This looks like a nothing burger. Jeffries gives away the plot when he makes it a political, not an ethical dispute (his criticism that Trump was "enriching himself" when regular voters are "struggling" domestically). There's a reason for that - because Jeffries and his ilk all claimed that selling influence wasn't illegal when Joe and James and Hunter Biden were doing it.
So, political impeachment? There they go again... The public has impeachment fatigue. No way does this have 67 votes in the Senate. So it simply looks like another midterm election campaign strategy for the Dems.
I generally agree. I skipped to the part where Matt says "we'll just have to wait and see" - segue to one of my happy places - ripping Don Lemon as only Matt and Walter can do, LOL, repeatedly. Comparing Don to Gandhi and King. Who would do that?
Thought it was neat Matt played the Stanford clown show. I know a few Ivy white-shoe lawyers (Dems) who were physically ill after watching that debacle. Not least because nobody in the Stanford clip seemed to know the law, as Matt observed, except the invited judge.
Wrote to the Stanford administration immediately after watching the clip in my then professional capacity as one who previously recommended Stanford to students as the gold standard of higher ed, and promised not to share the clip with my own students and peers on the condition that all Stanford administrators be forced to watch the clip from beginning to end as part of their own political re-education. Think they listened?
Many thanks to Matt, Walter, and their crew. All good at ATW this week!!! Enjoyed Walter's hair-cut and Matt's sharp understanding of what interference looks like when barging into a religious service and Matt's complete inability to discern what constitutes interference with ICE officers acting lawfully. Good times!
In Minnesota is one of three states where a person who lawfully carries a concealed firearm has a duty to avoid conflict and retreat if it can be done safely when in public; Minnesota is not a “stand your ground” state, so the use of deadly force is justified only if the person reasonably believes it is necessary to prevent death or great bodily harm and no safe avenue of retreat exists.
This duty generally does not apply inside one’s home under the Castle Doctrine, but even then any force used must be reasonable and proportional to the threat, and concealed carry does not grant additional authority to escalate a confrontation that could have been avoided.
My thoughts: To me Mr. Pretti was probably an irritant in the preceding days. His behavior in preceding days does not play role aside that he probably is guilty of 4th degree assault and destruction of government property maybe something else. I’m certain ICE was very aware of him and he started getting singled out as a problem.
As a sidenote my ginger buddy in the Marines fell asleep in the San Diego sun on the beach and had 3rd degree burns and was charged also. Trust me it’s not adding insult to injury! It isn’t a high-bar for guilt.
It tragic and shocking he was not arrested and had he been he’d be alive.
there are narratives that the gun concealed set off a chain reaction. Black smartphone in hand and someone in ICE yells gun!!! Then the worst happens.
It’s a tragic recipe for disaster. But like Chauvin it may go either way because of the “grey area”.
Definitely agree with your assessment that the situation is incredibly jacked.
And that it's simply tragic.
I'd add that if the police were allowed to "manage" the "protesters" this may well have all been avoided [I'm sorely tempted to add a "sic" as, in my opinion, this has crossed the line from "protest" to "interference"]. As you accurately note, had Pretti been arrested the FIRST time he assaulted ICE officers, he'd likely be alive.
The chaos is benefitting a few people who have the power to eliminate it.
I'll only add that "homicide" means that a person or persons were responsible for the death. Which is of course obvious as Pretti died from a gunshot. Not making light of in any way, just noting the definition.
Your note regarding MN requirements that a person with a "carry permit" must avoid conflict is key as it seems clear that Pretti initiated the conflict.
I am very much not picking sides. I wish Pretti had not chosen to engage in the ways he did. It is completely unclear to me what he hoped to achieve.
I went to grad school up in MN. I don't mean to make light of this situation but protesting really is a way of life up there, a cottage industry. As such, it's ripe for exploitation by parties who want to gin up chaos which might be exactly what is going on.
I hope there aren't any trials in Minnesota.
But I fully agree with you: this is a horrible situation and deeply tragic. Sure seems it could have all been avoided had local officials chosen to act to control the situation instead of just letting it spiral out of hand.
Generally speaking most police support law and order and Trump so the Minneapolis police probably lack enthusiasm to help protestors. In a fair world it would be broken up so the ice guys can follow orders or lack thereof and just simply stop and frisk for undocumented or illegal immigrants how ever you choose to frame it.
I definitely agree that most police officers support law and order!
The issue -- I believe this is correct and welcome correction if I am wrong -- is that the mayor of Minneapolis, Jacob Frey, has forbidden police from restraining the crowds and, this sounds even crazier, has banned 911 emergency response to calls made by ICE officers.
I think the governor Tim Walz has made similar edicts.
That is, it's not even so much a matter of whether or not the police want to support ICE and maintain a safe distance between the "protesters" and ICE (and I suspect the police would in fact want to help maintain order) but rather that elected officials in Minnesota are explicitly prohibiting the police from assisting in crowd control. Which to my mind is simply crazy and ludicrous.
Again, I wholeheartedly agree with your assessment that the situation is tragic. Very much so.
It’s very precarious but I think some corrective actions are being taken on both sides. I wish both sides worked more collaboratively. It’s all reactionary planning. I understand being in the Marines, raised/working on a farm and being in tech how both urban and rural tend to think. And frankly a lot of lies - some that Kirn buys into and both minimizes and makes fun of. I think Taibbi is pretty level-headed but also sometimes gets influenced by his perspective and ensuing belittling/yukking it up prevails. There may be a time when national and national overreach causes bigger problems. Like massive scale civil unrest or a WW3 scenario or both. It is not out of the realm. I do think currently the ruling party with nation and world dumbfounded “why you be so crazy?” unpredictably factor is the only thing keeping the wagon from being completely unhinged.
There may be a time where military might could become unraveled. It happened on a large global scale twice and 80 years is enough in the rearview mirror to forget the 100,000,000 lost. We have mass scale destructive powers and fear only militarizes an already industrial complex control of buildup. Meaning we build you buy.
Excellent point - allow me, please to offer my explanation sent to a friend of why Don Lemon is going to find himself in jail even if the court concedes that a journalist had the right to record and observe the protest inside even a church.
"In which I offer my explanation of why Don L is going to find himself in jail even if the court concedes that a journalist had the right to record and observe the protest inside even a church. Get it? We give Don and his defenders the win on that theory of the case.
Problem for Don is that Don Lemon the silent observer never entered the church. How do we know? A different Don, Don the Chaos Agent entered the church instead and actually had himself filmed not standing silently observing and filming the protest, but doing the exact opposite - acting out - on camera. The best part - this on-camera clown act was his own idea - Don joins in - surrendering to vanity and in the process himself demolishes the only toothpick he might have hoped to stand on once his video went “viral.”
We can see now that Don would have been much better off if he'd simply had his mouth taped shut. But that's not Don, is it?
Don in an act of what is sure to be legendary stupidity had himself not just filmed yapping to the pastor - and thus interfering in the church service on camera - Don filmed himself refusing to allow the pastor to escape Don the active member of the gang reducing the church service to chaos while terrorizing children.
So, maybe once Don the first amendment violator, is found guilty of violating the first amendment rights of his fellow citizens and filming himself preventing worship in a house of worship, the guilty Don can explain to Don the fantasy silent witness to history why Don the Dunce is facing serious jail time.
Don's pretty dumb, so even if someone explains the difference between interfering in church service and standing inside the church with his mouth taped shut, he still might not get it. The "journalist" who observed silently others interfering in the protest might have a case to make - the loudmouth who couldn't leave the pastor alone while the pastor tried to calm those inside the church - that guy has a real legal problem. And everybody honest about journalism and what everybody's first amendment are understands exactly why."
And yet when the 1 year mark of term #2 hit a couple weeks ago, the "national walkout" at my fortune 500 company had less than 1% of the employees walk out.
We can act like we've moved on from covid, but 2 dead protesters/rioters/agitators arent moving the needle to most people these days.
Especially since most people have seen the videos of them actually daring ICE agents to shoot, even violently as Alex Pretti did. No rational person can watch those videos and be in any way surprised that those two people are dead. Tragic events for sure, but certainly anticipated.
Conveniently -- for the local MN politicians -- police have been ordered not to intervene or engage in crowd control.
Not that any of said politicos have an interest in keeping attention focused on ICE and away from the astronomic amount of fraud that appears to have occurred on their watch and which ostensibly involves lots of their close associates. No doubt just a coincidence!
If the police were allowed to appropriately control the "temperature", none of these incidents would likely have happened. Possibly two people might still be alive.
But the police are being prevented from doing their job. Why?
Because certain of the in-charge folks in local law enforcement are in favor of the protesters and may also be allowing some cooperation with the protesters - as has been alleged - that someone in local law enforcement is using the CJIS system to read the plates of vehicles obtained in the Signal chats and then seconds later, confirming whether those plates belong to ICE or CBP.
There is a Megyn Kelly interview w James O'Keefe revealing the collusion among private & public & the exclusion & peril of any narrative other than theirs on camera: Megyn Kelly podcast. January 26 at 3:30 PM. James O'Keefe reveals SHOCKING details of the army of anti-ICE agitators who have TAKEN OVER Minneapolis.
It would appear that the ante has been raised...substantially.
There are now "checkpoints" being enforced in Minneapolis by civilians...?!?
A true "wtf" moment. Got to wonder if law enforcement is going to bother to enforce any laws. Since when can people -- just regular ol' people -- stop cars and ask for identification? Potentially using the systems you mention?
Being on welfare in America gives you a higher standard of living than 80% of the world . If we eliminate border enforcement half the world will show up just to get on welfare. Go back to the 2nd grade & learn
For the love of God....these people were talking about impeachment in 2015 when Trump came down that escalator...talk about not accepting an election....these people are the poster children...
One month after the 2016 election, I heard a solemn teaser on NPR for an upcoming special broadcast, “On Impeachment”. These crazed loonies have been out of their gourds ever since.
@1:37 At the church, don't forget that children in Minnesota were recently shot inside their church. This made their shenanigans especially scary and even dangerous.
Again, a tragedy that might have been avoided had Walz taken action. The children who were killed attended Catholic school and were at Mass when the shooter opened fire. The Catholic bishops had asked Walz for security equal to that provided to public schools. Walz denied it. The response to the killings? Minnesota politicians expressed concern for the trans community (shooter was trans), and blamed guns. The parents of all of the children in the state pay taxes and should know that their children are equally protected by law enforcement, regardless of school choice. Minnesota law enforcement is a joke.
Being on welfare in America gives you a higher standard of living than 80% of the world. Eliminate border enforcement & half the world would show up just to get on the dole . We are bankrupt already & you want to add to that? Go back to the 2nd grade & learn arithmetic
I'm sorry I'll miss today's ATW. The first two stories I saw on the news included Chloe Cole talking about the de-trans movement and the Pima County AZ Sheriff mentioning cooperations between local law enforcement and ICE in searching for Savannah Guthrie's mom. And when I opened my email I saw a statement from the National Federation of Press Women calling Don Lemon a journalist covering news at the church disruption. God save us!
The entirety of the malfeasance throughout Minnesota , regardless of constitutional guarantees, fall under one of two headings:
1) just because you can doesn’t mean you should
OR
2) FAFO
Enter at your own risk, morons. With the number of church & religious school shootings that have occurred in the last five years, Lemon & his cohort were lucky that THEY weren’t harmed by churchgoers who considered themselves and their children threatened. Those folks have rights too.
I am no leftie. I voted for Trump three times. I want a secure border. But the actions of this administration have shocked me. Citizens have rights. Non-citizens have rights. Even illegal aliens have rights. And the government is trampling all over those rights.
In fairness to Walter and his continued defense of Trump, though under pressure from Matt, Walter did admit (in two different episodes) that if we discovered that ICE agents were “systematically” misbehaving then he would be quite concerned.
When do we get to “systematic”?
If the Vice President and a “senior advisor to the President” incorrectly and publicly state that masked unidentified agents have “immunity” as they go about their loyal tasks, does that count as systematic? The agents don't take the hint? What about the daily Stakhanovite quotas? What about the fact that those quotas don't care whether the detentions are legal?
Have we not seen enough videos of ICE stopping people on the street because they look or sound “un-American”? Is one video not one too many? Has Walter seen the agents aggressively stopping cars and jumping out with their guns drawn because they were being “observed”? Has Walter seen them bursting into homes and businesses and refusing to provide any warrant (even the illegal ones they signed themselves)?
The AP article about the secret DHS memo explaining how they could “legally violate the Fourth Amendment” that Walter reflexively scoffed at was accurate. The General Counsel for DHS published an article almost immediately in the WSJ where he defended the secret memo and “welcomed” the whistleblower-provided opportunity to discuss it with the public. Judge Biery, a 78 year old Texan, just dismantled the government’s argument, calling it “the fox guarding the henhouse.”
Like the majority of Americans, I want an end to illegal immigration. And, like the majority of Americans, I am disgusted by this administration and the absolute lies it tells ALL THE TIME. And, of course, it’s not just the violations of our rights. It’s the hypocrisy and the depravity and the kleptocracy and threats against Powell and the law firms and universities and threatening to invade or usurp our allies and blowing up boats in the Caribbean and destroying our good name globally and the Kennedy center and firing the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics because Trump was unhappy with the statistics.
Feel free to rate my criticism of the administration on the following Walter-approved scale:
Habeas Corpus IV didn't vote for Trump, not even once. That's just obvious bare faced lying in a pathetic attempt to give some credibility to the rest of his overwrought bullshit.
To which I would only add the angle of asking: to what degree are the "protests" interfering with the ability of ICE to conduct its operations in a fashion that might avoid or at least substantially reduce the opportunity for excess.
The US was essentially invaded "at scale" during the Biden administration. To have any hope in correcting the egregious flouting of existing immigration law by the OBiden administration (the "O" added as I doubt Joe Biden was ever really in charge), the response will similarly need to be massive and, frankly, aggressive.
The "protesters" [sic] that continually harass, impede and now directly and confrontationally interfere with ICE actions have significantly raised the temperature. Additionally, it appears that many local politicians (e.g., MN front and center) are not only refusing to moderate the situation but in fact (e.g., Signal chat records) appear to be directly involved in coordinating the "resistance" [sic: the whole thing seems to be astroturfed by "interested parties"].
So how might we require...legally!...that local governments have to if not provide direct assistance to the federal effort at least cannot directly attempt to thwart the execution of federal law.
For one, there's a law on the books that makes this all very clear: the so-called "Supremacy Clause" of the Constitution:
So, yes, you're right, ICE should be required to perform their actions within legal boundaries...but we also can't allow local governments to force ICE into a corner so that extreme measures are the only option!
It's a mess. A freakin' bipartisan mess allowed to fester for decades which was grossly and irresponsibly aggravated, in what appears to have been an entirely conscious and deliberate effort, by the OBiden administration.
My take: we can't back down on this effort. Doing so only signals that the mob loonies can dictate national policy by creating havoc at the local level. However, we want these actions to be consistent with our law. Noting that also, given the scale and urgency of the problem, and given that all parties involved are human, mistakes will happen. Not might. Will. So we want to establish an environment where we can establish safeguards so that these mistakes are kept to an absolute minimum.
This is what you voted for. Trump never concealed his bigotry and neither did his supporters. I’m glad you’re waking up to Trump’s fascism, but it’s really too little too late now.
Both of you trying to equate the Iranian protests with civil disobedience when they were shooting police and military and were openly infiltrated by the Mossad, who bragged about it, is absolutely wild and dishonest.
I support deporting retards like you to Somalia to be eaten like the dogs and cats. By your logic anybody who would oppose, or even point out, armed protesters shooting ICE supports Trump. Of course, anybody with a working human brain would understand that to be incorrect.
I’m unsure if that’s sarcasm or not, but I think I gave a fairly objective assessment of how MAGA right-wingers (among others) would react to ICE officers being shot at by small organized groups amongst the mob.
Hmmmmm..."[Congressman] Nadler was clearly referring to ICE and Border Patrol agents, who wear tactical vests labeled “Police” during their operations, adding, “If you were attacked by a masked person, you might think you were being kidnapped. You’d be justified in shooting the person to protect yourself.”
I was shocked to hear how little Walter knew about the genesis of the recent protests in Iran, and how Matt, who seemingly also knew very little, went along with Walter's uninformed comments. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent bragged to Congress that the US manipulated Iran's currency, causing it to collapse, thereby causing members of the merchant class to take to the streets in protest. The first protests were peaceful, but thereafter violent provocateurs, trained and sponsored by the US and some of its allies, took to the streets and murdered peaceful protestors--actions that the Western media blamed on the Iranian government. How could Matt not know this? If he really didn't know, I don't see how he can consider himself a journalist. If he did know, but simply went along with Walter's misleading remarks, well, if that's the case, I fear Matt has lost his soul.
Have these morons forgotten alllllll about the intimidation uncovered in the Twitter files that was perpetrated by the Biden administration. Jeez. Short memories…
You are correct there are many other interesting and important subjects worth attention.
That being said, given that the idiocy in MN is still front-and-center, continued focus is very relevant (if not to the exclusion of other topics).
I went to grad school there. MN liberals love to protest, it's a cottage industry which makes it perfect for "interested parties" to gin up activity to buttress and promote their objectives: that is, Minneapolis is the perfect place to astroturf a protest as the locals will eagerly support any "approved" topic to protest -- whether or not they have a clue as to what they're protesting.
Specifically, a couple aspects of the ongoing lunacy in Minnesota deserve further scrutiny:
1.) The Signal chat revelations: if it is indeed true that government officials...potentially including the Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan...participated in the organization and coordination of the harassment of ICE agents (regardless of what one thinks of ICE itself), then that really is a front-page matter. Local government officials coordinating riotous behavior against actions of the federal government? That's very serious. Period. Not to mention is also stinks of an attempt to deflect attention from the fraud scandal. Very, very convenient for MN politicos.
2.) The purported "attack" on Ilhan Omar. Once I watched the video, I became immediately suspicious. Her reaction belied any genuine concern. Who knew what was in that syringe? It's in a closed room in Minnesota during the coldest stretch of the year and they don't evacuate the room? Even if Omar was sufficiently ill-advised to brush it off (again, leading one to suspect she knew it wasn't serious) concern for possible exposure of the audience dictates the room should have been immediately evacuated. The whole thing looks very fishy. Again, if this was a spoof, a fabricated attack, then this is extremely serious. Given the existing heightened tensions, for a Minnesota politician to stage an attack to further fan the flames is inexcusable. Maybe even criminal. To boot, Omar is probably very close to the fraud scandal so it's obviously advantageous to her to refocus attention elsewhere.
And those Signal chats strongly implied that the CJIS system was being used to quickly read the license plates of vehicles that the protesters believed to be ICE vehicles. So local law enforcement is implicated in aiding the protesters' attempts to impede ICE's enforcement operations. That's above-the-fold front page stuff.
Let me be the arbiter... Yes to Fulton County raid (election 2020), No to brushing off Minnesota for robots.
My own twist would be, re Minnesota, to focus on the corruption and refusal to enforce the law -- and not the personalities (unless they were in on the corruption and obstruction of ICE).
*** +1 on the Fulton County raid -- I've been out of the loop and this sounds highly unsurprising (i.e., in the usual extremely annoying post-facto sense) and interesting and relevant: e.g., what if the 2020 election in fact was rigged. How might this have changed the "landscape?
*** Again unsurprisingly, I suspect that the "personalities" involved are precisely the usual/expected suspects: Walz, Omar, Ellison, Frey and Flanagan. Flanagan has been under the radar for most of this but it appears she was quite active "behind the scenes". She is insanely pretentious and annoying, in the most quintessentially Minnesota liberal fashion. A woman at the top of the MN political pyramid who can't shut up about how she's a victim and has been "erased". A true super-clown.
*** The bot/AI matter should be a regular theme as this topic is not going to go away. Disclaimer: I'm very interested in the stuff and hope to make a career move into it. The tech offers much promise and many challenges. One of the most immediate questions raised by putative challenges is that, given that this incipient field has been widely known for years, in particular in its potential effect on employment categories, why did we allow 10+ million illegal immigrants to enter the country knowing that their exact employment niche was most immediately threatened? For instance, the use of robotics in agriculture is going to be huge: an example is a tractor-trailer with an onboard visual detection system which zaps weeds with a laser but leaves the budding crops alone:
It’s a strong pivot from “polls show” (polls on immigration enforcement) to another Trump and family law fare and impeachment. I do know Data Republican on X is getting really close to the open borders protest money train. DR also warns she will uncover republican corruption.
Maybe the boy who cried wolf eventually sees a wolf. I trust Matt and Walter and Data Republican to get to the bottom of it. Stay tuned.
Re: Don Lemmon supporter’s legal theory, it sounds equivalent to a “journalist” who organizes, coordinates, directs and participates in a gang rape, and tries to hide behind his Constitutional rights as he manifestly violates the Constitutional rights of the victim, by interviewing the victim while the crime is in-process, thereafter invoking a magical 1st Amendment loophole for “journalists”.
This looks like a nothing burger. Jeffries gives away the plot when he makes it a political, not an ethical dispute (his criticism that Trump was "enriching himself" when regular voters are "struggling" domestically). There's a reason for that - because Jeffries and his ilk all claimed that selling influence wasn't illegal when Joe and James and Hunter Biden were doing it.
So, political impeachment? There they go again... The public has impeachment fatigue. No way does this have 67 votes in the Senate. So it simply looks like another midterm election campaign strategy for the Dems.
I generally agree. I skipped to the part where Matt says "we'll just have to wait and see" - segue to one of my happy places - ripping Don Lemon as only Matt and Walter can do, LOL, repeatedly. Comparing Don to Gandhi and King. Who would do that?
Thought it was neat Matt played the Stanford clown show. I know a few Ivy white-shoe lawyers (Dems) who were physically ill after watching that debacle. Not least because nobody in the Stanford clip seemed to know the law, as Matt observed, except the invited judge.
Wrote to the Stanford administration immediately after watching the clip in my then professional capacity as one who previously recommended Stanford to students as the gold standard of higher ed, and promised not to share the clip with my own students and peers on the condition that all Stanford administrators be forced to watch the clip from beginning to end as part of their own political re-education. Think they listened?
Many thanks to Matt, Walter, and their crew. All good at ATW this week!!! Enjoyed Walter's hair-cut and Matt's sharp understanding of what interference looks like when barging into a religious service and Matt's complete inability to discern what constitutes interference with ICE officers acting lawfully. Good times!
👍🏻 good move!
👍
Alex Pretti's Shooting Death Officially Ruled Homicide
https://www.tmz.com/2026/02/02/alex-pretti-shooting-death-ruled-homicide/
In Minnesota is one of three states where a person who lawfully carries a concealed firearm has a duty to avoid conflict and retreat if it can be done safely when in public; Minnesota is not a “stand your ground” state, so the use of deadly force is justified only if the person reasonably believes it is necessary to prevent death or great bodily harm and no safe avenue of retreat exists.
This duty generally does not apply inside one’s home under the Castle Doctrine, but even then any force used must be reasonable and proportional to the threat, and concealed carry does not grant additional authority to escalate a confrontation that could have been avoided.
My thoughts: To me Mr. Pretti was probably an irritant in the preceding days. His behavior in preceding days does not play role aside that he probably is guilty of 4th degree assault and destruction of government property maybe something else. I’m certain ICE was very aware of him and he started getting singled out as a problem.
As a sidenote my ginger buddy in the Marines fell asleep in the San Diego sun on the beach and had 3rd degree burns and was charged also. Trust me it’s not adding insult to injury! It isn’t a high-bar for guilt.
It tragic and shocking he was not arrested and had he been he’d be alive.
there are narratives that the gun concealed set off a chain reaction. Black smartphone in hand and someone in ICE yells gun!!! Then the worst happens.
It’s a tragic recipe for disaster. But like Chauvin it may go either way because of the “grey area”.
Still this isn’t black and white open and shut.
It’s simply tragic.
it’s ok to pick aside although I really can’t.
It’s an incredibly fucked up situation.
Definitely agree with your assessment that the situation is incredibly jacked.
And that it's simply tragic.
I'd add that if the police were allowed to "manage" the "protesters" this may well have all been avoided [I'm sorely tempted to add a "sic" as, in my opinion, this has crossed the line from "protest" to "interference"]. As you accurately note, had Pretti been arrested the FIRST time he assaulted ICE officers, he'd likely be alive.
The chaos is benefitting a few people who have the power to eliminate it.
I'll only add that "homicide" means that a person or persons were responsible for the death. Which is of course obvious as Pretti died from a gunshot. Not making light of in any way, just noting the definition.
Your note regarding MN requirements that a person with a "carry permit" must avoid conflict is key as it seems clear that Pretti initiated the conflict.
I am very much not picking sides. I wish Pretti had not chosen to engage in the ways he did. It is completely unclear to me what he hoped to achieve.
I went to grad school up in MN. I don't mean to make light of this situation but protesting really is a way of life up there, a cottage industry. As such, it's ripe for exploitation by parties who want to gin up chaos which might be exactly what is going on.
I hope there aren't any trials in Minnesota.
But I fully agree with you: this is a horrible situation and deeply tragic. Sure seems it could have all been avoided had local officials chosen to act to control the situation instead of just letting it spiral out of hand.
Generally speaking most police support law and order and Trump so the Minneapolis police probably lack enthusiasm to help protestors. In a fair world it would be broken up so the ice guys can follow orders or lack thereof and just simply stop and frisk for undocumented or illegal immigrants how ever you choose to frame it.
I definitely agree that most police officers support law and order!
The issue -- I believe this is correct and welcome correction if I am wrong -- is that the mayor of Minneapolis, Jacob Frey, has forbidden police from restraining the crowds and, this sounds even crazier, has banned 911 emergency response to calls made by ICE officers.
I think the governor Tim Walz has made similar edicts.
That is, it's not even so much a matter of whether or not the police want to support ICE and maintain a safe distance between the "protesters" and ICE (and I suspect the police would in fact want to help maintain order) but rather that elected officials in Minnesota are explicitly prohibiting the police from assisting in crowd control. Which to my mind is simply crazy and ludicrous.
Again, I wholeheartedly agree with your assessment that the situation is tragic. Very much so.
It’s very precarious but I think some corrective actions are being taken on both sides. I wish both sides worked more collaboratively. It’s all reactionary planning. I understand being in the Marines, raised/working on a farm and being in tech how both urban and rural tend to think. And frankly a lot of lies - some that Kirn buys into and both minimizes and makes fun of. I think Taibbi is pretty level-headed but also sometimes gets influenced by his perspective and ensuing belittling/yukking it up prevails. There may be a time when national and national overreach causes bigger problems. Like massive scale civil unrest or a WW3 scenario or both. It is not out of the realm. I do think currently the ruling party with nation and world dumbfounded “why you be so crazy?” unpredictably factor is the only thing keeping the wagon from being completely unhinged.
There may be a time where military might could become unraveled. It happened on a large global scale twice and 80 years is enough in the rearview mirror to forget the 100,000,000 lost. We have mass scale destructive powers and fear only militarizes an already industrial complex control of buildup. Meaning we build you buy.
I haven’t noticed the part where the media is afraid to criticize Donald Trump.
Excellent point - allow me, please to offer my explanation sent to a friend of why Don Lemon is going to find himself in jail even if the court concedes that a journalist had the right to record and observe the protest inside even a church.
"In which I offer my explanation of why Don L is going to find himself in jail even if the court concedes that a journalist had the right to record and observe the protest inside even a church. Get it? We give Don and his defenders the win on that theory of the case.
Problem for Don is that Don Lemon the silent observer never entered the church. How do we know? A different Don, Don the Chaos Agent entered the church instead and actually had himself filmed not standing silently observing and filming the protest, but doing the exact opposite - acting out - on camera. The best part - this on-camera clown act was his own idea - Don joins in - surrendering to vanity and in the process himself demolishes the only toothpick he might have hoped to stand on once his video went “viral.”
We can see now that Don would have been much better off if he'd simply had his mouth taped shut. But that's not Don, is it?
Don in an act of what is sure to be legendary stupidity had himself not just filmed yapping to the pastor - and thus interfering in the church service on camera - Don filmed himself refusing to allow the pastor to escape Don the active member of the gang reducing the church service to chaos while terrorizing children.
So, maybe once Don the first amendment violator, is found guilty of violating the first amendment rights of his fellow citizens and filming himself preventing worship in a house of worship, the guilty Don can explain to Don the fantasy silent witness to history why Don the Dunce is facing serious jail time.
Don's pretty dumb, so even if someone explains the difference between interfering in church service and standing inside the church with his mouth taped shut, he still might not get it. The "journalist" who observed silently others interfering in the protest might have a case to make - the loudmouth who couldn't leave the pastor alone while the pastor tried to calm those inside the church - that guy has a real legal problem. And everybody honest about journalism and what everybody's first amendment are understands exactly why."
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
ICE is losing on the battlefield of YouTube. It turns out spraying middle-aged women* in the face with pepper spray is a bad look. Who knew?
(* however annoying)
And yet when the 1 year mark of term #2 hit a couple weeks ago, the "national walkout" at my fortune 500 company had less than 1% of the employees walk out.
We can act like we've moved on from covid, but 2 dead protesters/rioters/agitators arent moving the needle to most people these days.
Especially since most people have seen the videos of them actually daring ICE agents to shoot, even violently as Alex Pretti did. No rational person can watch those videos and be in any way surprised that those two people are dead. Tragic events for sure, but certainly anticipated.
Are you certain that pepper spraying AWFUL's isn't a highly popular great look?
Sounds sporting to me, AWFL blows the whistle, gets warned, blows again, gets sprayed.
ICE (Samuel L. Jackson voice): "Blow the damn whistle again! Blow it!!"
Blowing a whistle right next to an ICE agent’s ear can cause permanent hearing damage.
Shove and spray away, boys.
My thought precisely!!! It is great entertainment!
Conveniently -- for the local MN politicians -- police have been ordered not to intervene or engage in crowd control.
Not that any of said politicos have an interest in keeping attention focused on ICE and away from the astronomic amount of fraud that appears to have occurred on their watch and which ostensibly involves lots of their close associates. No doubt just a coincidence!
If the police were allowed to appropriately control the "temperature", none of these incidents would likely have happened. Possibly two people might still be alive.
But the police are being prevented from doing their job. Why?
Because certain of the in-charge folks in local law enforcement are in favor of the protesters and may also be allowing some cooperation with the protesters - as has been alleged - that someone in local law enforcement is using the CJIS system to read the plates of vehicles obtained in the Signal chats and then seconds later, confirming whether those plates belong to ICE or CBP.
There is a Megyn Kelly interview w James O'Keefe revealing the collusion among private & public & the exclusion & peril of any narrative other than theirs on camera: Megyn Kelly podcast. January 26 at 3:30 PM. James O'Keefe reveals SHOCKING details of the army of anti-ICE agitators who have TAKEN OVER Minneapolis.
It would appear that the ante has been raised...substantially.
There are now "checkpoints" being enforced in Minneapolis by civilians...?!?
A true "wtf" moment. Got to wonder if law enforcement is going to bother to enforce any laws. Since when can people -- just regular ol' people -- stop cars and ask for identification? Potentially using the systems you mention?
https://www.foxnews.com/us/anti-ice-minneapolis-agitators-set-up-checkpoint-track-federal-agents
This has to be addressed.
Why should middle aged women get a pass when rioting? How dare you assume their gender? Can you even define what a woman is?
You can pretty much count on anything effective being somebody,s bad look
Being on welfare in America gives you a higher standard of living than 80% of the world . If we eliminate border enforcement half the world will show up just to get on welfare. Go back to the 2nd grade & learn
yeah they should hit them in the face with a bean bag gun instead.
For the love of God....these people were talking about impeachment in 2015 when Trump came down that escalator...talk about not accepting an election....these people are the poster children...
One month after the 2016 election, I heard a solemn teaser on NPR for an upcoming special broadcast, “On Impeachment”. These crazed loonies have been out of their gourds ever since.
Which one of you two shit on Nancy's desk? ;)
@1:37 At the church, don't forget that children in Minnesota were recently shot inside their church. This made their shenanigans especially scary and even dangerous.
Again, a tragedy that might have been avoided had Walz taken action. The children who were killed attended Catholic school and were at Mass when the shooter opened fire. The Catholic bishops had asked Walz for security equal to that provided to public schools. Walz denied it. The response to the killings? Minnesota politicians expressed concern for the trans community (shooter was trans), and blamed guns. The parents of all of the children in the state pay taxes and should know that their children are equally protected by law enforcement, regardless of school choice. Minnesota law enforcement is a joke.
Being on welfare in America gives you a higher standard of living than 80% of the world. Eliminate border enforcement & half the world would show up just to get on the dole . We are bankrupt already & you want to add to that? Go back to the 2nd grade & learn arithmetic
I'm sorry I'll miss today's ATW. The first two stories I saw on the news included Chloe Cole talking about the de-trans movement and the Pima County AZ Sheriff mentioning cooperations between local law enforcement and ICE in searching for Savannah Guthrie's mom. And when I opened my email I saw a statement from the National Federation of Press Women calling Don Lemon a journalist covering news at the church disruption. God save us!
Lemonhead demanding that I call him a journalist is like a man demanding I call him “she”.
The entirety of the malfeasance throughout Minnesota , regardless of constitutional guarantees, fall under one of two headings:
1) just because you can doesn’t mean you should
OR
2) FAFO
Enter at your own risk, morons. With the number of church & religious school shootings that have occurred in the last five years, Lemon & his cohort were lucky that THEY weren’t harmed by churchgoers who considered themselves and their children threatened. Those folks have rights too.
I am no leftie. I voted for Trump three times. I want a secure border. But the actions of this administration have shocked me. Citizens have rights. Non-citizens have rights. Even illegal aliens have rights. And the government is trampling all over those rights.
In fairness to Walter and his continued defense of Trump, though under pressure from Matt, Walter did admit (in two different episodes) that if we discovered that ICE agents were “systematically” misbehaving then he would be quite concerned.
When do we get to “systematic”?
If the Vice President and a “senior advisor to the President” incorrectly and publicly state that masked unidentified agents have “immunity” as they go about their loyal tasks, does that count as systematic? The agents don't take the hint? What about the daily Stakhanovite quotas? What about the fact that those quotas don't care whether the detentions are legal?
Have we not seen enough videos of ICE stopping people on the street because they look or sound “un-American”? Is one video not one too many? Has Walter seen the agents aggressively stopping cars and jumping out with their guns drawn because they were being “observed”? Has Walter seen them bursting into homes and businesses and refusing to provide any warrant (even the illegal ones they signed themselves)?
The AP article about the secret DHS memo explaining how they could “legally violate the Fourth Amendment” that Walter reflexively scoffed at was accurate. The General Counsel for DHS published an article almost immediately in the WSJ where he defended the secret memo and “welcomed” the whistleblower-provided opportunity to discuss it with the public. Judge Biery, a 78 year old Texan, just dismantled the government’s argument, calling it “the fox guarding the henhouse.”
Like the majority of Americans, I want an end to illegal immigration. And, like the majority of Americans, I am disgusted by this administration and the absolute lies it tells ALL THE TIME. And, of course, it’s not just the violations of our rights. It’s the hypocrisy and the depravity and the kleptocracy and threats against Powell and the law firms and universities and threatening to invade or usurp our allies and blowing up boats in the Caribbean and destroying our good name globally and the Kennedy center and firing the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics because Trump was unhappy with the statistics.
Feel free to rate my criticism of the administration on the following Walter-approved scale:
Observer
Activist
Protestor
Agitator
Organized Protestor
Professional Agitator
Insurrectionist
Domestic Terrorist
Communist
Meh. You are unpersuasive here, especially in your claim to be a three time Trump voter. These are talking points and not much more.
It's all feels and vibes and anecdotes. Super boomer coded.
Habeas Corpus IV didn't vote for Trump, not even once. That's just obvious bare faced lying in a pathetic attempt to give some credibility to the rest of his overwrought bullshit.
👍🏻
You raise valid concerns.
To which I would only add the angle of asking: to what degree are the "protests" interfering with the ability of ICE to conduct its operations in a fashion that might avoid or at least substantially reduce the opportunity for excess.
The US was essentially invaded "at scale" during the Biden administration. To have any hope in correcting the egregious flouting of existing immigration law by the OBiden administration (the "O" added as I doubt Joe Biden was ever really in charge), the response will similarly need to be massive and, frankly, aggressive.
The "protesters" [sic] that continually harass, impede and now directly and confrontationally interfere with ICE actions have significantly raised the temperature. Additionally, it appears that many local politicians (e.g., MN front and center) are not only refusing to moderate the situation but in fact (e.g., Signal chat records) appear to be directly involved in coordinating the "resistance" [sic: the whole thing seems to be astroturfed by "interested parties"].
So how might we require...legally!...that local governments have to if not provide direct assistance to the federal effort at least cannot directly attempt to thwart the execution of federal law.
For one, there's a law on the books that makes this all very clear: the so-called "Supremacy Clause" of the Constitution:
https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artVI-C2-1/ALDE_00013395/
So, yes, you're right, ICE should be required to perform their actions within legal boundaries...but we also can't allow local governments to force ICE into a corner so that extreme measures are the only option!
It's a mess. A freakin' bipartisan mess allowed to fester for decades which was grossly and irresponsibly aggravated, in what appears to have been an entirely conscious and deliberate effort, by the OBiden administration.
My take: we can't back down on this effort. Doing so only signals that the mob loonies can dictate national policy by creating havoc at the local level. However, we want these actions to be consistent with our law. Noting that also, given the scale and urgency of the problem, and given that all parties involved are human, mistakes will happen. Not might. Will. So we want to establish an environment where we can establish safeguards so that these mistakes are kept to an absolute minimum.
Nicely put!
You forgot the "Chinese-backed deep state agent" on your Kirn threat list. Everything else in your comment was on point.
This is what you voted for. Trump never concealed his bigotry and neither did his supporters. I’m glad you’re waking up to Trump’s fascism, but it’s really too little too late now.
Both of you trying to equate the Iranian protests with civil disobedience when they were shooting police and military and were openly infiltrated by the Mossad, who bragged about it, is absolutely wild and dishonest.
It's always those damn Jews. Amiright, Adolph?
Oh I’m sure the Mossad employs some non-Jews too, goyim can make for useful tools. Just look at Matt and Walter for proof of that.
If Americans were shooting ICE officers people like you would be crying and calling for mass executions just like the Iranians. Ironic.
So you support the mullahs and IRCG. Glad you spelled that out.
I support deporting retards like you to Somalia to be eaten like the dogs and cats. By your logic anybody who would oppose, or even point out, armed protesters shooting ICE supports Trump. Of course, anybody with a working human brain would understand that to be incorrect.
It's refreshing to see that you are not hyperbolic in your comments.
I’m unsure if that’s sarcasm or not, but I think I gave a fairly objective assessment of how MAGA right-wingers (among others) would react to ICE officers being shot at by small organized groups amongst the mob.
Hmmmmm..."[Congressman] Nadler was clearly referring to ICE and Border Patrol agents, who wear tactical vests labeled “Police” during their operations, adding, “If you were attacked by a masked person, you might think you were being kidnapped. You’d be justified in shooting the person to protect yourself.”
I was shocked to hear how little Walter knew about the genesis of the recent protests in Iran, and how Matt, who seemingly also knew very little, went along with Walter's uninformed comments. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent bragged to Congress that the US manipulated Iran's currency, causing it to collapse, thereby causing members of the merchant class to take to the streets in protest. The first protests were peaceful, but thereafter violent provocateurs, trained and sponsored by the US and some of its allies, took to the streets and murdered peaceful protestors--actions that the Western media blamed on the Iranian government. How could Matt not know this? If he really didn't know, I don't see how he can consider himself a journalist. If he did know, but simply went along with Walter's misleading remarks, well, if that's the case, I fear Matt has lost his soul.
Well said. This wasn’t hard information to find. Unless you only get fed specific info on these topics.
Have these morons forgotten alllllll about the intimidation uncovered in the Twitter files that was perpetrated by the Biden administration. Jeez. Short memories…
Matt, If not arrested and charged, what is the consequence for barging into a church and refusing to leave?
Please ATW enough concerning MN— quick update and move on to different topics. Election 2020,data center satellites/1 Billion robots…
You are correct there are many other interesting and important subjects worth attention.
That being said, given that the idiocy in MN is still front-and-center, continued focus is very relevant (if not to the exclusion of other topics).
I went to grad school there. MN liberals love to protest, it's a cottage industry which makes it perfect for "interested parties" to gin up activity to buttress and promote their objectives: that is, Minneapolis is the perfect place to astroturf a protest as the locals will eagerly support any "approved" topic to protest -- whether or not they have a clue as to what they're protesting.
Specifically, a couple aspects of the ongoing lunacy in Minnesota deserve further scrutiny:
1.) The Signal chat revelations: if it is indeed true that government officials...potentially including the Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan...participated in the organization and coordination of the harassment of ICE agents (regardless of what one thinks of ICE itself), then that really is a front-page matter. Local government officials coordinating riotous behavior against actions of the federal government? That's very serious. Period. Not to mention is also stinks of an attempt to deflect attention from the fraud scandal. Very, very convenient for MN politicos.
2.) The purported "attack" on Ilhan Omar. Once I watched the video, I became immediately suspicious. Her reaction belied any genuine concern. Who knew what was in that syringe? It's in a closed room in Minnesota during the coldest stretch of the year and they don't evacuate the room? Even if Omar was sufficiently ill-advised to brush it off (again, leading one to suspect she knew it wasn't serious) concern for possible exposure of the audience dictates the room should have been immediately evacuated. The whole thing looks very fishy. Again, if this was a spoof, a fabricated attack, then this is extremely serious. Given the existing heightened tensions, for a Minnesota politician to stage an attack to further fan the flames is inexcusable. Maybe even criminal. To boot, Omar is probably very close to the fraud scandal so it's obviously advantageous to her to refocus attention elsewhere.
And those Signal chats strongly implied that the CJIS system was being used to quickly read the license plates of vehicles that the protesters believed to be ICE vehicles. So local law enforcement is implicated in aiding the protesters' attempts to impede ICE's enforcement operations. That's above-the-fold front page stuff.
Excellent point -- illustrates "whole of [local] government" effort.
At what point do things like this become bonafide criminal? Using local law enforcement against federal law enforcement?
Uh...what's that word?....uh....oh, yeah, "insurrection".
Thank you for pointing this out!
Let me be the arbiter... Yes to Fulton County raid (election 2020), No to brushing off Minnesota for robots.
My own twist would be, re Minnesota, to focus on the corruption and refusal to enforce the law -- and not the personalities (unless they were in on the corruption and obstruction of ICE).
*** +1 on the Fulton County raid -- I've been out of the loop and this sounds highly unsurprising (i.e., in the usual extremely annoying post-facto sense) and interesting and relevant: e.g., what if the 2020 election in fact was rigged. How might this have changed the "landscape?
*** Again unsurprisingly, I suspect that the "personalities" involved are precisely the usual/expected suspects: Walz, Omar, Ellison, Frey and Flanagan. Flanagan has been under the radar for most of this but it appears she was quite active "behind the scenes". She is insanely pretentious and annoying, in the most quintessentially Minnesota liberal fashion. A woman at the top of the MN political pyramid who can't shut up about how she's a victim and has been "erased". A true super-clown.
*** The bot/AI matter should be a regular theme as this topic is not going to go away. Disclaimer: I'm very interested in the stuff and hope to make a career move into it. The tech offers much promise and many challenges. One of the most immediate questions raised by putative challenges is that, given that this incipient field has been widely known for years, in particular in its potential effect on employment categories, why did we allow 10+ million illegal immigrants to enter the country knowing that their exact employment niche was most immediately threatened? For instance, the use of robotics in agriculture is going to be huge: an example is a tractor-trailer with an onboard visual detection system which zaps weeds with a laser but leaves the budding crops alone:
https://carbonrobotics.com/
https://www.remio.ai/post/how-nvidia-powered-lasers-are-eradicating-600-000-weeds-per-hour-without-chemicals
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-64742513
Zero herbicides. Win-win, right? Er, except on the ag-labor front.
Ditto with harvesting. It's just a matter of time before robots will have the manual dexterity to perform this task. 24 hours a day, automated.
It’s a strong pivot from “polls show” (polls on immigration enforcement) to another Trump and family law fare and impeachment. I do know Data Republican on X is getting really close to the open borders protest money train. DR also warns she will uncover republican corruption.
Maybe the boy who cried wolf eventually sees a wolf. I trust Matt and Walter and Data Republican to get to the bottom of it. Stay tuned.
Re: Don Lemmon supporter’s legal theory, it sounds equivalent to a “journalist” who organizes, coordinates, directs and participates in a gang rape, and tries to hide behind his Constitutional rights as he manifestly violates the Constitutional rights of the victim, by interviewing the victim while the crime is in-process, thereafter invoking a magical 1st Amendment loophole for “journalists”.