clip of an ICE agent telling a young woman her filming ICE gets her name added to the domestic terriers list. For exercising her first amendment rights her name is added to a state domestic terrier list.
Here’s Catherine Austin Fitts talking about what that looks like it means. Solari Report, utube, ~1+ minute.
Leadership Is Changing Framework for Law Enforcement—from Domestic Law to Laws That Apply to War
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fupe3JQ5wg
How does someone’s name get added to the domestic terrier list. Cash rewards help. Not kidding.
From the LATimes last month, Dec 11, 2025. no paywall.
Justice Department drafting a list of ‘domestic terrorists’
https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2025-12-11/justice-department-drafting-list-of-domestic-terrorists
First bullet point:
A Justice Department memo calls for a ‘cash reward system’ that would encourage Americans to report suspected domestic terrorist activity.
History shows that once you institutionalize paid informers, a bloodbath follows. All sorts of old grudges and disputes go literally ballistic.
What else were those “missing” pallets of US hundred dollar bills flown to Irak for but to buy “influence?”
Money corrupts, infinite money corrupts infinitely.
Perhaps one should add the head of the ADL to the list of “Domestic Terrorists”
I keep picturing leaders of the Senate 40, 50, 80 years ago; would even the most conservative of them put up with this madman occupying the white house this long? Nixon didn’t leave because of opposition from the left, he left when his own party’s Congress was ready to cut him loose.
Astounding and sad that a dozen Rs with consciences cannot be scraped together in our ‘upper’ house to end this nightmare.
80 and 40 years ago most of them would have remembered WWII (and later the civil right movement) from personal experience.
“The struggle of man against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting.”
-Milan Kundera
Kundera relativizes that quote because the character who says it (Mirek) is in the process of sanitizing his own past because he is ashamed of having loved a woman he deems ugly. There may be a bit of utility in forgetting for radicals revolutionaries and even reformers, as memory of the casualty rates their forebears endured could well be inhibitive of action.
Looks like this one is too much for some Repubs: https://homeland.house.gov/2026/01/24/chairman-garbarino-requests-ice-cbp-uscis-testimony-for-upcoming-oversight-hearing/. The walls are going to start closing in on these criminals.
That’s not how I read it.
Doubtful this leads to any accountability.
Exactly. The hearing will be used to defend ICE.
Agreed. I had a brief spark of hope when I heard about this until I read the Associated Press news feed:
Emphasis mine.
That quote is heavy on “DHS core mission,” safety of law enforcement” before an obligatory mention of the people served, and restated that what DHS/ICE is doing is “historic.”
At least it doesn’t lead with BS about murderers and sex traffickers.
Alex Pretti wasn’t just a nurse, he was VA nurse and probably a good one if he still had a job. Surprised the VA aspect isn’t getting more notice. I suppose, I hope, that is something noticed by the National Guard that just rolled in.
It is troublesome enough to see cops executing white people, but a white male, legally carrying a customized semi-automatic, was disarmed and blasted on the streets. This is MAGA-man’s nightmare, but it is coming from their friends in ICE. This may be the straw that breaks that particular pack animal.
This was a horrific incident, but a question lingers – who in his right mind would openly carry a holstered pistol when encountering a bunch of trigger happy ICE agents? This may start another fracture within MAGA: the open carry right-wing militia paranoids against the anti-immigrant nativists.
Agents of the Organs of State Security fired the first shots.
Now America will learn what the people in countries ‘occupied’ by the Neo-liberal West found out the hard way. Being vassals to the Empire of the Oligarchs is always hard. I never suspected that neo-colonialism would manifest itself primarily in the Homeland. Silly me.
Stay safe, maintain integrity.
On the Justice of Roosting Chickens Wikipedia
As push has come to shove and shots fired, Walz is calling up the Minnesota’s National Guard but if Trump nationalizes them, where will their loyalties lie? And if Trump mobilizes the full time active military, instead of relying on homicidal and sadistic ICE thugs, will they do his bidding or will shove come to putsch?
As to where their loyalties might lie, I think it’s high time we found out.
Ex-Minnesota governor and ex-Navy SEAL Jesse Ventura has already been extremely outspoken against ICE. It’s a good sign to have people like him taking the righteous side here. I have a hard time believing ICE would retaliate against the National Guard if they were ordered by them to stand down. And if they did, I have a harder time believing that the heavily armed US public would side with a bunch of recently hired, untrained murderous goons over the Nat. Guard and US military, who they’ve been taught to revere.
The time to push back is now, and sternly worded letters aren’t going to cut it this time.
Maybe the MNG can provide us with that long awaited and hoped for Potemkin moment.
Seems like a technicality, but apparently is the MN National Guard is deployed on a mission, then they can’t be Federalized. Walz’ deployment might be a chess move…but, yeah, not sure that he can win if the National Guard brass watch Fox for all their “info”. If that is the case, they may decide that they don’t want to be pawns.
Looks like the Dems may finally be stepping up. They say they will block DHS funding
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/24/schumer-democrats-dhs-funding-package
I’m taking advantage of a snowy day or two to write letters to my elected officials telling them that their inaction is a direct endorsement of a level of savagery that shows a complete lack of moral character, and that they have shown themselves as unfit to hold office, and that they will not be receiving my money or vote in any future election.
Seems like a symbolic act to me, because of course as the minority they don’t have the ability to vote down the funding. But at least it’s a show of opposition, showing that those corpses that have been lying around the Capitol with the blue “D” flag appended for the last year still actually have a pulse. Just my takeaway.
Actually they do. The Repubs need 60 votes to avoid another government shutdown.
Where are all the Second Amendment enthusiasts who argue that the right to bear arms is grounded in the theory of an armed citizenry repelling tyranny? Where are all the Kyle Rittenhouse fanboys? Will this drive a bigger wedge into the MAGA base? I would imagine that this guy’s take has some resonance among a section of Trump voters: https://x.com/search?q=alex%20pretti%20second%20amendment&src=typed_query&f=top
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-01-24/top-los-angeles-federal-prosecutor-criticism
The NRA is objecting.
thank you — the LA Times is paywalled; here is another link: https://www.newsweek.com/nra-makes-rare-statement-against-trump-admin-over-alex-pretti-shooting-11321317
In general, I’d say NRA members know how to safely handle firearms.
Watching that killing demonstrated the ICE agents do not know how to handle firearms. When the man is pinned to the ground one agent pistol whips him in the head 4 or 5 times. That’s bad on so many counts. That should never happen from law enforcement. It’s vigilantism.
One plausible explanation I’ve read of what could have happened is this:
The agent pistol whipping the pinned man had a live round in his gun chamber. The gun accidentally misfired from the pounding, as can happen if you simple drop a gun on a hard surface if it has a live round in the chamber.
The misfire frighted the other agents into unloading bullets into the man they’d pinned to the ground. Then they all ran several feet away, not knowing what the hell was happening.
This is so bad, bad gun handling, bad personal self-control, bad situation awareness.
https://www.reddit.com/r/guns/comments/1p4ivwa/new_sig_p320_uncommanded_discharge_caught_on_tape/
I believe this is the model used by Border Patrol/ICE
Thanks.
It appears more like a can of pepper spray, rather than a pistol he his hitting him with
First time looking at that video. Brown ski mask guy appears to have his gun in his holster, nothing in his right hand, Pretti is on the ground, brownie appears to reach for something on the ground, hand comes back into view with a pistol-like object, brownie begins to strike Pretti with the object.
Here is a recent pic of of an ICE guy in full kit with a chemical irritant sprayer.
And as we all know now, Pretti approached the ICEman with a phone, nothing more.
In some cold remote tree stand or ice fishing.
In some cold remote tree stand or ice fishing.
A very ardent concealed-carry gun- toting arms enthusiast I know showed me a meme from yesterday, flattened don’t tread on me serpent, saying,
“Tread on me, Daddy!!!” A situational defense of the Second Amendment? Rejection of Second Amendment?
Lotta disaffected middle aged white guys, well-armed with questionable cognitive ability and very clearly displayed inability to approach data and facts with objective logic.
What could possibly go right? Why, it’s almost like a page out of a thug strong-man’s Ideal Playbook….
“Political Power grows out of the barrel of a gun…” Divide and conquer…
The press statement from the MN Gun Owners Caucus is worth reading.
The interview of Rob Doar, the President of the MN Gun Owners Law Center by local TV station KMSP is also worth watching.
The gun lobbies avoid addressing the most important issues, of course. But their criticisms are significant. It is crucial that “conservative” voices with influence step up to light a fire under the half of the population that supported Trump. If this is the NRA, or Tucker Carlson, or Rand Paul, or whomever, so be it. Those who identify as “red team” will never listen to Walz, or Congressional Democrats, or the “liberal” media, or “terrorist” protesters protecting all those Venezuelan drug lords in commie cities like Minneapolis. But if enough so-called conservatives or Republicans who actually give a s**t about the Constitution or “liberty” or that irritating coiled snake flag emphasize the dangers these brown shirts pose to what they claim to believe, then maybe enough people will wake up. Convincing anti-Trump liberals or Democrats is not the problem.
” It is crucial that “conservative” voices with influence step up to light a fire under the half of the population that supported Trump.”
No, not even close to half. Less than half vote and less than half of them voted for him.
So the dems are threatening to not fund the Homeland security bill that might pull some funding from these PsOS running around MURDERING PEOPLE – And both sides, intentionaly avoid re-introducing seperate bills that would directly leash these A-holes….. but no, that would mean taking actual action that could save more lives….why, because they are cowardly F%&$s, no action would mean both parties could hide out and continue the theater and controversy they want to continue, continue the artificial fight while deliberatly, in calculated fashion avoid their sworn acticle 1 duties – go ahead and read the Constitution.
HR1470 – ending qualified immunity act and S492 Ending qualified immunity act — where is a whisper, a comment, a movement on this — None, because these parties have no interest in accountability and no interest a changing — they want this crap.. Here we go again, take out the wet noodle for some serious backbone.. if they could only transfer some of that bone between their ears to their back.. well then I would be pleasantly suprised. These low life f-ing cowards say they are so constipated that they can’t open their mouths without BS. No they hand out kabuki theater while citizens are MURDERED and introduce a bill to codify what should not be codified —
S. 122
To amend the Revised Statutes to codify the defense of qualified immunity in the case of any action under section 1979, and for other purposes.
Too F-ing cowardly to do their article 1 duties. Too f-ing cowardly to codify the removal of qualified immunity – I mean, most proffesional law enforcement do not need qualified immunity??? Most law enforcement understand that it is an admission of incompetence and cowardice to require special exceptions to the law in order to uphold the law!!!!
It is sickening to me these MURDERs go on. That both parties feign to be doing anything makes me ill.
Sorry for being so outraged about the lack of any real congressional action, any mention of something real that they could do. .. no ifs, buts, what abouts, except if, we cant’s, let’s be patient, these things take time, we are doing all we can, our political calculations tell us………BS.
“To sin by silence when they should protest makes cowards of men.” – Abraham Lincoln
“We, the People, are the rightful masters of both the Congress and the Courts. Not to overthrow the Constitution, but to overthrow the men who have perverted it.” – Abraham Lincoln
Never thought I would see these horrendous days.
Above all, keep the peace –
I am very concerned that some dipshit is going to run a false flag or another with some delusional intent.
why, because they are cowardly F%&$s,
No,it’s because the DCCC vetted all candidates for pro globalization pro war pro patriot act pro section 702 pro AI pro techlords pro WEF pro bankers pro israel pro privatization and right about now I suspect more than a few of them are wishing they’d gotten gun control passed because no doubt there is some second amendment action going on out there in the hinterlands. The dems are the judas goats that led us to this sorry point. Every major event this century has led us exactly here.
and how could I forget ukraine? The dems are still riding that pig around the slopyard
How many times have I “They’re nazis!” to a blue believer and gotten a blank stare in return.
the democrats not showing up in this day and time is truly baffling. Sen. elizabeth warren is running ads on youtube… ALL THE TIME…. to get funds for a democratic “fight” fund….
What a bunch of low lifes.
she was a dean of harvard law school.
she is a senator.
but evidently…. if she had some more money… the democrats could “do something”
as opposed to how I think…
right now I hate democrats as much as i hate republicans…. but if they stood up… mounted a real fight on the side of all americans who choose to keep our constitution and especially our bill of rights. They wouldn’t need election funding. the PEOPLE would re elect them in a landslide.
you would think they would at least see the free ticket to re-election.
I really think that you could get a better group if individuals to run this country if you just threw darts in a mall, and elected anyone who was hit by one.
Nothing baffling about it at all. They haven’t shown up when there were easy wins to be had. They haven’t show up when the fights were easy and the stakes were low. Anyone who expects them to show up now has not been paying attention to the Dems since at least the time of Obama, who helped set the stage for where we are now.
Hard agree. They are cowards. They are the last people you want in any position of power. They are there precisely to DO NOTHING, as instructed by their speed-dialing donors. Representing the interests of that tiny group allows them to remain in power. Other than satisfying their greed and vanity, that is the sum total of their purpose — simply to remain in office, sustain the flow of money into the system. This is likely made clear when they were first installed. The evolved system created by the duopoly, Citizens United, the Roberts Court, etc., is perfect in its corruption. The common citizen, the good of the country as a whole, these are just inconveniences, not even on the radar.
In addition to the afore mentioned legislative acts… maybe some action on the The Federal Tort Claims Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1346(b), authorizes suits against the United States for damages:for injury or loss of property, or personal injury or death caused by the negligent or wrongful act or omission of any employee of the Government while acting within the scope of his office or employment, under circumstances where the United States, if a private person, would be liable to the claimant in accordance with the law of the place where the act or omission occurred. The Act further provides that the United States shall be liable with respect to tort claims “in the same manner and to the same extent as a private individual under like circumstances.” [ 28 U.S.C. ] § 2674.
Section 2680 of Title 28 of the United States Code provides two salient exceptions–the due care exception and the discretionary function exception. The statute provides:(a) Any claim based upon an act or omission of an employee of the Government, exercising due care, in the execution of a statute or regulation, whether or not such statute or regulation be valid, or based upon the exercise or performance or the failure to exercise or perform a discretionary function or duty on the part of a federal agency or an employee of the Government, whether or not the discretion involved be abused.28 U.S.C. §2680(a). The first part of this statute is known as the “due care exception” and the second part of the statute is known as the “discretionary function exception.” Both operate to shield the United States from liability based on the FTCA. The Government has invoked both shields.
Like this “exercising due care, in the execution of a statute or regulation, whether or not such statute or regulation be valid” by ommiting “whether or not” — get rid of this exemption and the same ugly creature of law “whether or not the discretion involved be abused”
It’s this kind of legislation, this ugly creature of law, that holds some imaginary den superior to the constitution. Legislate this creature back under the rock where it first appeared — IMHO
All this stuff continues or stops at the hands of both parties…. no endless political blame games when people who’s inalienable rights are losing their lives and liberties and rights (via death). Pointing fingers and abusing your offices using sophistry and dodging your sworn duties under the constitution…this dereliction of duty puts the pox on all of you.
Instead of theatrics that kills innocents – How about you declare your duties or declare your dereliction of duties – no obfuscation, no dodges – make this declaration public and back it with action publicly. On the same note: declare your support or fight against Genocide!!!!! no waffles, no reservations, no excuses, no crutches no obfuscation…..just for or against — save all your BS for your own conscience on this question!!!! both are easy…something you all like.
Thank you to those congressman who have responded but, I am still waiting for more specificity /answers to my follow up!!
Unfortunately had CNN blaring yesterday all day, along with every-two-second updates via hand – held gizmo, all being monitored by my very angry wife, who gets feed from all over the political spectrum.
Profanity-based blue smoke pouring forth from the house like we were in Altadena …
It took CNN six hours to finally even mention that there were many videos from many angles that directly disputed the narrative and pre-judicial official statements and lies by the folks running the show locally and in DC.
CNN could have used qualifying terms such as, “appears, observed…not yet vetted and cleared…” But they did not. I must say it made me wonder about the very smelly, apparently toothless Fourth Estate goods being delivered on behalf of our fragile nation-state.
Then there was the breathless coverage of the Huge Crowd Amassing… when in actuality it appeared to be perhaps 150 folks, peacefully assumbled, in one intersection, NOT flooding all streets from every direction. Made me wonder if the media was trying to bolster any crumbs / rationale for Trump to send in the Real US Army, to violate additional laws, norms, Posse Comitatus etc.
I am impressed by the apparently measured, peaceful resistance of Minnesotans, in seriously deep-cold temperatures. No torches, pitchforks, and pikes… yet.
Will Walz have the national guard face ICE, or face citizens? Things appear to have crossed a very fragile threshold.
The signaling from Bovino, his SS long woolen trench coat, his Nazi Black Tie uniform at the podium… these are all very willful, wonton direct punches at the faces of American citizens, taxpayers, and the world. What’s that saying about the clothes making the man?
https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/.WsdcVklLG8vcvMC_E.kYA–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD04Mjc-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/aol_ny_post_us_news_articles_123/7f94b2acf5ed68baae24bb85320387ec
https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/ap25308009171114.jpg?c=16×9&q=w_860,c_fill
https://www.thedailybeast.com/resizer/v2/LHTFNT2AOVDABEKV6VXJHJFNXM.jpg?auth=8a30fc9fce81790ea3a56db515b3bd072f3fa87dcc784c759d5068cd3d870d9c&width=800&height=1199
As the placard said, “Fuck This Shit”
“If there is no struggle, there is no progress. Those who profess to favor freedom, and yet deprecate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground. They want rain without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean without the roar of its many waters. …Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. …Find out just what people will submit to, and you have found the exact amount of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them; and these will continue until they are resisted with either words or blows, or with both. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress.”
― Frederick Douglass
I can’t even stomach CNN/fox/abc/cbs/msnbc/etc….. for more than the seconds it takes to realize i’m on the wrong channel. State propaganda hurts the brain. the stupid… it burns.
Der Spiegel has an opinion about Bovino:
“Der ICE-Kommandant im Nazi-Look”
https://www.spiegel.de/ausland/gregory-bovino-auftritt-des-ice-kommandanten-weckt-erinnerungen-an-nazi-offiziere-a-588447c0-dfc8-4d7f-b5bf-457a400bff92
Gotta laugh to keep from crying.
Ja wohl Herr Kommandant!
The ironic and tragic humor. Does the dude realize he is a parody?
I wonder if he has one of these in his wardrobe, if not he needs one to complete his “look”.
https://thehistorybunker.co.uk/WW2-German-Gestapo-leather-trench-coat-BLACK
The Journal is not backing Trump:
I think this is significant. I hope so.
His donors read the WSJ.
Twin Cities local television station coverage (in my opinion) has been excellent.
https://kmsp.com/
https://kstp.com/
https://kare11.com/
I paid a brief visit to the NYPost commentary to gauge the response of the mostly fascist posters there. I thought I would find at least one who could project far enough into the future to warn his fellow gun-toters that
the Trump policy of immunity for ICE murdering US citizens would politically and legally extend to the next Democrat President faced with any rightwing uprising. None. They simply cannot see the danger or the likelihood, they are so pleased that a couple of libtards have been snuffed out.
I wonder if there is any way to prosecute the “ice” sham with a RICO….. type prosecution.
Considering, the past few months, the past twenty years,,, the contracts which are swirling on the whole terrorize americans while abusing constitutional protections of the people. These people lie every day, they are all in it for profit. They knowingly break the law with the certainty that they will be protected by lawfare. The are perverting the whole of the fabric of the american governing rules of law.
These people are riding the wave of the israeli-ization of the world. The world wide fascist putch.. that is underway.
When the day comes hopefully sooner rather than later.
These terrorists are criminals hoping to profit from their affiliations.
Guy, carrying a handgun that reportedly has a history of accidental discharge, walks into an already heated situation with several armed LEOs who, given the “temperature” of the crowds in the city, have reasonable concerns for their own safety. Guy scuffles with LEOs. In the scuffle, gun is observed, possibly discharged, probably accidentally. LEOs unload into guy to neutralise perceived threat.
That’s not an execution, that is a tragedy for all involved.
You might not agree with what ICE is doing and how they are doing it, but mixing it up physically with ICE is already a mistake, and doing it while carrying a gun is actually asking for trouble.
Saw Popehat, aka Ken White, LA civil rights litigator, writing about the constitutional and moral justification for political violence.
When is a blue state governor going to call out the national guard and go up against ICE? Let Trump take the ultimate step and have the regular military combat the ‘guard. I think then this might precipitate a real local insurrection.
I can’t even fathom why Walz isn’t doing anything. He has already said he is not running again. He has the power to do something. They should start arresting small groups of ice agents… for crimes they commit. derek chauvin.. and the like went to jail… so too can these ice goons.
Even if the total number of ice agents are more then the local police depts. He could bolster their numbers with the national guard. Even assuming the Minnesota guard/ police forces have their own fifth column of white supremacists/fascists….
It is time to call it and make it come to a showdown. Call in the lawyers… to protect the cops.
Sue the federal gov’t back… for the crime of weaponizing the DOJ… Make it come out all over the media. Knowing full well the media is in on it with the fascists… but they still will have to hide ALL the facts from the people…. because good people of every political stripe.. don’t like fascists taking over. The FASCISTS ARE A MINORITY.
In a natural disaster, law enforcement from other cities are called in, augmenting local numbers. Alternate explanations than cowardice (fear of what?) of continued inaction need to be considered.
well really,
Walz was picked as Kamala’s running mate.
That pretty much insures that he is either “sheep dipped” in some way, or a complete noodle with absolutely no actual functioning ability to stand for anything. Or just like all the other politicians, “going places”; he is currently committing fraud and worried about going to jail.
But still,
It is time for him to step up and commit political suicide.
agree with you – but helpful to understand the situation, and one wonders how extensive the damage from Epstein (and whoever is the new Epstein – too useful to not continue to those that run things) is to the structural basis of the US regime.
I remember Nancy wanting to nationalize the Capitol police force. She even had police going to homes in states around the country to ask about twts following the Jan 6th thing.
I have a nagging thought that both parties’ elites are just fine with ICE over reach. Voters are so pesky.
How does someone’s name get added to the domestic terrier list. Cash rewards help. Not kidding.
From the LATimes last month, Dec 11, 2025. no paywall.
Justice Department drafting a list of ‘domestic terrorists’
https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2025-12-11/justice-department-drafting-list-of-domestic-terrorists
bullet points:
A Justice Department memo calls for a ‘cash reward system’ that would encourage Americans to report suspected domestic terrorist activity.
The memo says domestic terrorism could be inspired by a number of things, such as ‘opposition to law and immigration enforcement’ or support for ‘radical gender ideology.’
The memo focuses on what it calls antifa-aligned extremism and omits mentions of rising domestic threats, such as violent white supremacy.
National Guard or otherwise, we cannot win or even hope to put up meaningful and effective resistance with a military reaction. We are outgunned and always will be. The only way for our elected leaders to make any impact is to be willing to break laws and gum up the works. You’re right, Waltz should be going for broke. If he doesn’t end up in jail after attempting to lead other elected officials to shut this down on a state and national level, then he hasn’t done his job. We need to be hearing about state elected leaders, congress critters and union officials making bold, outside the box and probably illegal moves. Bring forceful and emotional leadership from those in charge. We are at the point where we should be seeing someone “important “ getting harassed and beaten in each of these videos from the street. We need to put journalists in a spot where they have to visit anti-administration officials in jail if they want a comment for their story. If we look in CSPAN we should see bold members of congress squatting in the chamber demanding the investigation and arrest of all involved in this Minn crackdown and cutting all funding to any agency involved or at least shots of them being dragged off in hand cuffs.
Minn can’t react with guns, but they can try non-cooperation and clear, specific, bold and unyielding demands for justice.
If we leave out heavy artillery which I’d still like to think the government would be loathe to use on US cities, I’m not so sure the US populace is outgunned – https://www.atf.gov/resource-center/data-statistics
According to this ATF report , picking just one line item you can see that the US imported over 3.5 million Turkish shotguns between 2021 and 2023. That’s just the imports of one type of gun from one country – as I’m sure NC readers are aware, the US makes quite a few armaments domestically (I’m going for the understatement of the day award here).
The public is outmatched in the category of airpower.
https://fly.historicwings.com/2017/02/the-bombing-of-tulsa/
you have to destroy the hamlet to save the hamlet…
I’d count airpower in the camp of heavy artillery.
If that gets used against the populace, goodbye US.
If MN citizens manage to acquire such devices I’ll enthusiastically volunteer my services to help effectively wield them.
It seems like the oligarch level of political influence has been whispering ‘civil war’ for a few years now.
I would not give them the satisfaction.
That doesn’t mean non-violent resistance is impossible or ineffective. ICE and the T admin are undermining themselves with every misstep, every illegal action they take.
Afghan and Iraqi irregulars had the best of these thugs and ran them out of their countries. Perhaps there are some lessons there. In strategy, at least. The tactics would be a dangerous escalation.
As I don’t live in the USA, I sometimes skim Yahoo’s reader comments to get a feel for the vox populi stateside (in the perhaps mistaken belief that Yahoo is a politically neutral news aggregator, maybe slightly pro-Democrat). While skimming the Yahoo comments re this latest killing, I’m genuinely surprised at how many commenters support Trump’s ICEmen. The comments don’t seem bot-like to me, though I’m not a specialist in these matters. If they’re real, then this really does not bode well for the future of civil order in the USA. I hope the blowback doesn’t cross the Atlantic.
This clip from the much-panned (but disturbingly prescient) 2024 movie Civil War is turning into yet another example of life imitating art:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgKGIhfKrpY
Much panned by who? That’s an excellent movie.
And what makes it excellent is its dispassionate look at American culture. Rather than taking sides it merely imagines what the culture war fantasies of both parties might lead to. Call it a civil war is hell warning.
Carolinian: Much panned by who?
Much panned by commenters in media like NYT and WSJ, focusing on how the director-writer was a Brit so how could he possibly understand America the Beautiful, the exceptional country.
Eh, it was forced. And I couldn’t believe the premise for a second once they had CA and TX joining forces without some type of explanation.
Their heart might have been in the right place, but the execution was a mess.
The depiction of the journalists was sickeningly naive, kinda like a WaPO propaganda advert. But the movie had it’s moments (Jesse Plemmons cameo and the finale in particular).
These are the same hard core right wingers who used to flood Rush Limbaugh’s call-in lines, this is where they and their brainwashed sons now have their forums, online. Keep in mind they only represent a small minority of a small minority; there are at most 25% of the citizenry still thinking Trump is doing a great job.
I’ll be darned if I’m going to look at some angry online chickenhawks, and Icemen getting paid to be vicious thugs, and decide that’s where America’s heart or future lies.
I thought Civil War was realistic and disturbing depiction of a war of all against all. I suspect it failed at the b.o. bc it deliberately avoided cueing the audience who the bad guys were.
My favorite movie about The Civil War stars Red Skelton.
Especially when he was marching between the armies with a double sided flag – until the wind shifted-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYdvqEkDC3Q (54 secs)
Just for a bit of comedy relief in a very grim situation.
Reminds me of the scene in IIRC “The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly” where Clint Eastwood and Eli Wallach are sitting in a wagon when a bunch of soldiers dressed in gray come riding up. They both start yelling “Hurray for the South, hurray for General Lee” but then one of the soldiers begins wiping the gray dust off his blue uniform…
Senator Sanders has it right!
ICE and BP must be prevented from harming Americans. That is stand down the entire force!
Mr Pretti was taking video of public servants in public, an act which Kristi Noem has explicitly stated is an act of violence.
DHS/ICE acted in accordance with their orders.
And unless this is stopped NOW, we will have Nationwide chaos/
It is this the exact activity that puts you on the terroir list, as the ICE agent helpfully states:
https://wgme.com/news/local/representative-chellie-pingree-shares-video-of-ice-agent-calling-woman-domestic-terrorist-for-filming-him-immigration-customs-enforcement-maine-preisdent-donald-trump
The Supremes just handed down an important 9-0 ruling. utube, ~8+ minutes.
Supreme Court Delivers 9–0 Unanimous Ruling With Major Constitutional Impact (What Comes Next)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDCk–AqnVc
The intro blurb:
‘The Supreme Court just delivered a rare 9–0 unanimous ruling that fundamentally reshapes the Fourth Amendment and police accountability nationwide. In Barnes v. Felix, the Court officially killed the controversial “moment of threat” doctrine, ending a legal loophole that protected reckless government actions for decades. This in-depth breakdown explains what the ruling means, why all nine justices agreed, and how it could revive hundreds of dismissed civil rights cases across the country.’
(Will ICE try to hide behind a “we’re not the police” dodge?)
Sadly, that video is AI. A comment nites that the decision was actually handed down in May 2025. It doesn’t seem to have stopped these very public murders.
I can’t help but be dubious. The video is clearly AI generated slop. Look at the text in the video. It is gibberish. The decision was, according to the narrative, back in May 2025. Are we seeing this applied against ICE? If not, why not? The decision is apparently real but this is a really strange video and the decision would seem to apply here. What’s going on?
If only.
Always always always read the “disclaimer”. There IS a youtube site where you can confirm rulings, it’s called Legal AF.
Andrew Branca is an attorney and YouTube personality who specializes in self defense law. He put out a video yesterday in which he shows a new video of the Pretti killing that that seems clearer, closer, and taken from a different angle than prior videos I’ve seen. Unfortunately, it has no sound.
According to Branca, you see Alex Pretti laying his hands on the female ICE agent, and she responds by pepper spraying him in the face. This is, according to him, a felony on Pretti’s part, one that could have landed him in prison for up to eight years. Watch the video and see if you agree with him.
https://www.youtube.com/live/gMsPnUtSo-w?si=K-ll0do-I_agfRjD
Watch from about 23:00 to 40:00 to see the video and pertinent comments.
This is a personal comment, but somewhat related to the topic.
I’m an American who’s been living abroad in Europe for the past 15 years. I haven’t been back to the US since 2017. My mother is elderly and believes she will die soon, so she’s asked me to come see her within the next 6 months. Frankly, I’m terrified at the thought of traveling to the US. I don’t want the US to have my fingerprints, my iris scans, and certainly not my body scan. I don’t want to deal with TSA. I don’t want to deal with the police. I still have PTSD from having a cop put a gun to my head for running a stop sign (Really happened). And I certainly don’t want to have a run-in with ICE. Honestly, I would almost rather go to Kiev for two weeks rather than go to the US. At this point, Gaza is the only place in the world that the US beats out.
Are there any Americans here who could help calm my nerves about going back? Have I over-exaggerated the US totalitarianism in my mind over the years? I’m already considering buying a new phone just to get through TSA. As horrible and fascistic as the EU has become politically, it it’s still decades behind the US when it comes to outright torturing and killing of its citizens. I’m sure we’ll get there, but not as of now.
If you have a US passport, they do not take fingerprints or any new biometrics. That is only for non-Americans.
Your passport photo for years has had to be to biometric ID standards, so they have that already. They do take a new picture of you at the border, allegedly to better compare to the photo they have on file. Since they have a biometric photo via your passport, there is no information value in a second one if they do actually keep them.
However, you can be sure that the EU was sharing the fingerprints and iris scans they took of you with the US…..
I go back at least once a year. I actually gave them my data to get Global Entry and it’s a lifesaver. Barely any interaction with customs or TSA. Best $100 I ever spent. I don’t know if you want to do that but I do understand the anxiety. American airports are extremely unpleasant, especially when you’ve been away for a while. The antsy TSA drones stuffed into their uniforms, herding passengers, yelling out instructions … I’d look for the most direct flight possible so that you limit your time in the system to a minimum.
That said, I go to India a lot and they want a lot of information about you as well. Employer, parents’ background…. They also do hand and fingerprints, face scans, etc. Being India, there are always at least 5 people who will have to see your passport and boarding pass before you finally get your seat lol. At least security is the army and very competent, if slightly surly.
From a current experience I can understand your trepidation.
Last week my wife and I returned to the USA after three weeks out of the country. Arriving in the USA we used the Global Entry self-serv facial image recognition procedure at Immigration. I was given the OK signal on the screen and my wife was rejected. A blue uniformed officer told me to proceed and then guided my wife to a blue line and told her her she didn’t have Global Entry. This didn’t make sense as my wife is extremely organized and a stickler for making sure our passports, TSA and other forms of ID are all up to date well before we travel. I should mention my wife is Asian and forty years a naturalized citizen of the USA.
I was told to ‘move on’ and suddenly she was out of my sight, leaving me with all sorts of fears for her safety. I decided not to continue out of the immigration area and backtracked to find her. Fortunately I was ignored as I retraced my steps until able to see her being questioned by an officer behind a Plexiglass shield. He was scrolling through pages on a screen. I then joined her and stood silently at her side as she told him her Global Entry was valid and current and that she had used it several times fairly recently without a problem. After more clicking the agent said that for some reason her GE had expired and had not been renewed and that he had now updated her Global Entry and she was free to go.
In retrospect we are convinced that this was racial profiling.
When I returned from the UK in November I had no direct contact with any immigration or customs officers in Atlanta. I cleared immigration by inserting my passport into a reader and my luggage was forwarded to my final destination without my having to claim and recheck it. I do not have Global Entry.
However, I did have to abandon two jars of Colman’s Mustard at the TSA checkpoint.
i’d been outside the States for a decade, decided to return last year. no problem with the travel or the airports – in retrospect i should’ve just kept hopping planes. big cities were mostly fine too – the more rural destinations were the issue. after nearly a year of mishaps, of various forms of shock at the state of the state (including one very nasty encounter with an ICE agent) and its surrouding society, it was decided that i should promptly get back out and rejoin life (which for me personally becomes more interesting and humane, liveable and inspiring, the further one goes east, far outside of Schengen).
i would say have no fear, of course, keep your eyes open and heart upright on the good reason for your return, and expect several layers of shock.
I attended an emergency protest rally last night. The speakers urged pressure on the Senate to refuse to pass DHS funding. They read out the names of the seven Democrats in the House who voted “yea” on the bill and the need to let them know they will lose their seats, this is an election year. They also mentioned businesses who are cooperating with ICE (i.e., Target, Hilton). Calls for a general strike but we are way off from having the broadbased support for that to be successful. I have seen a number of pro-ICE, getting-shot-is-your-own-fault comments and hard to know which are real and which bots.
The argument that may carry weight to Congress critters is that this is not about immigration but about following the Constitution, the document all elected officials are sworn to uphold. I am frustrated more news reporting doesn’t point out the gross violations of the 1st and 4th amendments. There is no law enforcement protocol that allows for cold-blooded murder. I think even Republicans want the rule of law. Not all can be so stupid as to think they won’t suffer in the ensuing chaos.
Jared Golden was one who voted for it and he’s already indicated he isn’t running again, so he does not care about losing a seat. Pro-life and class A hypocrite Henry Cuellar was another, and he’s had the protection of Democrat party leadership against righteous primary challengers for many elections cycles now.
There needs to be a forceful state and local government challenge to this lawless action by the Federal government. If those governments do not use the power already at their disposal to stop this, the public will take matters into their own hands absent any government protection. And I don’t think that is something to be desired at all.
I saw yesterday that the local Hilton chain hotel has canceled the reservations of ICE agents in the city. Might be an independent decision and not one from corporate HQ.
It was and the reaction from Hilton corporate was swift:
Hilton drops Minneapolis hotel over cancelled ICE bookings
If the don’t get rid of Henry Cuellar (a yea who was also the Democrat recently pardoned by Trump over corruption charges, of all things) then personally I think the writing is on the wall.
Currently visiting my late 60s/early 70s parents in a purple city in a deep red state. They showed the full unedited video of the execution on Sunday morning Meet the Press, which I don’t remember from the Floyd or Good killings. They called it “killing” and seemed shocked/disbelief that they were being allowed to get away with this.
Very informative interview happening on KMSP TV right now with Hamline University law professor David Schultz where he is arguing that ICE/CBP should not even be armed in the first place. Too many facts coming too fast to type a synopsis so as soon as it gets posted, I’ll link to it.
Disarming the goons would effectively end the occupation. Immigration is a civil, not criminal, function of law so there shouldn’t be a reason for these goons to be armed with anything more dangerous than a briefcase.
The problem is that immigration is merely the flimsy excuse for the slow conversion of Minnesota into Gaza. The administration wants non-maga Minnesotans dead or otherwise incapacitated.
It’s up now:
Law professor questions why ICE agents have guns for civil enforcement
Gah. Got caught by the 5 minute edit window.
There’s also a good discussion about tomorrow’s hearing on Attorney General Ellison’s lawsuit charging that the federal government is denying Minnesota its 10th amendment rights.
I can’t help but notice that the ICE death squads treat US folks like the armed settlers treat Palestinians on the West Bank.
The emperor of chaos at home and abroad. As mentioned above, this is at least in good part, a politically motivated abuse of power by the feds.
The message: the constitution is null and void. Do as you are told and you won’t get hurt, if not, you will be killed. ICE does not have the resources to hunt down all the sans papiers, they are being used as a weapon of intimidation and terror. The immigration BS appears to be a red herring to distract and placate plebs. All those who resist terror and tyranny are labeled “terrorists”
As I have observed for many years: the so-called patriotic, gun-toting crowd will never use their weapons against their oppressors. (Stockholm Syndrome). They will support and even cooperate – willful compliance means that civil war is unlikely. The likelihood of more political violence is high, but I see millions of “patriotic” US dudes supporting government tyranny. The irony meter goes to 11
I joined 100+ of my St. Paul MN neighbors last night at our busiest street corner for a candlelight vigil. It was -6F. All ages were represented- the boomers, the college kids (we have several colleges in the area) and everyone in between.
Bullet points of what was discussed:
– the march on Friday and an execution the next morning wasn’t coincidental; it was a message. The goons were going to do something and it appears that that was the something. My estimate is 40% of us held this view and 60% hadn’t thought of it until it was mentioned. No disagreement.
– this is the new normal here. The goons aren’t going away.
– nobody was sure how the occupation could be ended, but there was agreement that having the goons move on to another place would not constitute a victory.
– people who talked about voting were politely told to stuff it: some pointed out that there isn’t time to wait for an election, others expressed doubt that there will be elections at all.
– There was still optimism that the Dems would do something, although most agreed that “something” would be a strongly worded letter (often said sarcastically). Again, nobody had ideas as to how this occupation could be ended.
– there was agreement that those in the US not living here do not understand how this occupation is affecting every aspect of life. There are a lot of neighbors who aren’t leaving their houses. We discussed mutual aid and how to help.
this was funny, the headline of the oped on the web version, but not when you open the link:
I Never Thought the Middle East Would Come to Minneapolis Friedman
Who is a moron if he never thought this violence would be visited upon us.
From Truthout:
ICE and the Israeli Military Are 2 Sides of the Same Coin — We Must Resist Both
https://truthout.org/articles/ice-and-the-israeli-military-are-2-sides-of-the-same-coin-we-must-resist-both/
(also there are many articles and vids about US law enforcement being trained by Israelis)
Nice article, thanks for posting.
And I can’t help but notice that the “first Jewish President” appears to be hostage to the Zionists even more than in the past. There is more than just accepting bribes from hardcore Jewish Zionist oligarchs like Adelson, Singer and the rest…. the bulk of the “Epstein files” have not been released. Hmm…all this domestic abuse has taken attention away from all that, very convenient for the emperor
Even though I have been harping on this point for at least thirty years now,
It is so glaringly obvious now, even to the most casual observer.
The “enemy of the people” is the same for a whole lot of people.
when neoliberals were called globalists, the perversion of the rule of law for the war on drugs, which morphed into the full fascist press since 9/11… the world over. The US establishment, the deepstate, the national security state, the globalists, the bankers, the lawyers, the academic industrial complex, the cops, the black ops contingent, at home and abroad. The fascists, the fundamentalists. the propagandists… the world over.
The wars, the screws of the robber barrons, the cold war, the police actions/war, the coups.. the color revolutions, the assassinations. the economic hitmen,
These are all things like voldemort having his essence in horcruxes… you really can’t kill him without destroying all of them.
World wide fascists have been killing off the left for 100 years all over the world. This fight in minnesota, is just a facet of the 1947 national security act mode of oppression. The powerful want control. And they are pretty sure they are going to get it.
The Moustache Of Understanding™ never understood what most of us have been saying – Gaza is western oligarchy’s template … to be played out in their rotten sphere(s) of influence.
I just went wading back into a gun forum page I still have a login for; probably not many bots on an old forum site. Posters have post counts under their name, some into the thousands.
It’s pretty much 90% “obey law enforcement and nobody gets hurt”, total victim blaming. The Democrats are in total control of the protestors. Only protests create violence. 100% of ICE arrests are of murderers or rapists. China and Russia sent all the immigrants here.
As for Saturday’s killing, “they didn’t know if [victim] had more than one gun”.
Random BS twitter posts (bots?) shared as fact.
Profile pic of a Molon Labe (“I dare you to disarm me”) tattoo next to post text saying to always obey law enforcement.
Wow … but unsurprising to a degree, no?
The level of media bamboozlement and the depth to which it has taken hold is astounding. How exactly does one get to “China and Russia sent all the immigrants here”?
Hilariously sad to also see “Random BS twitter posts (bots?) shared as fact” … reminds me of the earliest days of the ‘net – just because you see something on the internet, does not mean it’s true.
A pithy punchline warning gone unheeded for decades now.
Is it safe to say that the level of resistance to ICE is more than what the average German citizen put up during the rise of the Nazis?
A number of moral dilemmas facing the Germans are playing out differently here – questions like whether to obey unjust laws, what to believe, whether to resist and, if so, publicly or secretly, whether to repeat propaganda, whether to protect the targeted, etc. And, admittedly, it might have played out differently for the Germans too if everyone had iphones.
And I think the fash lack social momentum this time.
The danger, as with the Germans, is fear, exhaustion, incremental compromises, choosing safety, family and belonging over justice, etc. And, sadly, will it be the compromise of love of family and jobs which contributes to and builds the furthering of atrocities?
I am trying to keep out of the vocabulary debate but since it´s addressed:
“Is it safe to say that the level of resistance to ICE is more than what the average German citizen put up during the rise of the Nazis? ”
This now and that back then are two different things and realities entirely.
Maybe keeping out the N-word and comparison with 1933+ would help?
For instance the anti-immigration and anti-Left hysteria under W. Wilson and the 1920s laws were bad enough already. The US itself has many non-genocidal eras which might fit the level of police brutality right now.
The situation is dire enough it needn´t be trumped up rhetorically with out of place parallels. Even though I am aware that Chris Hedges too likes the Gestapo trope. But I guess that´s also a very American thing, pop culture phenomenon that Third Reich has become.
Of course it´s easy for me sitting 10,000 miles away. So please don´t take this in any way opposed to the cause.
But if IDF and Israel are Nazis where do we draw a line.
(Un)surprisingly in Germany MSM are very quiet – so far. Imagine an Israeli were to be killed by Palestinians right now. It would go through the roof…
“Is it safe to say that the level of resistance to ICE is more than what the average German citizen put up during the rise of the Nazis? ”
How would you suggest saying this?
That two different times are different is tautological. Why do you suggest *not* comparing this to 1930s Germany?
Because the level of violence and state terror applied by the Hitler government was unprecedented in Europe then. And the size of the terror state after 1932 had a different quality and genocidal character than it has in the USA now and in earlier years.
For instance between January 1933 when Hitler was named new Chancellor and June 1934 when Hitler´s main party rival and chief of the SA, Ernst Röhm and the entire SA-leadership were assassinated (about 200 people) – between 800 and 1200 individuals were killed for political reasons to wipe out (or silence) the rest of political opposition.
(already in the years before when NSDAP was not in power yet, by the late 1920s the NSDAP thugs had killed dozens of opposition figures from the left often with covert support of Weimar law enforcement depending on who was in power in the particular state or city.)
Additional to that the network of concentration camps was quickly established. Initially to get rid of the Communists, labour union leaders, Social Democrats and Christian Democrats. For most of the 1930s KZs were not designed for extermination. That would come later.
However KZs were lawless zones by law. If your relative ended up dead or maimed there you had no legal means to demand any investigation, lest accountability.
The first KZ was established early March 1933 quickly followed by a dozen more camps and additional smaller ones attached to the large ones. Within a month 100k people were arrsted and incarcerated there which included all kinds of torture.
(Chile 1973 to my knowledge led to 40.000+ arrested and 3000+ killed)
The legal foundation for this was the State of Emergency Act from Febr. 28th 1933 abolishing Article 114, 115, 117, 118, 123, 124, 153 of the Weimar Constitution:
-personal freedom
-freedom of speech
-right to convene
-right to private communication (i.e. letter, telephone etc.)
-protection from house search and confiscation
-protection from expropriation and loss of the right to own property
Labour unions and any organizations that were not genuine part of the NS-umbrella network of organisations were banned and expropriated.
Also in March 1933 the governors of the German states which always had considerable independence were deposed of after staged local incidents and replaced by party members.
Gestapo as we know came into existence not until after the Röhm-coup in early summer 1934. It was of course established with January 1933 but it took about a year and Heinrich Himmler´s quick rise to turn Gestapo into a force operating nation-wide closely cooperating with SS.
One of Gestapo´s then main job was to take care of the KZs which were reorganized by 1936 to serve more the military build-up and also to increasingly hold victims to the racist policies which I am not getting into now.
There were no public outcries, there were not protests in the street, no critical reporting in the media, there were no politicians local or national to resist, there were no courts you could go to or that would order government to stop, there was no resistance within law enforcement, there was no opposition inside or outside parliament, no accountability, there was no rule of law as such and above all – there was no protection of elites opposed to the rulers which usually has always been the deal in Europe by that time. After all state terror had existed everywhere in Europe but it had been directed against the poor and powerless. All this made it “totalitarian”.
Eventually there was rule of law for members of the party. And that in an almost exaggerated and perverse way but that´s another topic as the NSDAP was a state within the state.
No, I don’t think it’s fair to say that. In both cases, the far left is the source of opposition activism. In Germany, the KPD and others organized paramilitaries and fought gun battles with Nazis. Here and now, what are called rapid response networks are staffed by socialists, anarchists, and radical liberals. The average American, like the average German of the time, is stuck at work watching their lives get harder.
I try to be cautious about the parallels to Nazi Germany. As Americans, our entire moral universe is informed by this example, and it can lead us to seeing things less than clearly.
New York Times, today:
Man Killed by Federal Agents in Minneapolis Was Holding a Phone, Not a Gun
Videos analyzed by The New York Times appear to contradict federal accounts of the shooting. The man, an I.C.U. nurse, was an American citizen with no criminal record, the city police chief said.
There is no forgiveness for this, just as there is no forgiveness for the slaughter of Emmet Till, for the Italian “Ventennio,” for the Francoists and their endless executions, for the lynchings in the U S of A, for the U.S. adventure in Greece with the colonels, for the U.S.-sponsored massacres of the Mayans in the Guatemalan uplands.
The Second Amendment is just a bunch of flyspecks on parchment. Voting for the “lesser of two evils” has come home.
What is to be done, brethren and sistren?
While Fox national TV news is running true to pro-Trump form (Walz and Frey are ‘gaslighting with a nuclear blowtorch’: Joe Concha) , the local Minneapolis Fox TV outlet appears to be taking quite another tack: https://www.foxnews.com/us/alex-pretti-37-identified-man-fatally-shot-border-patrol-agent-minneapolis
Perhaps locals would care to comment.
KMSP (our local Fox affiliate) is about as editorially independent as they come and is essentially a fox station in name only.
Their coverage of local events has been excellent and I encourage the curious to watch their (and our other TV news outlets) coverage instead of any national level outlets.
It looks like Skynet gobbled my earlier reply so I’ll try again with different phrasing.
KMSP is about as editorially independent as they come and their coverage has been nothing like what you would expect from an affiliate under that particular umbrella.
Personally, I think their coverage has been the best of any Minneapolis TV station but that should not be interpreted as casting shade on any of the others — they have all been very good and I’ve linked to their websites in an earlier comment.
I’m still just shocked.
Here’s a legal opinion:
The Execution of Alex Pretti Broke Me
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDEAWxG7Bq8
This phrase the Orange Führer and his lackeys like to throw around: “domestic terroris(t)/ism”. It very much reminds me of “antisemitism”; overused to the word or phrase becomes meaningless.
And if everyone the federal government doesn’t like is a “domestic terrorism” it seems to me that people will be treated no differently regardless of whether they’re armed or not. Renee Good certainly was unarmed and was shot three times while ICE Barbie called her a “domestic terrorist”.
It does seem like the Yosemite Sam in the Oval Office wants to incite a real armed insurrection to do what he always seems to want.
There are a lot of gun sadists in the land of the free-home of the brave, who have been given the message, go ahead and kill somebody, nobody will do anything about it, and ICE is hiring.
Do we even know the name of the ICE assassins who pumped 10 bullets into Alex?
MTG continues to be a voice of reason: https://xcancel.com/FmrRepMTG/status/2015438556789870682#m
Waiting to see her launch a trial balloon to see whither the wind blows … perhaps after midterms.
On the international reaction front.
About half of today’s Telegram feed from the Pars Today news agency (Iran) is about Minnesota. Mostly showing videos of protesters, as well as the full video of the shooting. But they are also pivoting to the recent protests and specifically the flare-up on Jan 8-9 and the suppression thereof by security services. Examples:
In other words, who are you to criticize our suppression of the Jan 8-9 disturbances. Basically.
And then there is Rybar’s post on the subject, which is being flashed through the Solov’ev Live network as well as his own Telegram channel (I have not yet watched Solov’ev’s own Sunday night program, it will only be posted up in about 6-12 hours my time, but I am sure they will comment as well). The post below is abridged by about 50%, mostly the blow-by-blow description of the shooting, so as to highlight the salient points.
Agreement or disagreement with his analysis is not the point – this is the way that the situation is being presented to ordinary Russians at least on state-adjacent channels, at least thus far. I reiterate that at least for the past decade or so, most of the commentators one sees on the nightly news, Solov’ev’s program or channel, big audience blogs, etc., take 80%+ of their information about the US from Fox News broadcasts and assorted conservative commentators (e.g. Tucker Carlson).
Sharing.
Potential Domestic Violent Extremists are EVERYWHERE according to Lindsey Graham and it’s apparently time to put them on notice that committing the First Amendment is a Capital crime.
10th Circle Of Hell for that treacherous wretch …
just saw all this, and then ran across an ACLU report that makes me want to shoot something:
https://www.aclu.org/news/immigrants-rights/detained-immigrants-detail-physical-abuse-and-inhumane-conditions-at-largest-immigration-detention-center-in-the-u-s
given that i was beaten and harassed by local leos in my hometown for years…including with guns pointed at my head…this bullshit has been makin me feel rather triggered.
y’all stay safe out there.
ima be up at 1am to feed woodstoves(esp in greenhouse), so im goin to bed.
low of 4 degrees tonite, with ice(the frozen kind) and frozen snow everywhere.