Minneapolis Responds to Trump's Authoritarian Rollout

ICE Watch Training Tonight - 6pm CT/ 7pm ET

Good afternoon, everyone!

We’re still reeling from last week’s horrific events in Minneapolis, but what we’ve seen and heard from our friends on the ground in the aftermath is encouraging. Especially with new reports of ‘Hundreds more CPB agents being deployed to the city.’

The day after the murder of Renee Nicole Good, we ended up speaking to over 1,000 Minneapolis residents who signed up for Community Defense and ICE Watch training, and they all seemed to show up with the same energy: I love my community. I’m pissed - what can I do?

Minnesota State Rep. Aisha Gomez, speaking with Nicole Wallace of MSNOW, sums it up perfectly, “the way that you can help is to organize your own community… the way that we can respond to the authoritarian threat that is posed by this administration is to respond the way we always have in the face of oppression and injustice - we have come together.”

One of the first things you can do to help organize your community is to get trained

We are hosting a training TONIGHT (Mon. Jan 12 6PM CT / 7PM ET). RSVP HERE

Have you already been to a training? Bring a friend tonight and have a conversation afterwards about organizing in your own neighborhood.

Much news was made about ICE Watch trainings and how effective they can be in practice. STAC Executive Director Jill Garvey spoke to CNN about our trainings and how we encourage everyone involved to stay safe.

In the face of “horrific violence,” unlawful incursions, and even some bumbling idiocy, Minneapolis is showing America how to respond to Trump’s brand of authoritarianism. We have seen the city’s residents show up en masse to document the activities of federal agents who harass and detain their neighbors (Imagine if we didn’t have video of the Renee Good murder to contradict DHS lies). And, elected and community leaders being vocal in the press, delivering a unified message: This is not law enforcement; this is a campaign of terror and violence for the administration’s propaganda campaign, trying to sell the lie that we should fear our neighbors and not the armed, unaccountable federal agents running around our streets.

ICE raids are a danger to communities, not a solution. This danger is evident in the everyday action of ICE and Border Patrol agents — but it is especially so when it puts families and whole communities at increased risk.

If we as a nation are going to push back against what we’re seeing in our cities, we need to be clear about what it is - an authoritarian movement that thrives on misinformation and us being fearful of our neighbors. As Minneapolis Jacob Frey said recently, “We know what this is, and we’re going to counter their authoritarian hate with our democratic love.”

Get caught up. Below are more media hits where local officials and community members are sharing the perspective from the ground:

• Inside Minneapolis’s Sprawling Network of ICE Watchers($) - WSJ

• New Cellphone Video Shows ICE Agent’s Perspective Before Minneapolis Shooting -NYT

• “It could have been any of us:” ICE observer speaks to CNN’s Victor Blackwell following the death of Renee Nicole Good - CNN

• ‘We Had Whistles. They Had Guns’: Protests Grow After MN ICE Shooting - MSNOW

• Why the killing of Renee Good is resonating in Minneapolis - MSNOW

That’s all for now - stay safe and stay vigilant!

-Ben