It’s not a coincidence that Minneapolis has become the epicenter of not one but two political and cultural eruptions. The first was in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd in 2020, sparking months of protests, riots, and violence across the country under the flimsy banner of Black Lives Matter. The second is in the aftermath of two deaths, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, who were both shot and killed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents this month.
While both cases have distinct characteristics — Good was unarmed and killed while driving her vehicle toward federal officers, while Pretti was armed and killed during a chaotic arrest attempt — they have been lumped together as practically the same victim, as if the only variable that matters is their common alleged victimizer: ICE.
Tensions continue to rise in Minneapolis and across the state thanks to the combined efforts of on-the-street activists and Democratic Party politicians who have engaged in a non-stop propaganda campaign to liken President Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler, the Republican Party to the Nazis, and ICE to the Gestapo. Meanwhile, tensions have also been ratcheted up on the Right, with “DHS Barbie” Kristi Noem and other leading figures declaring — without evidence or investigation — that Pretti was akin to a domestic terrorist.
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Look, it’s obvious that the temperature needs to be turned down. But it also matters how the temperature is turned down.
According to the Associated Press, for example, Trump, after sending Tom Homan to Minnesota to take over from Kristi Noem’s circus act, “seemed to signal a willingness to ease tensions.” But it matters hugely what that entails, because make no mistake: Trump should absolutely not, under quite literally any circumstances, take a backward step in Minnesota.
Was the decision to hyper-focus ICE efforts on Minnesota, and Minneapolis, specifically, at least partly a political clickbait performance in response to the viral Somali fraud scandal? Absolutely. But regardless, two things are true. Firstly, illegal immigration is a problem in Minnesota. Second, the horse has already bolted, ICE is on the ground, and they have to finish what they started.
Obviously, this is far from a call for ICE to engage in unnecessary and unaccountable acts of violence while fulfilling their duty. Instead, it is a call for ICE to continue their important and dangerous mission in arresting and deporting illegal immigrants — all of whom, by definition, are criminals — without hesitation.
The purpose of the riled-up mob in Minneapolis today is exactly the same as in 2020. With Democrats egging them on from the bleachers, the goal is to leverage threats of violence — or, failing that, actual violence — to pressure local, state, or federal law enforcement into deciding that it’s simply not worth enforcing the law.
Given that this largely succeeded in 2020, why wouldn’t they try it again now?
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Trump cannot bend, let alone break, on this. To do otherwise would signal to the mob that the law is subjective, not objective, and based solely on how outraged a very vocal minority of far-Left agitators has become.
If we sacrifice the law to tantrums, then we sacrifice the law forever. Hold firm, Donald Trump, hold firm.
Ian Haworth is a syndicated columnist. Follow him on X (@ighaworth) or Substack.
