June 18, 2026

Minnesota Insurrection

Blurb:

Editor’s note: This is a lightly edited transcript of today’s video from Daily Signal Senior Contributor Victor Davis Hanson. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to see more of his videos.

Hello, this is Victor Davis Hanson for The Daily Signal. I’m trying to make one of my haphazard appearances, depending my energy level, after all these medications they put me on, after this lung cancer surgery. But I’m here on the farm, and I’m doing my best.

I wanna talk a little bit about the open defiance of the federal government. I’ve mentioned that earlier, but when you collate everything that Attorney General of Minnesota Keith Ellison has said, Gov. Tim Walz, Mayor Jacob Frey of Minneapolis, it’s unabashed, unapologetic, insurrectionary rhetoric.

Blurb:

On Saturday’s The Weekend, MSNOW White House reporter Laura Barron-Lopez asserted that liberal journalist Don Lemon is being prosecuted by the Donald Trump administration because the President doesn’t like journalists who present facts and criticize him.

The show also tried to tie in race, with co-host Eugene Daniels teasing the story: “Today Trump’s immigration crackdown extends to the free press with federal agents arresting two black journalists, including Don Lemon, after documenting a church protest.”

After beginning the show by discussing the merits of the case, co-host Jackie Alemany turned to Barron-Lopez and posed: “Can you talk about why the White House is so obsessed with Don Lemon in particular?”

Signal Chats have been exposed from paid insurrectionists that have been coordinating with Minnesota state officials. The insurrectionists have been intentionally interfering with the legal prosecution of criminal arrests that have been ruled constitutional by the Supreme Court of the United States of America.

Now, Minnesota’s Attorney General has been directly connected to the chat. His office created a secret portal for the insurrectionists to use to coordinate their attacks and get information that was used to attack American independent reporters like Cam Higby. It should be noted the activity began shortly after the Somali Fraud scam was exposed by another independent journalist stalked with the help of Ellison’s secret web portal, Nick Shirley.

Blurb:

Anti-ICE Signal chat links members to AG Keith Ellison’s office to report feds in Minnesota – The Post Millennial

Participants were instructed to report federal agents directly to the Minnesota Attorney General’s office using the form.

Activists in a Minnesota Signal chat are reportedly encouraging each other to report federal agents to Attorney General Keith Ellison through a state-run reporting portal created by Ellison’s office. This comes as reports have revealed large, coordinated Signal chats where participants allegedly share real-time information about Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol movements, which federal authorities now say those activities are under investigation.

Blurb:

 

The Minnesota-based federal judge who declined to issue arrest warrants for Don Lemon and several of the radicals accused of storming into Cities Church on Jan. 18 demanded on Tuesday that acting ICE Director Todd Lyons “appear personally before the Court and show cause why he should not be held in contempt of Court.”

Despite U.S. District Court Judge Patrick Schiltz’s portrayal in the liberal media as a conservative-minded and “mild-mannered George W. Bush appointee,” it appears that Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin’s characterization of Schiltz as “just another activist judge” is more apt.

Blurb:

 

 

The weekend before last, a mob of Leftists, including Don Lemon, stormed Cities Church in St. Paul, MN. Three of the agitators were arrested and almost immediately released by judges, while another judge refused to sign off on the arrest warrant for Lemon. It turns out that judge, Douglas L. Micko, is married to a woman who reportedly works in AG Keith Ellison’s office.

 

Blurb:

 

Earlier this week, President Trump sent border czar Tom Homan to speak personally with leaders in Minnesota. In the latest update to those exchanges, President Trump called out a top official at the center of the controversy for refusing to cooperate with the administration.

On Wednesday morning, Trump issued a stern warning to Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey (D) after Frey indicated on Tuesday afternoon he was not going to enforce federal immigration law.

‘He is PLAYING WITH FIRE!’

Frey posted a short thread to X summarizing his position, stating that Minneapolis “will not enforce federal immigration law, and that we will remain focused on keeping our neighbors and streets safe.”

Trump noted his surprise at Frey’s apparent switchback following a “very good conversation with him”: “Could somebody in his inner sanctum please explain that this statement is a very serious violation of the Law, and that he is PLAYING WITH FIRE!”

Blurb:

Rather than stand firm, crush the blatant insurrection against federal authority in Minnesota, and emulate his hero Andrew Jackson, President Donald Trump blinked.

Trump announced Monday that he had a “very good call” with Democrat Gov. Tim Walz and that the governor had requested they “work together with respect to Minnesota.”

That same day, Democrat Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey revealed he had also spoken with Trump and that they both “agreed the present situation can’t continue.”

Blurb:

President Donald Trump appears to be backing down in Minneapolis — not because the situation has improved, but because Democrat officials who are still openly declaring their opposition to immigration enforcement have apparently pressured him into retreat.

After months of open defiance of federal immigration law, weeks of unrest, and a second fatal shooting involving federal agents, the Trump administration demanded on Sunday that Walz, Frey, and other Democrat leaders “cooperate … to enforce our Nation’s Laws.” In part, he specifically called on state and local prisons to turn over illegal aliens in custody and called on local police to “assist Federal Law Enforcement in apprehending and detaining Illegal Aliens who are wanted for Crimes.” But two days later, the president is reportedly planning to withdraw some forces in Minneapolis.

Blurb:

 

 

It was a wild weekend with the Border Patrol shooting in Minneapolis on Saturday.

We don’t know all the facts in the case yet. But the Democrats were off to the races, declaring it “murder.” They’ve helped to incite the anti-ICE and anti-DHS agitators. Immediately, there was violence in the wake of the shooting, with an ICE agent having his finger bitten off by a rioter and protesters attacking a hotel they thought ICE agents were staying at.

Blurb:

Minnesota officials are considering filing state criminal charges against federal immigration officers involved in two deadly shootings in Minneapolis.

Federal agents typically enjoy a degree of immunity under federal law, which could complicate efforts to prosecute the officers.

The first shooting involved 37-year-old Renee Good, who was shot and killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent earlier this month during an immigration raid. The authorities claim she tried to run the agent over with her vehicle. However, some dispute this claim, citing video evidence appearing to show Good trying to drive away from the scene before the agent opened fire.

The second involves a 37-year-old ICU nurse named Alex Pretti, who was fatally shot during an immigration enforcement operation near a protest in south Minneapolis. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) claimed Pretti approached officers with a firearm.

Blurb:

A mob of anti-ICE agitators laid siege to a Minneapolis hotel Sunday night, smashing windows, trashing the lobby and injuring at least one federal law enforcement officer, after local police withdrew.

The city’s chaotic anti-ICE operations spiraled into a violent frenzy Saturday after an agitator was shot dead by a federal officer during an altercation. Alex Pretti, 37, was carrying a Sig Sauer P320-AXG COMBAT, a high-capacity 9 mm pistol as he filmed Border Patrol agents executing a targeted immigration enforcement operation.

Tricia McLaughlin, spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, said the officers were responding to a man who had a gun with two magazines and fired “defensive shots.”

Blurb:

The situation in Minnesota is out of control, and finally, happy hands lunatic Tim Walz has chosen reason, deciding to cooperate with Trump officials in the wake of the recent shooting of Alex Pretti by Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis last Saturday. It sparked another round of outrage from the Left, who claim, without evidence, that he was executed. Meanwhile, some conservatives claimed wrongly that he was about to commit mass slaughter before he was shot—Pretti was legally carrying a firearm at the protest. It’s created a total mess on messaging, and now Trump is stepping in to clean up the mess, appointing Tom Homan, who I assume is going to be the point person, not just of the overall operation in the state, but with Walz personally in resolving this matter (via Fox 21/Associated Press):

Blurb:

For all Democrats bragged about Gov. Tim Walz’s years as an educator, it’s a good thing he didn’t teach English.

The Minnesota chief executive, whose watch included a welfare fraud scandal that robbed potentially billions from Minnesota and American taxpayers, launched a rhetorical salvo Sunday against President Donald Trump and Immigration and Customs Enforcement by using one of the best-known symbols of Holocaust history.

And — true to “knucklehead” form — he got the comparison completely wrong.

As Fox News reported, Walz was engaged in a lengthy discourse about Saturday’s shooting of an anti-ICE protester in Minneapolis — a discourse that was equally partisan and predictable — when he strayed into the dark days of World War II.

“We have got children in Minnesota hiding in their houses, afraid to go outside. Many of us grew up reading that story of Anne Frank,” Walz said.

“Somebody is going to write that children’s story about Minnesota, and there’s one person who can end this now.”

Blurb:

“We look at all this stuff. As soon as Higby put that post out I opened an investigation on it.”

FBI Director Kash Patel has opened up an investigation into anti-ICE Signal chat networks in Minnesota after a report on the chats was published by independent journalist Cam Higby.

“We look at all this stuff. As soon as Higby put that post out I opened an investigation on it,” Patel said of the chats while speaking to Benny Johnson.

Blurb:

 

The Department of Homeland Security confirmed that federal agents were in the area executing a lawful operation to apprehend an illegal alien wanted for violent assault when they encountered armed rioter Alex Pretti.

DHS stated that Pretti was armed with a loaded nine-millimeter semi-automatic handgun and two magazines, posing an immediate and lethal threat to federal officers and the public. The agency later released a photograph of the weapon recovered at the scene.

Blurb:

Democrats are getting people killed.

Governor Tim Walz was recently filmed on the gate of his Minnesota mansion inciting protesters to violence and to oppose federal ICE operations amid escalating violent unrest in Minneapolis after multiple shootings involving federal agents. In that same climate of defiance, an armed man — Alex Pretti — was shot and killed during a confrontation with federal agents, which has further inflamed tensions.

Blurb:

A federal agent had his finger bitten off by a far-left agitator amid the latest flare-up of unrest in Minneapolis.

Hundreds of protesters and agitators flooded the streets of south Minneapolis on Saturday after Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old anti-ICE activist, was shot and killed after allegedly pulling a gun on U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed that the incident occurred during an immigration enforcement operation targeting an illegal alien wanted for violent assault. Footage from the scene shows Pretti intervening as agents attempted to make an arrest, at which point a struggle ensued.

Blurb:

An armed man the Department of Homeland Security says was determined to interfere with Border Patrol officers in Minneapolis was killed in a struggle Saturday morning.

The incident, the second shooting involving federal efforts to round up illegal immigrants in Minneapolis, sparked riots.

“At 9:05 AM CT, as DHS law enforcement officers were conducting a targeted operation in Minneapolis against an illegal alien wanted for violent assault, an individual approached US Border Patrol officers with a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun,” DHS said in a post on X.

“The suspect also had 2 magazines and no ID — this looks like a situation where an individual wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement,” the post said.

Blurb:

Donald Trump has agreed to pull ICE agents out of Minnesota after another fatal shooting of an American citizen in the state, Governor Tim Walz has said. The US President held a phone call with the Governor following the killing of 37-year-old Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse shot dead during protests in Minneapolis on Saturday.

In a statement, Walz’s office said: “The President agreed that he would talk to his Department of Homeland Security about ensuring the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is able to conduct an independent investigation, as would ordinarily be the case.

“The President also agreed to look into reducing the number of federal agents in Minnesota and working with the state in a more coordinated fashion on immigration enforcement regarding violent criminals.”

Blurb:

The death of an anti-ICE agitator in Minneapolis, Minnesota, this past weekend occurred right near an “autism clinic” at the center of an alleged multi-million-dollar Somali fraud scheme. The incident comes amid increased scrutiny of the state’s broken and shady welfare operations.

Leftist demonstrator and Department of Veterans Affairs nurse Alex Pretti, 37, was purportedly shot and killed by a federal agent on Saturday after seemingly impeding federal officials’ immigration enforcement efforts in the city. According to local officials and local and national reporting, the incident took place on or near Nicollet Avenue in Minneapolis.

Blurb:

“Not only are these locations often targets of violence, but the mere presence of firearms (and the implicit threat they communicate) could chill individuals’ peaceful exercise of their speech rights.”

A number of Democratic attorneys general, including Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, have previously supported a legal challenge defending restrictions on carrying firearms at political events, including protests. The resurfacing of this comes amid debate over a weekend shooting in Minneapolis, where an armed agitator was shot and killed by federal agents.

Blurb:

In the face of an 8,000% increase in death threats against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) law enforcement officers, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is asking the public to report activities that are endangering its agents.

“The public can report doxing and harassment against ICE officers by calling 866-DHS-2-ICE (866-347-2423) or by completing ICE’s online tip form,” DHS said Monday in a news release reporting the surge in death threats and a 1,300% spike in assaults against ICE officers:

“Our law enforcement officers are now facing an 8,000% increase in death threats against them and a more than 1,300% increase in assaults against them while they put their lives on the line to remove murderers, pedophiles, rapists, gang members, and terrorists from American neighborhoods.”

Blurb:

President Donald Trump announced Monday morning that he had a productive call with Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn., who signaled “cooperation” regarding the ongoing chaos and lawlessness in Minneapolis caused by left-wing agitators obstructing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

“Governor Tim Walz called me with the request to work together with respect to Minnesota. It was a very good call, and we, actually, seemed to be on a similar wavelength,” Trump wrote on social media. “I told Governor Walz that I would have Tom Homan call him, and that what we are looking for are any and all Criminals that they have in their possession. The Governor, very respectfully, understood that, and I will be speaking to him in the near future.”

Blurb:

Over the weekend, during another incident of impeding ICE operations at the encouragement of Minnesota Democrat officials, Alex Pretti was shot by border patrol. This would be a good point for an investigation into what happened and why it happened. However, when you have elected officials calling it an “assassination,” and the police chief saying it doesn’t matter if it was justified because what really matters is that people are upset, a fair investigation is impossible. And that pretty much explains where we’re at in Minnesota.

Fox News’s Bill Megulin spoke to sources in the Department of Homeland Security, who said it was a terrible decision for Pretti to show up with a gun and inject himself into a federal law enforcement operation. However…

These sources all believe this is going to end up being what they call a “bad shoot”, a “shitty” situation that happened in seconds where agents likely heard “gun!”, then the disarmed firearm may have had an accidental discharge that spooked the agents, and they shot. The agents do not have the luxury of multiple slow motion angles – and had to make split second decisions.

Blurb:

 

FBI Director Kash Patel told Benny Johnson that the agency opened an investigation into anti-ICE Signal chats exposed by independent journalist Cam Higby.

The chats revealed plots allegedly involving interference with ICE operations in Minnesota.

Johnson asked Patel about the operation:

JOHNSON: And this has now been exposed with some of these Signal chat leaks. The independent journalist who had done the exposing was just on right before you, and wanted to ask about this. He says that he has submitted some of the information that was available. There are top level leaders inside of the political infrastructure of Minnesota who are on these chats, and obviously you can’t conspire in order to attack federal agents. This is something that is at scale. They have license plate readers. They’re able to identify these agents. They’re able to dox them, find out where they’re sleeping at night. Is any of this legal, Kash?

PATEL: That’s exactly what we’re investigating. Look again, the First Amendment. You want to go peacefully protest, do it. You want to bring your firearm under the law, you’re allowed to bring it, as long as you don’t incite violence and or commit another crime in doing so.

What we’re asking people to do, what I’m asking people to do, is on the ground in Minnesota, is why would you bring a firearm in a situation that is so volatile right now, where so many arrests have been made, where so many people are coordinating to attack and expose federal law enforcement officers, that is just not smart. It is just not going to lead to a good scenario. And so we need everybody to tamp down, obviously, on that side.

But you’re right. Some of the best reporting has been through you, and I think Mr. Higby was just on before, before I was and other individuals.

Blurb:

 

Radicals swarmed a hotel in Maple Grove, Minnesota, on Monday night, working under the presumption that U.S. Customs and Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino was inside. While some in the mob appeared keen at the outset to simply scream, bang their pans, and impotently blow whistles in protest of CBP and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, others decided to get violent.

The Maple Grove Police Department, which responded around 8 p.m. to reports of a protest at the SpringHill Suites by Marriott, demonstrated that it has a lower tolerance for attacks on law enforcement than their local counterparts in Minneapolis — and the proof manifested in tear gas and arrests.

Blurb:

Senate Democrats are threatening to force another government shutdown to block funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) following the recent fatal shootings in Minnesota.

The anti-ICE unrest in the Democrat-controlled state is rapidly escalating into a high-stakes budget confrontation that could trigger a partial government shutdown.

In just days, Democrats in the upper chamber have coalesced around a strategy to block funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), placing immigration enforcement squarely at the center of looming government funding negotiations.

Blurb:

The Minnesota National Guard has been caught handing out coffee and donuts to anti-ICE mobs after being deployed to the state, raising serious questions about whose side state authorities are on as federal law enforcement faces escalating violence.

Instead of maintaining order or protecting federal property from the lawless mobs that have besieged Minneapolis, Guard troops are now appearing to cater to the very protesters disrupting immigration enforcement operations.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz activated the National Guard weeks ago as protests surged following intensified federal immigration operations in the Twin Cities.