Minnesota Governor Tim Walz Mobilizes National Guard Amid Anti-ICE Protests

 Jacki Thrapp 01/18/26  

Minnesota National Guard members are wearing bright vests over their uniform so anti-ICE protesters can ‘distinguish them from other agencies.’

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz mobilized his state’s National Guard on Jan. 17 and will have soldiers wear bright yellow reflective vests over their uniforms so protesters can “distinguish them from other agencies” such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), according to the Minnesota National Guard.

“These Soldiers are staged, and vehicles and personnel are ready to respond at locations across the metro.,” Army Maj. Andrea Tsuchiya, state public affairs officer for the Minnesota National Guard, confirmed to The Epoch Times in an email on Jan. 18.

Minneapolis Equity Report Urged Using Somali Muslim Genital Mutilation to ‘Learn About Their Culture’

Jan 18, 2026 3:00 pm By Daniel Greenfield

“Muslim (Somali) Culture: Value Acquiescence to Allah as supreme authority” vs “American Culture: Value the supremacy of the individual.”

How far did Minneapolis and Minnesota go in urging Americans to abandon their values and accept Somali Muslim ‘cultural values’?

A report from the Hennepin County Medical Center that was posted on the Minneapolis Minnesota Department of Health site was titled “caring for women affected by female genital cutting” or FGM, a Muslim practice common among Somalis of mutilating the genital areas of young girls, “Striving for Health Equity’.

Judge Restricts ICE Actions Against Protesters in Minnesota

Kimberly Hayek  

1/16/2026|Updated: 1/17/2026 

A federal judge in Minnesota on Friday ruled that federal immigration agents can’t detain or use nonlethal munitions and crowd dispersal tools on peaceful protesters who aren’t obstructing authorities, including when these people are observing the agents.

The decision, handed down by U.S. District Judge Kate Menendez, stems from a lawsuit brought last month by six local activists.

These individuals, backed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Minnesota, said that Homeland Security (DHS)  personnel were infringing on their First Amendment rights when they observed federal agents performing their duties.

After the ruling, Tricia McLaughlin, DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs, issued a statement saying her agency was taking “appropriate and constitutional measures to uphold the rule of law and protect our officers and the public from dangerous rioters.”

Trump takes aim at Somalis as feds prep for Minneapolis operation

(NewsNation) — In its latest immigration crackdown, the Trump administration will head to Minneapolis, targeting Somali immigrants in the U.S. illegally.

The city is home to more than 80,000 people of Somali descent. News of the operation comes as President Donald Trump escalated his rhetoric against the community, saying he did not want immigrants from Somalia in the U.S. because “they contribute nothing.”

Trump also continued his attacks on Democratic Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, [pictured here]  who is of Somali descent, saying during a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday that Omar is “an incompetent person.”

It also comes as some in the community are under fraud investigations, including allegations that millions of dollars from Minnesota state welfare programs instead went to a terrorist group called al-Shabab in Somalia.

Omar told NewsNation she felt Trump’s comments on the Somali community were “totally irresponsible.”

Chauvin Defense Attorneys Claim Prosecutorial Misconduct

A filing made by the defense attorneys of Derek Chauvin [pictured right] has made allegations that there was prosecutorial misconduct and has gone viral, with many calling for an appeal in the case of Derek Chauvin in the killing of George Floyd.

Over 50 current and former police officers have now countered the testimony of Minnesota Police Department (MPD) Inspector Katie Blackwell made during the trial, who said the restraint used by Chauvin was not standard practice at the MPD. 

The petition, which argues to vacate the conviction or appeal the case, gives the prosecution in Chauvin's case 45 days to respond, alleged that the state attorneys going after Chauvin relied on "video and still frames" to tell "a single story," painting Chauvin as a killer. ...

Two Minnesota State Lawmakers Shot, One Killed, in ‘Politically Motivated’ Attack

Giselle Ruhiyyih Ewing

Two Minnesota state lawmakers and their spouses were shot in their homes early Saturday, in what Gov. Tim Walz [pictured right] called "politically motivated" 

An unspeakable tragedy has unfolded in Minnesota," Walz said at a press briefing later Saturday morning.  " My good friend and colleague, [former] Speaker Melissa Hortman, and her husband Mark, were shot and killed early this morning in what appears to be a politically-motivated assassination."

Hortman and his wife, Yvette, were also “each shot multiple times,” but both were out of surgery as of mid-morning.

“We are cautiously optimistic they will survive this assassination attempt,” Walz said.

Don’t Listen To The Emotional Blackmail Arguments Against Pardoning Derek Chauvin

https://www.dailywire.com/news/dont-listen-to-the-emotional-blackmail-arguments-against-pardoning-derek-chauvin

By Matt Walsh, 03/10/25

A couple of months ago we discussed once again the travesty of justice that was the murder trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin [pictured right] . This was a trial that was conducted just down the street from ground-zero of the BLM riots of 2020, which destroyed Minneapolis’ police precinct, caused $500 million in damage to more than 1,500 businesses, and resulted in several deaths. We’re talking about the single most destructive riot in United States history, after the Los Angeles riots of 1992. And it happened in the same place where Derek Chauvin’s trial was being held. But the judge — who later declared that “every case is about racial justice” in some way — didn’t move the trial to a different venue. Instead, he made sure that Chauvin’s fate was determined by jurors who knew well that their city would burn to the ground if they didn’t convict. They had security fencing and National Guard troops all around the courthouse throughout the trial, just in case that message wasn’t clear.