OPINION:
It’s the first Rorschach test of 2026. Some will view the videos from Minnesota on Wednesday as a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer justly defending himself. Others will say the officer’s drawing his gun was a use of unnecessary force that resulted in the murder of a 37-year-old woman.
Either way, if a federal agent directs you to get out of your car because you’re blocking traffic and you choose to drive away with another federal agent in front of your hood, you’re in violation of the law. Full stop.
Minnesota lawmakers were quick to inflame tensions, placing the blame squarely in the hands of ICE agents.
“I, myself, saw a video of the shots being fired as the car was driving away. What I can tell you is the narrative that this was done in self-defense is a garbage narrative. That is not true,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said in a press conference a mere three hours after the reported incident and before any investigation transpired.
He continued: “To ICE, get the f—- out of Minneapolis. We do not want you here. Your stated reason for being in this city is to create some kind of safety, and you are doing exactly the opposite.”
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz added to the frenzy by issuing a warning order to the National Guard to “protect Minnesotans” from “rogue ICE agents.”
“I want Minnesotans to hear this from me: The desire to get out in the protest and to speak up to this administration of how wrong this is, that is a patriotic duty at this point in time, but it needs to be done safely,” he added.
After the shooting, protesters gathered in the area and burned American flags. Their location is less than a mile from where George Floyd died in May 2020, which sparked mass rioting and looting. Police largely retreated from the area, resulting in nearly $500 million in damages to the city, with more than 1,500 Minnesota businesses shuttered.
The 2020 protests in the Twin Cities were the second-costliest civil disturbance in U.S. history, trailing only the 1992 riots in Los Angeles.
It’s almost as if Messrs. Frey and Walz — who stoked those riots with their inflamed rhetoric, which led to the “defund the police” movement nationwide — are aiming to re-create that chaos now with ICE agents. Mr. Walz has repeatedly called them a “modern-day Gestapo” under the leadership of President Trump.
Minneapolis Public Schools canceled classes for students Thursday and Friday “due to safety concerns” related to the shooting and subsequent protests. George Floyd Square has been barricaded by angry Minnesotans. Protesters have been tracking ICE agents online and following their movements within the city, often beating them to their next law enforcement operation. Mr. Frey has prohibited the police department from cooperating with ICE, affording agents and protesters less protection than an average citizen.
The entire situation is a tinderbox waiting to explode. The only reprieve at this point is that it’s winter, which makes conditions less hospitable for indignant mobs.
Many on the left will argue that ICE didn’t need to send 2,000 troops into Minnesota, that the federal government is also ratcheting up the hysteria. Still, under Joseph R. Biden’s presidency, more than 10 million illegals flooded into the country. Liberal mayors and governors nationwide enticed them into their communities by offering sanctuary status and free health care, housing, welfare and education.
Mr. Trump was largely ushered back into the presidency by promising to close the borders and deport those who crossed into the U.S. illegally. Now, liberals are whining that he is doing just that. Their rhetoric against ICE agents has led to a 1,300% increase in assaults against ICE officers and an 8,000% increase in death threats. In September, a crazed gunman in Dallas killed a detainee while indiscriminately firing shots at an ICE field office.
From a political perspective, the chaos in Minneapolis benefits Mr. Walz. Earlier this week, he announced that he wouldn’t be seeking a third term in office after an industrial-size federal taxpayer fraud scheme in his state was uncovered.
On Wednesday, Minnesota lawmakers testified that Mr. Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison ignored the estimated $9 billion in taxpayer theft and retaliated against whistleblowers who raised concerns. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman James Comer stated in his opening remarks that Minnesota’s Democratic leadership has “either been asleep at the wheel or complicit in these crimes.”
“Tim Walz and his administration have willfully turned a blind eye to crime, in the face of countless whistleblower and auditor reports, as well as stories by local investigative journalists and Bill Glahn, a fellow at the Center of the American Experiment,” Minnesota state Rep. Kristin Robbins testified. “These are actual crimes that must be punished. They are crimes against our moral values that erode trust in government. Gov. Walz has known about fraud for years and failed to act.”
It seems Mr. Walz would rather spark riots than take accountability.
• Kelly Sadler is the commentary editor at The Washington Times.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.