LIVE STOP ICE INVASION Protest as Trump TARGETS Top Minnesota Dems

What this episode is about

A rally in downtown Minneapolis is protesting the Trump administration's rumored deployment of federal troops to the Twin Cities, urging an end to the occupation and advocating for local community autonomy. Protesters, braving frigid temperatures, are calling for a general strike and voicing their frustrations over executive overreach and the impact of ICE in the area.

Key takeaways

• In 12° weather, passion triumphs over comfort—protesting injustice is a cold but courageous affair.
• When public safety feels like a choice, community trust evaporates faster than a snowflake on a hot grill.
• Reelection campaigns and ICE patrols: a dangerous cocktail of politics and policing in the Twin Cities.
• Chants in English and Spanish reveal solidarity—where language barriers fall, community strength rises.
• Trump's first year: a catalyst for a social just movement, echoing Martin Luther King's fight against the three evils.

Who speaks in this episode?

• JT Saskowski (Host) · 28 min speaking
• Josh (Guest) · 23 min speaking
• Emilina (Guest) · 14 min speaking
• Doug (Guest) · 19 min speaking

What is discussed, and when

1. 0:00 – 10:00: Ice King, general strike, Twin Cities, Party for Socialism and Liberation
2. 10:00 – 20:00: general strike, Twin Cities, Ice King, Operation Metro Surge
3. 20:00 – 30:00: Twin Cities
4. 30:00 – 40:00: Twin Cities, JT Saskowski
5. 40:00 – 50:00: Twin Cities, general strike
6. 50:00 – 1:00:00: general strike, Twin Cities
7. 1:00:00 – 1:10:00: general strike, Twin Cities, JT Saskowski, Operation Metro Surge
8. 1:10:00 – 1:20:00: general strike, Twin Cities
9. 1:20:00 – 1:30:00: general strike, Twin Cities
10. 1:30:00 – 1:33:04: Twin Cities

Notable quotes from "LIVE STOP ICE INVASION Protest as Trump TARGETS Top Minnesota Dems"

• As of right now, they are chanting strike, strike, strike. Because in addition to today being a national walk out that's happening across the country on Friday, organizations here in Minneapolis.

  about general strike · at 1:33

• That is what I like to hear. My name is Josh. I'm a proud Mexican American and I'm an organizer with the party for socialism and liberation.

  about Party for Socialism and Liberation · at 8:33

• Two months ago, Operation Metro Surge began. The largest DHS operation in history has brought over 3,000 ICE agents into our communities.

  about Operation Metro Surge · at 11:13

• TWO WEEKS AGO, ICE murdered Renee Nicole Good in cold blood.

  about Ice King · at 12:19

• Carrying out here in the Twin Cities area that just came out today. I'll note that last night we interviewed Keith Ellison outside of the Whipple Federal Building where ICE is…

  about JT Saskowski · at 27:31

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

• JT Saskowski — Person · On-the-ground reporter / host (field correspondent) · 3 mentions · first at 0:03
  He narrates the live scene, interviews protesters/organizers, and frames developments (subpoenas, press conference, ICE activity) while reporting for Status Coup in partnership with Midas Touch Network.

Companies & orgs

• Party for Socialism and Liberation — Company · Business focus · 2 mentions · first at 8:04
  Political organization involved in organizing protests and strikes against ICE.

Concepts & topics

• Ice King — Concept · Core topic · 4 mentions · first at 2:14
  Central theme of the episode, discussing the impact and opposition to ICE's operations in Minneapolis.
• Operation Metro Surge — Concept · Strategy · 2 mentions · first at 11:13
  Large-scale DHS operation involving ICE agents in Minneapolis.

Places & events

• general strike — Event · Key argument · 20 mentions · first at 1:35
  Planned action by the community to protest against ICE and the Trump administration's policies.
• Twin Cities — Place · Setting · 30 mentions · first at 0:22
  Refers to Minneapolis and Saint Paul, the area affected by ICE operations.
  Streets. This evening we are listening to speakers, people who are here from PSL and other groups here in the Twin Cities area who are making their demands clearly heard. I…

Full transcript with timestamps

0:01 1935. All right. Hello everyone. JT Saskowski for Status Coup reporting in partnership with the Midas Touch Network. We are on the ground in Minneapolis, downtown Minneapolis, where behind me a rally is underway calling on the Trump administration to end its occupation of the Twin Cities area and to not deploy federal troops that are rumored and reported to be readying for the potential of being put on an American city's streets as a way to police this community and bring it to heal. for an authoritarian administration.

0:43 This rally is underway. There are well more than 100 people out here in the cold. It is currently 12°, but it feels like nine with the very gentle breeze that is coming through. Hopefully, you can tell from all of the layers that I am wearing here exactly how cold it is. But that does not deter these people whose passion has put them in the streets. This evening we are listening to speakers, people who are here from PSL and and other groups here in the Twin Cities area who are making their demands clearly heard. I want to take us over right now to hear from these speakers and not waste any more time so you can listen in on what they are saying and hear from these people in their own words what they want to hear or what they want from the Trump administration.

1:33 As of right now, they are chanting strike, strike, strike. Because in addition to today being a national walk out that's happening across the country on Friday, organizations here in Minneapolis are planning a are planning a general strike here in the city along with a rally. And we'll be reporting from that general strike on Friday. For now, I'm going to let you listen in on these speakers.

2:04 Working to fight uh executive overreach that the Trump administration has been serving our country as we know over the past 50 days. It's been 50 days now we've been occupied and ICE is certainly taking its toll. Um we went from holding, you know, little protests on the capital steps, hundreds of feet on the capital steps to thousands of feet in the streets now. Um, we're supporting rapid response efforts, uh, mutual aid, uh, distributing anti-ICE business kits, um, and of course, uh, there's been an ongoing Whipple protest ever since Renee was murdered, and we've been supporting that with resources, uh, such as medics.

2:49 Um, but I I also work here downtown and I work on Lake Street and I've seen pieces of the community uh missing every single day and I don't think um the average person in our cities feels safe right now. Um and it's interesting we're standing uh just 100 ft from the public safety facility. Um, and I don't think people feel safe right now. Uh, Henipin County Sheriffs have about a dozen squad cars at the Bishop Whipple Federal Building. They are impeding observation. They are obstructing protesters. They're shielding ICE from accountability.

3:44 And there is no law that requires uh Henipin County Sheriffs to do this. This is a choice um made by Sheriff uh Dana Wit. And it just so happens her reelection campaign kicked off tonight. Um so yeah, I think we should probably do something about that. Um, and if you know anyone uh who's going to be in around uh the uh famous Daves on Highway 7 in Minnetonka between 5 and 7:00 p.m. she's hosting her kickoff fundraiser. So maybe someone can go down and tell her how we feel about it. Um because federal, state, county officials, they owe us their transparency and right now that is uh definitely not happening. So you know every day here, every day this week and certainly on Friday, we are demanding accountability.

4:58 And we are demanding transparency um because public safety is for everyone, not just uh federal officers.

5:08 Thank you very much. And let's just do my uh my favorite. Uh no ICE, no KKK, no racist USA. NO ICE, NO KKK, NO RACIST USA. NO ICE, NO KKK. NO RACIST USA. NO ICE. NO KKK. NO RACIST USA.

5:29 No ice. No KKK. No racist USA. No ice. No KKK. No racist USA. No ice. No KKK. No racist USA.

5:41 Thank you very much. Hi everyone. Thanks for being out here in the cold. All right. We're going to do some chanting in Spanish. Thank you very much.

5:59 Yeah. All right. Um, here we go. Repeat after me. es Trump iceos lucha lucha. All right, we're going to do a new one.

6:56 There we go. A little more, folks. Louder. Louder. Like you mean it. As they are leaving these chants here, I want to take this time to just remind you that we are completely reliant on you, our audience, for these broadcast getting out to a wider audience. The best thing you can do is share or like this stream as a way to signal to the algorithms that this is something that people should be seeing. The way people are reacting here on the streets of Minneapolis to the Trump administration's occupation of the city.

7:50 Thank you everyone. NEXT UP There we go. Next up, we have one more speaker, Josh with the Party for Socialism and Liberation. Give it up.

8:11 THE PEOPLE UNITED WILL NEVER BE DEFEATED. THE People United will NEVER BE DEFEATED.

8:19 THE PEOPLE UNITED WILL NEVER BE DEFEATED. THE PEOPLE united will never be defeated.

8:27 GOOD EVENING EVERYONE. WHO'S READY TO STRIKE? That is what I like to hear. My name is Josh. I'm a proud Mexican American and I'm an organizer with the party for socialism and liberation. Today, the day after Martin Luther King Day, we mark one year of Trump's bloodthirsty, racist administration.

8:57 THAT'S RIGHT. IN OUR FIGHT TODAY, we continue Martin Luther King's legacy. That's right.

9:06 We continue his struggle against what he called the three evils of society. racism, war, and poverty.

9:17 That's right. One year in, Trump has demonstrated that this is exactly what his administration is all about.

9:30 Throughout his term, he sought to destroy the hardearned gains from the struggle and sacrifice of the civil rights era. Today we continue a tradition of walkouts from that very same era.

9:52 We continue as people of conscience refusing to accept injustice, refusing to participate in it, and refusing to let it continue any longer. In this moment, I'm reminded of the words of Ketta Scott King.

10:14 Struggle is a neverending process. Freedom is never really one. You earn it and win it in every generation. Well, today in this historic moment, IT IS OUR TURN TO FIGHT AND WIN IT. Trump is fermenting hatred against immigrants across the country. He deputizes white supremacists into his own personal army, setting them on us like attack dogs to show terror in our communities to punish anyone who dares to resist his racist and violent deportations.

11:02 Shame. Nowhere has that been any more clear than IT HAS BEEN RIGHT HERE IN MINNESOTA.

11:13 Two months ago, Operation Metro Surge began. The largest DHS operation in history

11:24 has brought over 3,000 ICE agents into our communities resulting I want to hear that LOUDER resulting in thousands of detentions and horrific violence at our homes, our schools, places of worship and our workplaces. To put that into perspective, Operation Midway Blitz in Chicago, mind you, over double the population in Minneapolis, had at its peak 300 to 600 ICE agents.

12:01 [ __ ] ICE. That's right. This high concentration of violent agents in our communities has only naturally led to horrific violence in our communities. TWO WEEKS AGO, ICE murdered Renee Nicole Good in cold blood.

12:27 Justice for JUSTICE FOR JUSTICE for As OUR RESISTANCE HAS GROWN, SO TOO HAS THE CRACKDOWN. from cancelling child care funding to ending financial support for food stamps to skyrocketing insurance premiums and the cutting of additional funding to states with sanctuary cities. TRUMP HAS TRIED TO MAKE MINNESOTA AN example

13:00 to enforce his racist policies. Trump is WILLING TO FORCE COUNTLESS MOTANS into poverty. To secure his power, he has declared open warfare on the working people of Minnesota. As my comrade Doug mentioned, THREATENING TO INVOKE the archaic insurrection act and THREATENING TO DEPLOY OVER 1,500 FEDERAL SOLDIERS HERE. Why is it that the boot is coming so hard down here of all places?

13:41 That's [ __ ] right. HE'S AFRAID. HE'S AFRAID. They're afraid of you. Whether it's been through mutual aid, forming rapid response networks, KEEPING ICE WIDE AWAKE AT NIGHT AND ENGAGING THEM AT THE OCCUPIED WHIPPLE BUILDING, WE ARE FIGHTING BACK.

14:10 We are waking up to our power as the working class. AND THAT IS A threat because when we band together in our thousands or tens of thousands, HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS, IN our millions,

14:27 WE CAN DEFEAT HIS RACIST AND BILLIONAIRE serving agenda. WHEN WE STRIKE ON FRIDAY, January 23rd, IT WILL SEND SHOCK WAVES THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE NATION. THAT WILL BE IMPOSSIBLE TO IGNORE.

14:50 But politicians across the political spectrum want us to stay home, including Governor Waltz and Mayor Jacob Fry.

15:01 This is blatant misleadership and falls right into Trump's dangerous narrative that our mass movement is somehow wrong or illegal. IT IS NEVER IT IS NEVER ILLEGAL TO resist racist deportations,

15:20 to resist racist terror. So if we don't hit the streets, we send the message THAT THE RICH AND POWERFUL CAN get away with terrorizing US. SO DO WE WANT TO STAY SILENT? NO.

15:38 DO WE WANT TO STAY SILENT? NO. OR DO WE WANT TO STAND UP FOR OUR NEIGHBORS? ARE YOU GOING TO STAND UP FOR YOUR NEIGHBORS?

15:49 THAT'S WHAT THIS GENERAL STRIKE IS FOR. IT'S OUR TURN TO FIGHT. FOLLOWING IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF ALL THE WORKERS WHO COME BEFORE US, WHO HAVE FOUGHT FOR A BETTER FUTURE AND WON. As Doug mentioned, our city, this town, this area is ripe with Union history. This is Union country.

16:16 And Donald Trump, Donald Trump is just another boss. STRIKE, STRIKE, STRIKE. IT IS OUR DUTY. IT IS OUR RIGHT. STRIKE. STRIKE. STRIKE. IT IS OUR DUTY. IT IS OUR RIGHT. STRIKE. STRIKE. STRIKE. IT IS OUR DUTY. IT IS OUR RIGHT. STRIKE. STRIKE. STRIKE. IT IS OUR DUTY. IT IS OUR RIGHT. STRIKE. It is our duty. It is our right. Strike. It is our duty. It is our right. It is our duty. Is our right.

16:52 Thank you everybody. All right everybody. We're going to do some more chants here. So, I'm going to say when Trump says get back, you're going to say we say fight back. Okay.

17:06 All right. When Trump says get back, as they move here into doing more chants as we wait for another speaker, I want to come in here and just ASK

17:18 THAT IF YOU'RE NOT ALREADY GET subscribed to Status Coup or to the Midas Touch Network who we have the pleasure of reporting here on the ground in partnership with here in Minneapolis.

17:31 Getting subscribed is the best way that you can be notified. of what is happening here on the ground in Minnesota. Not any of the administration's propaganda, nothing that's coming out of corporate news that is bought and paid for, but just a true unvarnished look of how people are reacting to the Trump administration's immigration crackdown and the tactics that are being employed by that administration. If you're not already, get subscribed. from Palestine to Mexico. And you're going to say, "All these walls have got TO GO." FROM PALESTINE TO MEXICO.

18:08 ALL THESE WALLS HAVE GOT TO GO. FROM PALESTINE TO MEXICO. ALL THESE WALLS HAVE GOT TO GO.

18:14 FROM PALESTINE TO MEXICO. ALL THESE WALLS HAVE GOT TO GO. FROM PALESTINE TO MEXICO.

18:20 ALL THESE WALLS HAVE GOT TO GO. FROM PALESTINE TO MEXICO. ALL THESE WALLS HAVE GOT TO GO.

18:26 All right. So, we're going to do no band, no wall, sanctuary for all. NO BAND, NO WALL, SANCTUARY FOR ALL. NO BAND, NO WALL.

18:39 And of course, our ability to even stream out here in 9° weather and to give this on the ground look at what is happening here in the Twin Cities is possible,

18:51 possible only through the support of our paid members. You are a paid member. Thank you. If you're not, consider becoming one. Go to statuscude.com/join.

19:00 Got Leo in the hat. Leo with the Marine Corps hat over here. So Leo is collecting funds for our mutual aid fund. PSL Twin Cities is uh has been working across the Twin Cities uh to support immigrant families directly. We we've been paying for groceries. We've been paying for people's uh rides to work because people don't feel safe leaving their homes. And most importantly, we've been paying for people's rent. All throughout December and all throughout January, we've been working with immigrant families to help them through this time because nobody deserves to be evicted. Everybody deserves housing.

19:50 So, if you feel that you want to contribute to this mutual aid fund, please see Leo. We have a QR code as well if you don't have cash on you. But yeah, let's give it up for Leo. Appreciate it.

20:05 Also want to note that we've been raising tens of thousands of dollars for mutual aid. So, the Twin Cities are showing up and showing out for our neighbors. I also want to encourage you to come to our uh our volunteer

20:24 uh events. We we are looking for volunteers to continue our outreach um with uh businesses in the Twin Cities. So, a lot of businesses uh particularly I've noticed the immigrant businesses in the Twin Cities, but many many businesses are shutting down on 20 on the 23rd of January and have committed to shut down.

20:47 So, if you are available, if you are down to do some outreach, I definitely recommend at 10:00 and 1:00 going to the University Baptist Church in Dinky Town and volunteering to do some outreach with us. If you're interested in signing up to be part of our volunteer group, uh, and also, you know, contributing to mutual aids, uh, I believe, uh, Ari is on outreach today. Is Ari here? Can they shout out?

21:17 All right. So, come find one of us. And also I also want to let you know please um come to one of us if you are interested in uh in an organization like the PSL but also continue coming to our nightly organizing meetings again at University Baptist Church. Uh come check us out at PSL Twin Cities on Instagram.

21:43 All right, that's the end of my announcement. I'm going to shout out our next speaker. She is a high school student and she's also a member of the Red Lake Band tribe of uh of the OI sorry the Red Lake Band of Ojiway tribe. Let's give it up for Emilina.

22:06 Hi. How's everyone doing tonight? Are you guys keeping warm? Us being together is going to keep us warm. That's right.

22:20 So, ICE has terrorized many of my people in my community by taking them every day and putting them in facilities and unmarked vehicles every single day

22:34 where they don't have community family to people for people to protect them every day and care for them and love them as community. ICE thinks it's okay to come to the lands where my people have been here for thousands of years.

22:53 As an indigenous student, I find it hard and difficult to go to school and live my daily life every day without fearing if I would be taken away from my family and won't be able to see them for the next couple of months or weeks.

23:14 Public schools are supposed to be one of my safe places where I have community and friends and family there

23:20 to protect and love me as their own. But now it's one of the places where I'm most afraid of.

23:32 All because of the color of my skin or if I have the most slightest of an accent is where I could be taken. Most of my high school in NPS, they are mostly online now because they are afraid to come out and mostly students are mostly afraid to come out and even go to school and make sure they get a good education.

24:02 As a person of color in this society, an ability to have to spread awareness of what's happened about these events. Everyone, not a specific group as a whole. We have to come together as community and bring our presence every day.

24:20 We have to protect one another. We have to love one another. This system wants to break our communities apart by having mass deportations and kidnapping that's happening still to this day. me and a couple of other people are working on getting essentials at my school um for families and people who are doing online learning

24:49 as if these times are very difficult for students of color and families of color to be going out just to go get basic needs of going to the grocery store just to have dinner. We have seen ICE come to our schools, taken our teachers and students. We need to come together to show that that is not okay.

25:18 We refuse to be terrorized by our own We refuse to be terrorized in our own communities. On January 23rd, workers and students and people all over Minnesota are going to show up full force and demand ICE out of our communities.

25:39 I want to encourage my peers to come to January 23rd mass shutdown to participate in a statewide shutdown. There is no work, no school, no shopping. That's right.

25:55 Thank you. Thanks, Emilina. All right, we're going to get marching soon. We are going to march today. Um, but as we get set up for the march, we're going to do some chants. How about that?

26:10 Desi is going to lead us in some chants real quick. So you hear there this crowd that has now swelled in just those few minutes since I introduced this stream a few minutes ago now swelled to several hundred people always when I'm standing in the midst of it. It is difficult to estimate the exact crowd size, but I'd say it'd be pretty safe to say that there is at least 300 people here, if not more on like the order of 500 people who are out here in single degree temperatures in downtown Minneapolis again to make their voices heard because they are angry at the Trump administration for occupying their streets, disappearing their friends, neighbors, family members off of those streets, and threatening further escalation in the former with military deployment down here. Another development that happened today that I want to be sure that I call out is the fact that local and state leaders here

27:05 being uh Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, uh Minnesota Governor Tim Walls, and Minnesota Attorney General KEITH ELLISON, have are reportedly going to be served with subpoenas by the Trump Justice Department as part of an investigation into them for their opposition to the Trump administration. and it deportation agenda that it is carrying out here in the Twin Cities area that just came out today. I'll note that last night we interviewed Keith Ellison outside of the Whipple Federal Building where ICE is coordinating many of their operations here in the Twin Cities area. And during that interview, Attorney General Ellison said that the Trump administration is using, this is before any news of a subpoena being served come out, said that the Trump administration is weaponizing the Justice Department against its enemies.

28:05 So likely get a sense there for why he thinks he might be targeted by a subpoena by an investigation from the Trump administration.

28:17 The other things that happened today is that the president, President Trump also held a press conference day where he was supposed to be touting the accomplishments of his administration over its first year. And during that he reiterated many of his racist comments that he has made about people of the Somali community living here in the United States and particularly here in Minnesota. But also during that he seemed to soften uh his immigration stance a little bit at least in rhetoric saying that he has told immigration enforcement officials that he wants them to ease up on the tactics that they are using. I'll note that over the last few days, myself and other independent journalists uh that I have been working with on the ground here have noticed a decrease in the amount of at least obvious immigration enforcement activity. Not to say that there are fewer agents here. You still see a lot of traffic coming and going

29:18 from the Whipple Federal Building where that immigration operation is being uh coordinated from. So, let's not make any mistakes here. There is still very much an immigration crackdown presence here, but the tactics that the Trump administration is using may have changed and it may just be the Minnesota weather actually just chilling uh chilling, so to speak, the immigration operations here. Now, these protesters are starting to move into the street. So, we'll go with them and follow them here on this march. And as we do so, we will also be interviewing some of those protesters so that you can hear from them in their own words why they want to be a part of this march, why they want to be out here today, their reactions to some of some of the latest news that has come out about the abuses that are being committed here in the Twin Cities. Some of which I just ran down for you there.

30:16 Down with deportation with liberation. Up with liberation. Down with deportation.

30:26 Up with liberation. Up with liberation. Down with deportation. Down with deportation.

30:34 UP WITH LIBERATION. UP WITH LIBERATION. DOWN WITH DEPORTATION. DOWN WITH DEPORTATION.

30:42 Up with liberation. Up with liberation. DOWN, DOWN WITH DEPORTATION. DOWN WITH DEPORTATION.

30:49 When I say WHAT DO WE WANT, WE SAY ICE OUT. WHAT DO WE WANT? ICE OUT. WHAT DO WE WANT?

30:54 ICE OUT. WHAT DO WE WANT? ICE OUT. WHAT DO WE WANT? ICE OUT. WHEN DO WE WANT IT?

31:00 NOW. WHEN DO WE WANT IT? NOW. IF WE DON'T GET IT, SHUT IT DOWN. IF WE DON'T GET IT,

31:07 SHUT IT DOWN. IF WE DON'T GET IT, SHUT IT DOWN. IF WE DON'T GET IT, SHUT IT DOWN. WHAT DO WE WANT?

31:15 ICE OUT. WHAT DO WE WANT? ICE OUT. WHEN DO WE WANT IT? NOW. WHEN DO WE WANT IT?

31:21 NOW. IF WE DON'T GET IT, SHUT IT DOWN. IF WE DON'T GET IT, SHUT IT DOWN. IF WE DON'T GET IT,

31:28 SHUT IT DOWN. IF WE DON'T GET IT, SHUT IT DOWN. I SAID IF WE DON'T GET IT, SHUT IT DOWN.

31:38 IF WE DON'T GET IT, SHUT IT DOWN. WHAT DO WE WANT? ICE OUT. WHAT DO WE WANT? ICE OUT.

31:46 WHAT DO WE WANT? ICE OUT. WHEN DO WE WANT IT? NOW. IF WE DON'T GET IT, SHUT IT DOWN.

31:51 IF WE DON'T GET IT, SHUT IT DOWN. IF WE DON'T GET IT, SHUT IT DOWN. WHEN IMMIGRANTS ARE UNDER ATTACK, WHAT DO WE DO?

32:01 STAND UP. WHEN IMMIGRANTS ARE UNDER ATTACK, WHAT DO WE DO? STAND UP LIKE THAT. When immigrants are under attack, what do we do?

32:10 Stand up LIKE THAT. WHEN SOMALI ARE UNDER ATTACK, WHAT DO WE DO? STAND UP. WHEN IMMIGRANTS ARE UNDER ATTACK, WHAT DO WE DO?

32:19 STAND UP. Give it up. Slower. Slower. No. Ben. No. March is getting underway here.

32:35 It's getting underway here in downtown Minneapolis. Hundreds of people flood into the streets here

32:43 in a scene that we have now seen play out again and again in these two months that the Trump administration has been occupying this city and has been directly targeting a blue city and a blue state and targeting immigrant populations or first second generation born Americans. populations like the Somali community targeted for clearly racist reasons. And this is the response. Hundreds taking to the streets here. And I'm looking around and I want to note that what I'm seeing here is a number of independent journalists who are out here to cover this, ourselves included, as we have been since early December with only a a couple of of breaks.

33:31 We have been on the ground here since early December. But what I'm not seeing are those national outlets that we had seen uh during those days uh right after Renee Good's killing. The story has faded somewhat and so has apparently the national media's interest. Their resources are not here. I'll also note that I do not see any of the local television cameras here to even feature these hundreds of voices that are taking to the streets here in Minneapolis. But we are here. We were here for the weeks before Renee Good's killing and we will be here for at least the next week and we take it day by day here at Status Coup. But when we commit to a story, we really commit. We stay here on the ground and cover what these people are saying, lifting up the voices of people in crowds like this to hear from them themselves about how they feel about the Trump administration centering its immigration crackdown on

34:32 this city. If you support that work, that sustained on the ground journalism that we do, please go to statuscoo.com/join for as low as $5 a month. You go to help support our efforts. And when I say our, I'm talking about myself, John, our small team here at Status Coup that we do to punch above our weight. We just got John back yesterday from his short break. I uh he just got back uh earlier today. I got in yesterday and we want to thank Will and Zach who held down the fort for us while we were uh while we were taking that break uh that while we were taking that break back home uh to to be with family for a few days, but we are back here because we believe this story is important and we want to cover and lift up these voices. So, in just a moment, I will go into this crowd and interview some of them. But I did want to make that that that pitch to you that the best thing you can do to support the

35:29 work that we do here at Status Coup is going to statuscu.com/join and for as low as $5 a month supporting us. The things that we use that money for is to afford our hotel rooms, afford food. Today what we did is we bought I guess I can't show you. They're inside my gloves, but we bought hand warmers. I've got foot warmers on this that you see uh here around my head. Uh this B this Bali clava was purchased to keep myself warm in the frigid temperatures that we are expecting in the days ahead here because it is January in Minnesota.

36:02 But that hasn't stopped the Trump administration from victimizing this community and it has not stopped these people from taking to the streets. John, I'm going to go find somebody to interview. Down down.

36:19 Up, up, UP WITH THE PEOPLE. UP WITH THE PEOPLE. DOWN WITH ICE. Down with ice. No van, NO WALL. Sanctuary for all.

36:31 I interviewed you about why you came out today. Donald Trump, LET'S BE CLEAR. DONALD TRUMP, LET'S BE CLEAR.

36:39 IMMIGRANTS ARE WELCOME HERE. I'm a reporter. Was Donald Trump, LET'S BE CLEAR. DONALD TRUMP, LET'S BE CLEAR.

36:47 IMMIGRANTS ARE WELCOME HERE. IMMIGRANTS ARE WELCOME HERE. DONALD TRUMP, LET'S BE CLEAR.

36:53 DONALD TRUMP, let's be clear. It's good. WELCOME HERE. IMMIGRANTS are welcome here.

37:03 Pardon me. I'm a reporter. Would you mind if I interviewed you about why you came out today?

37:08 Yeah. This is my uh this is my cameraman, John. We'll we'll walk with you so you guys don't have to stop marching.

37:18 Can I first get you to just uh say spell your name for me? Yeah. My name's Ashley. A S H L E Y Vanu Arts.

37:26 Ashley, thank you very much for for talking to us here today. What it's single it's singledigit temperatures. What made you want to come out despite the cold today? And what was the message you came to deliver?

37:39 Um you know I am out here for my two kids. I have a 5-year-old and a three-year-old at home. They are uh two boys who I want to be proud of where they grow up and we have a lot of community here. We have a lot of family and we want to fight to protect it.

37:55 Want to fight to protect it. You're talking about your two children. I'm a new father myself. So s though, thank you. But seeing what happened, you know, what's happening here in the country right now certainly gives me pause about the future that my child might be growing up with. Is anything of what's happening in the in the community right now registering with your kids? And if so, how are you explaining what's happening to them?

38:18 Yeah, my children joined us for their first protest at the No Kings event um a few months ago. um they are seeing what is happening in their community by hearing that their friends are scared um or that their teachers are scared and they want to take care of our earth. Um you know my son was born the night of the fires in Minneapolis when George Floyd was murdered and so this is not a new feeling to us. We want to raise our children with the education, knowing what is happening, not sugarcoating it, so that they're prepared to fight for the same future we want for them. How does it make you feel as a as a parent, you know, that this is registering for them, that they aren't able to just have that carefree childhood that they that they probably should have? I mean, what what's the emotions that that come up in you when when you think and see them grappling with these these problems that are happening around them in in their

39:22 world? Yeah, it's unsettling to the nervous system, right? I mean, I think the greatest hope that I have for my kids is that they can learn how to feel calm, that they can learn how to feel a part of something bigger than themselves. Uh, you know, I don't have religion to fall back on. I have people. I have love. And the support that is being shown in my community across cities, Twin Cities, Minneapolis. I was born in Woodbury. Uh, you know, I spent some time in Monomony, Wisconsin. This is where we want our kids to be is Minneapolis and St. Paul. The people here are built different, but it is a fear. It is a real fear. And so, we have to be brave as [ __ ] Speaking of that, being a part of something bigger than yourself, when you're in a crowd like this, hundreds of your fellow Twin Cities area residents who are coming together to speak with one voice like this, how does it feel?

40:20 I mean, it is one of the only soothing things to do right now aside from completely distract myself. Um, and you know, some days I choose that and some days I choose to come out. And I think we need a good mix of both. Today it was being reported that the Trump administration is going to serve subpoenas to uh Attorney General Keith Ellison, Governor Tim Walls, and uh Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Fry. What's your reaction? I mean, do you feel like the Justice Department is being in the justice system is is being weaponized?

40:56 I think Donald Trump is a child. I think that he is a I think he's bummed out that people aren't supporting him the way he wants to be. I think he's reacting in a way that's absolutely absurd to be holding our government officials under some sort of uh like contempt of justice here. I think it's absolutely ridiculous. Honestly, our governor and Jacob Frey and now uh Collie her, they're doing their very best to make sure that their city knows that they'll stand behind them and that's exactly what they should be doing.

41:35 The president today during a press conference said that he is telling uh telling his immigration officials to uh to relax or to uh temper the the tactics that they are using in places like Minneapolis. As somebody who lives here, are you feeling that at all? Does it feel like the federal government has has relaxed itself in any way? The only thing that has changed as far as I've seen reported at the Whipple building is that they're not bringing their machine guns out anymore. But that doesn't mean that they've stopped any of their chemical irritants. That doesn't mean they're not going to cause another man to become blinded by sending pieces of shrapnel and plastic flying all over the place.

42:26 It is a war zone, I believe, as reported by the New York Times, the closest thing to a civil war that they've seen. So, I don't think we're going in the right direction. The right direction would be getting ICE out of Minneapolis.

42:41 Is there I mean I mean and that's what this entire movement here is to call for. But I think it has to be said that the president has done maybe even unintentionally a pretty masterful job of getting stories like the Epstein files and the state of the economy out of the news by putting the suffering of Minneapolis on the front page of outlets like the New York Times. Do you see what's happening here in Minneapolis as a distraction from uh from the Trump administration's other myriad of scandals?

43:18 Absolutely. I think anything that's distracting from the fact that this man should not be in office, that he is completely putting himself above the law, all his own personal interests going above the law, making sure that his pocketbook is flush with coin. It's just absolutely ridiculous what's happening. Of course, we're going to get attention because Minneapolis will not be silenced, but it is a distraction from getting this man out of the office of the president of the United States is absurd that this has happened again. And the fact that our neighbors have voted him in a second term is crushing to me as an American and a motan. We've heard multiple calls here during this demonstration for on Friday the 23rd a what amounts to a general strike here in uh in Minneapolis and Minnesota as a way to push back against the Trump administration and send a powerful message of of unimity of action here in

44:23 the state. Do you plan to participate on Friday? Yeah, absolutely. This was a a two-day plan. I reached out to my employer last week, let them know that I wasn't going to be in the office, asked for their support, received it, and yeah, I will be out here again on Friday, January 23rd, supporting my neighbors.

44:45 So, I mean, that's kind of remarkable that you also got, you know, the, you know, the nominal support of your of your employer as part of that. Is one day enough in your mind to be able to send an adequate message to the Trump administration? I think the the thing that's helpful about a single day is that it can really help to bring the community together, focus their intention on a day, really show the mass of people. Now, one day isn't enough for us all to heal from the torment and torture that we've experienced in these neighborhoods, but it is something to see that we are all together in this. Ashley, thank you very much. Is there anything else you would want to add while you had the platform?

45:33 Um, I would just say happy birthday to MLK Jr. and I think that, you know, it's not just about the uh immigrants in our community. It's about every single individual in this country experiencing equality and the billionaires need to equalize our experience.

45:54 Thank you very much. I appreciate the time. Let's get back to it. Just one voice there. A mother who you heard talking about

46:05 a mother there that here you hear talking about her children's uh experience here in the in the Twin Cities area. young boys who still despite their young age have to wrestle with the fact that the president is directly targeting their communities, making their kid uh making their friends, making their teachers afraid, that fear breaking through to them. And that's something that is being is an experience that is being echoed all across this city, all across this state and in other cities that the Trump administration has directly targeted.

46:43 That's just one voice. And then you see the hundreds upon hundreds of people that are out here. And you start to think about all of their reasoning for being out here. Whether that be because they have kids who are suffering or be it because, you know, they themselves are worried about being directly targeted or having family members who are being directly targeted or in some way or in some way being victimized by this administration. and the crackdown that it is carrying out, potentially fearing that that deployment of troops that the president uh is apparently making those early steps to do, deploying the 11th Airborne Division, putting it on in a more readied state, telling it to potentially deploy uh be prepared to potentially deploy here to to Minneapolis. We're taking a quick break here just so that we can warm ourselves up as much as we can. We've got hand warmers out here today, something that

47:42 we did not have last night. Uh we've got uh extra layers that we are wearing, but the cold out here still takes a toll. So, we have to try, you know, we have to take those breaks for ourselves. We have to take those breaks for ourselves when possible to be able to uh to be able to be sure that we are being safe as we bring you these scenes of what is happening out here. And there we're able to get a pretty decent uh pretty decent look at the at the at the size of this crowd here as it makes its way through the streets on what is a Tuesday a Tuesday night. The number of people who come out in the Tuesday night cold here in the Twin Cities to make their voices heard.

48:31 And a common theme that we have heard out here from people that we talk to is the way that they feel like they are being kind of pushed into a corner, so to speak, being set up to being turned into a pressure cooker situation that will in some way eventually lead to the use of the insurrection act uh through any incident that might happen. the continue application of pressure here in the Twin Cities area until something happens, until eventually enough friction, somebody makes a bad decision or an accident happens that eventually gives the president some sort of basis to use the Insurrection Act to put American soldiers on an American city's streets as a way to enact control of that city.

49:43 and of us doing this work here out in the cold is of value to you. Please go to statuscoo.com/join for as low as $5 a month. you go to help us afford more hand warmers and go to help us stay out here in the streets and talk to these people.

50:02 Lift up voices like the one that you just heard and the more that we will hear from here in just a moment.

50:16 Thank you. You just let me know. Strike strike strike. Strike, strike, strike. It is our duty. It is our right.

50:34 It is our duty. It is our right. Strike. Strike. Strike. Strike. Strike. Strike.

50:40 It is our duty. It is our right. It is our duty. It is our right. Strike. Strike. Strike. Strike, strike, strike.

50:49 You hear them there. The chant is, "It is our duty, it is our right." Strike, strike, strike being the response from the crowd. That is a rally to action for this Friday. While today was a national walk out that was planned as a way to protest the Trump administration, here in the state of Minnesota, labor unions and other organizations had been coming together for a n or for a a a day of what they're calling a day of action, but what in effect amounts to a general strike. what in effect amounts to a general strike calling for no work, no school, no shopping, no economic activity.

51:30 Anything that needs to happen should go to local businesses first as a way of demonstrating against the Trump administration that they have a collective voice and a collective power that has not yet been realized or employed against this administration. And so we are making plans to be here and report on that general strike and the effects that it has and the participation to the extent that we can measure it. I'll note that come this Friday, the high the high in the temperature out here is right now being forecast at -10°.

52:12 That's without the wind chill. And there's plans for a uh march that day as well at 2:00 in the afternoon. I've been trying to talk to some of the organizers and see how the cold will affect their plans. As of right now, that march is going ahead and there's even more actions planned for this Friday as well that we will be reporting on that day. So, if you want to follow along to see how the the Twin Cities area and the state of Minnesota stands up and tries to make its voice heard through the actions of a general strike.

52:47 Please get subscribed to ourselves here at Status Coup and to our partners at the Midas Touch Network, who I of course cannot thank enough for the platform and the support that they give us to be able to report out here in the Twin Cities area. Please get subscribed to us so that you can see that coverage as it comes out. We do both. We do both live reports like this near daily. We try to do them daily from the streets here in Minneapolis cuz there are daily actions happening against the Trump administration. Don't fall prey to the administration's propaganda where it wants to claim as the president did today in his press conference. Don't fall prey to these ideas that the that what is happening here is just a few malcontents or paid agitators as the president alleged today in a press conference. It is hundreds upon thousands. We've even been at demonstrations with tens of thousands of people taking to the streets here in the

53:46 Twin Cities area. So, not only do we broadcast from these on a daily basis, but we also do uh uh prepackaged or edited and recorded reports. We're doing some more tomorrow where we will spend the morning riding along with some people who are doing uh uh you knowh watching of of ICE and other immigration agents as they're out in the communities. We'll be doing a a ride along with some of them and we edit those and we put them out on our our YouTube channel. So please get subscribed so you can see you can see those reports uh a as we release them.

54:30 Are you good? Yeah. Yeah. Oh god. Let's try and get to the front. There's that pink shirt. We're going back into the crowd here to get another interview. I see someone who is dressed in a pink shark costume that I want to try and talk to. Of course, these inflatable costumes have become a bit of a a symbol out here for these demonstrations become a symbol of nonviolence and to try and make any any response of violence from the federal government or from local authorities look absurd. To try and show that they are that these demonstrations are not violent are not violent in their intent.

55:37 power. We're waiting here cuz there's quite a buildup of ice here along the roads as well. So, I'm waiting for a break in this ice before John and I dance uh back over. We're walking on the sidewalk right now before we dance back over to the road to uh talk to uh talk to Pink Shark here.

56:09 Tell them to get out of our city. I'm from Minneapolis. What's your name? My name is Joshua McMillan.

56:18 All right, Joshua. And uh there is a fear in this city. People are cancelling recovery groups. People that are in addiction that need recovery. People are are scared to go out. I'm having friends sending me their locations that are minorities because they're worried that ICE is going to come and take them. Good work and positive people and we're all in fear. City has been shut down quite a bit. There's been nobody out on the streets until now. And and and the fear that I causing. I was out in the Whipple building and and all the people from different states. It feels like we're being evaded.

56:58 Joshua raises a good point there. We have focused a lot in our coverage and probably rightly so on the direct harm that the Trump administration is causing through its immigration agenda out here. The the the ripping apart of families, the tearing apart of communities and the way that they disappear people off the street. But Joshua, you're raising a good point to the indirect harm that is caused through the fear the fear in people to the point where like things like addiction support groups are not meeting. What is that indirect harm that is then being caused

57:31 and you know it's not I'm assuming when you're saying like you know when you think about like a uh uh like that schools are offering remote learning right now because children are scared that addiction support groups are not meeting. We have heard and and you have heard on our broadcast from people who have who have said that they are that they are doctors uh whose patients are not coming in for cancer treatments as we just heard the other night. Uh Minnesota is a good state and there's a reason why they say it's Minnesota nice.

58:05 We care about our people. We are not aggressive. But when they come and they're backing us into the corner, what do you expect? We can't trust our federal government. Who can we trust? We can't even trust our police right now. When you say when you say, "What do you expect? What do you feel like is is the reaction that's merited here from the Twin Cities? What is left to you for recourse when you do feel backed into a corner?" It's it feels like right now that the people are being backed in the corner because we are being invaded on our state and we are being back we are people are isolated. People are not out and about and we're tired of it. What can we do? The people that we elect, why are they not defending us right now? We feel betrayed here.

58:54 Saying feeling betrayed by their own elected officials for not doing enough to resist what is happening here in the Twin Cities area.

59:02 This is people's life and right now it's all about partisan politics. And right now you don't play politics when it comes to people's lives. Joshua, some of those leaders, Mayor Jacob Fry, Governor Tim Walls, uh, Deputy Attorney General Keith Ellison were just, it's being reported, are going to be served subpoenas by the Trump administration for their resistance against the Trump administration. When you hear that, what's your reaction? Partisan politics. They're playing politics when it's coming to people's lives. That's what it's doing. Mayor Fry said it very politely, but very true. Get the [ __ ] out of Minneapolis.

59:44 Joshua, thank you very much for your time. Is there anything else you would want to add?

59:48 I get the [ __ ] out of Minnesota. Uh Minnesota is a great state. We love our people and we're out here peacefully protesting. We are not doing any harm, but power to the people.

1:00:00 Thank you very much. Appreciate it. All right, John, I can give you a break here a little bit. want me to tell you that with the windshield, it's uh

1:00:09 Oh, is it? So, I want to stress something here. I I want to stress something here that it is cold out. It's not quite as cold as it was last night, but it is cold here. Uh my nose is continuously running. I'm wearing more layers than I was last night. I got the hand warmers in, the feet warmers in. I've got ski pants over my regular pants, over thermals. Uh up top, I'm wearing four layers right now. And on my head, I've got a hat that's over top of a balava. That's what we have to wear just to still be out here and feel cold on top of what we're doing. And if you think what I'm doing looks tough or dangerous, and I saw people in our chat last night who were very concerned for for my well-being, and I I thank you for for being so, but I promise we don't push ourselves uh further than than we feel we need to to get the story here at Status Code. We we do value our own personal safety. But

1:01:04 everything I'm doing, John's doing behind the camera, walking backwards, and he's constantly got one of his hands gripping our cold metal tripod. And he already had a a brush with um a brush with frostbite in some of our our ice coverage and their raids that they were doing out in the suburbs of Minnesota last month. Because again, this story did not start with the killing of Renee Nicole Good earlier this month. Operation Metro Surge has been going on here since early December and we have been on the ground here for weeks. But that's why we're taking a break. We take these uh we're taking these long breaks in between in between our uh our our our interviews here is just to give John a chance to to get his hands warm to be able to set the set the camera down here like he is now and and get his hands warm because otherwise he's got them both out gripping it. I can tell you just my one hand that's gripping the

1:01:58 microphone gets cold and that's why you'll see me switch the microphone between my hands and that's this is a lot less than what John is doing over there. So we have to be very careful with him and be very sensitive to to his needs. The protests have have paused here and there. So, we're going to set up the tripod a little bit and I'm just going to listen in on some of the speeches that are happening here while we give John's hands uh hands a break so that he can get warm

1:02:24 cuz it is. All right. Right now, the protesters have actually have actually arrived outside of a a hotel

1:02:33 have arrived outside of a hotel here as I try to figure out which one it is, but they've arrived outside of a hotel here in downtown Minneapolis where and the Malax Band of Ojibway

1:02:45 where they uh where they believe that the uh some ICE agents either have stayed or are staying right now.

1:02:51 He said no. All the ICE agents got a letter that said you are no longer welcome here.

1:03:00 ICE is no longer welcome in any of these hotels and people know that. We want everybody to know you are not welcome here. Ice, get out. Hey ice.

1:03:14 Hey Ice, get out. Get out. HEY ICE. HEY ICE. GET OUT. GET OUT. HEY ICE. HEY ICE.

1:03:21 GET OUT. GET OUT. HEY. So you hear there what the protesters are doing. They're making all of this noise.

1:03:29 All right. outside of these hotels because they have seen success in the agitation in the direct confrontation with businesses here that are doing business with uh uh federal agents or that they suspect of doing business with federal agents, sending that message that these agents are not welcome here, stop doing business with them. And some of those hotels have actually sent messages to the federal government or or cancelled reservations for ICE and other immigration enforcement agents out here. John, just checking in with you. How are your hands doing? Are you good for another interview? All right, we'll do another short one here. I want to find Pink Shark here since I had promised that just a minute ago.

1:04:11 Pink Shark talking to a another photographer here. Excuse me, Pink Shark. Uh, my name is JT. I'm a reporter. Do you mind if I interview you for a moment?

1:04:20 I can't speak that well. Can't speak that well. Okay. It's hard to hear in here.

1:04:26 Hard to hear in there. Okay, that's understandable. But do you mind if I if we try for a few questions?

1:04:31 Go for it. Go for it. Okay. Uh I wanted to first ask about about the costume. Why did you want to come to this demonstration dressed as a pink shark?

1:04:38 I think this situation is absurd. So I felt it natural to respond with my own absurdity. Um, I think absurdism is a natural foil to fascism because it can't be wrapped into a fascist narrative. Um, and it just makes people smile. That's the main

1:04:58 In what ways do you feel this situation is absurd? I mean, people being taken out of their homes who have lived here for decades. a restaurant in my hometown like an hour away from here had to close down because they're afraid

1:05:14 to go to work. I mean, that's absurd. A woman killing her car is absurd. So I I mean another point of absurdity here I'd say is also just the how some of this is being uh covered in the media or rather maybe what's not being covered in the press is uh and maybe there are some issues that you want to raise here but one that I want to bring up is the fact that the issues like the Epstein files have now it seems fully disappeared from from the headlines and it's all centered on Minnesota. I'm I'm curious as part of that absurdity, it is as as brutal as the crackdown is here, do you feel like all of that brutality is a distraction for the Trump administration?

1:05:59 Absolutely. I mean, in one way, this is pushing another front of theirs. So, I don't believe it's a full distraction. It's just another narrative to push away a different one.

1:06:12 Too many people were focusing on the wrong thing. So, got to target the vulnerable again. So,

1:06:21 one way that the Twin Cities is trying to push back or the organizations, people are trying to push back here in the Twin Cities area is with this uh uh planned uh what amounts to a general strike

1:06:34 on Friday. Do you plan to participate? Oh, hell yeah. And if so, how? Going to be here with a buddy of mine, also in a shark costume. same way. Just showing up, making our presence known, drawing attention to ourselves. Of course, I think that's another big part of this is just the attention it draws to the whole cause.

1:06:54 Do you feel like a one day general strike? Is it sufficient to send a message to the Trump administration?

1:07:01 I feel like it's a good start, but I think we need to go further. What would further look like to you? Like, what do you feel like is needed in this moment? I don't know if I'm smart enough to answer that.

1:07:13 I get it. I get it. You're just one pink shark. And maybe it's uh unfair of me to ask you to have the answers to all of the of the Yeah. of of the problems facing the world right now. Uh I did want to ask you about your sign here. It says "Ice has killed four times as many people as sharks in the last year. Ice out of our water." I mean, I'm just curious. Is that based on like statistics that you've looked up here?

1:07:39 Yes, I'm actually a big um fan of marine biology as well as um you know, amphibians reptiles and so I know one of the biggest stigma is like, "Oh god, I would hate to end up with a shark." That's not what you have to worry about. What you have to worry about is the people invading your town right now. You know, throw away those irrational fears. There's something to do right now about like there there is something you should be afraid of. There's something you should be doing about it. Speaking of that fear and some of that danger that your sign lays out there as the days go on from Renee Good's killing, I think it's it's easy for for uh for press to ignore or to begin to forget about that that that that brutal killing that happened here in the Twin Cities area. To forget about Renee Good's death, it's one something that I want to be sure we continue to center here as these days go on. How do you continue

1:08:34 to keep to keep her memory or that loss that the Twin Cities area suffered centered in your own actions and activities and and protests that you're doing out here?

1:08:45 Um, it's important to keep the victim's name in mind. I feel like that's the name that's more important than um anybody else's.

1:08:55 Um, I'm going to be so honest. I didn't hear the full question. That's totally That's totally fair. I was just asking how you intend to try and keep Renee's uh Rene's uh uh like essentially her her experience, that loss, how you keep it centered in in yourself and not allow that to be lost amidst everything else that's happening.

1:09:15 Keep showing up. I mean, keep moving forward. There has to be a solution or some sort of um what's the word? some sort of resolution to the fact that like this disturbing crime happened here.

1:09:32 Pink Shark, you've been remarkably patient with me. I'll just I'll just end by asking, is there anything else that you that you would want to add?

1:09:39 Uh, [ __ ] Ice. Get out of our town. Thank you very much. I appreciate the time.

1:09:51 What' you say? Justice. I love you. Justice now. Justice now. Justice. Uhoh. We'll get out of here. demonstrations are looks like returning to where they began here in downtown Minneapolis. So, it seems like the march part of this demonstration is over, which I think is welcome news for John's hands. So, it means he can set the tripod down and to breathe some hot air over them here and and and uh clutch his hand warmers a little bit tighter. You heard there from just a few voices that we were able to showcase there during that march. People who are still crying out for action that they feel like it is insufficient action whether that being the president saying that he has you know nominally told his immigration enforcement officials to you know in some nebulous way uh relax the ways that they are or the tactics that they are using here in the streets. And so far, the only discernable way that at

1:11:20 least one person we talked to said was, "I guess they're not bringing fully automatic weapons out uh in front of protesters outside of the federal building just outside of Minneapolis, but otherwise feeling like the reign of terror continues here in the Minneapolis area, or whether that be essentially inaction from their elected leaders, while at the same time those leaders are being charged for their supposed resistance to the Trump administration. these leaders who these folks out here feel like these folks feel like are not doing enough but are still getting charged for that inaction. So why not get caught trying and actually doing something to support these people and then you know getting investigated anyway as it seems the Trump administration is want to do weaponizing the justice system and the justice department against their political enemies. And then of course you also heard there from

1:12:19 that pink shark who stood up and said that they want to bring a sense of absurdity to the protest to highlight the absurdity of what is happening here. a federal government that is occupying its own country that is being deployed to cities and states that oppose the president politically. So therefore, they get a heel ground into their backs as they are shoved to the ground literally by agents of that federal government, a paramilitary force with a budget of billions that's been deployed here. And being able to hear these voices and tell it like it is the way we do here on Status. Please go to statuscue.com/join.

1:12:58 For as low as $5 a month, you go to keep us truly editorially independent. There is there is no corporate there is no corporate sponsorship. There is no corporate sponsorship to what we are to what we're saying here. You don't have to worry about me being sponsored by big pharma or us, you know, pussy-footing around maybe losing some sponsorship. So me pulling back on the rhetoric or on the observations that we are making out here, I don't have to worry about that. I'm not beholden to any partisan interests. I get to come out here and just lift up the voices of the people who actually live in places like this despite the cold. We do this here in all weather conditions to the point where it is where it is three

1:13:43 where it is 3° here with the windchill. Hopefully, you might be getting a sense of that as I'm continuously wiping my nose and sniffing. My nose is just running. My cheeks are stinging from the cold. I bought this bought this today with the generous support of our members. Thank you. You went to afford this lovely uh Hannibal Lectaresque uh mask for me that actually helps me keep my face warm so I can continue to talk effectively. This uh rally is still going, so we're going to go up there and listen into it here as it continues. Uh, but right before I do that, I do want to just make one more call for you to please go to statuscu.com/join.

1:14:23 If you can't do that, please get subscribed to ourselves and our partners at the Midas Touch Network, uh, who help lift up our reporting. We both would very much appreciate it. Be able to support our reporting and be notified when we do other live reports that we're doing sometimes multiple times daily. and to see our pre-recorded and edited reports that we put out on our YouTube channels as well and on our social medias. And short of that, please also like and share these streams so that others see and hear from the people actually here on the ground in the Twin Cities and that they're not just hearing the propaganda of the Trump administration.

1:15:02 Careful. Very slippery here on the ground. shut down on January 23rd. Pardon me, folks.

1:15:14 But we need help getting the word out. So, we have volunteer outreach happening every day. Different shifts at University Baptist Church leading up to the 23rd. Are you going to make it out there?

1:15:29 We also have nightly organizing meetings at Baptist Church, University Baptist Church at 6 p.m. every day. Are you going to be there?

1:15:40 All right, let's make the statewide shutdown on the 23rd big. Let's make it huge. Let's make it known that we demand ICE out.

1:15:56 Um, this is where our march ends tonight, folks. But a big shout out to the Marshalls tonight for keeping us safe. and we'll see you all on the 23rd, 2 pm at Commons Park.

1:16:13 Thanks everyone. Ice out. Getting up here climbing to the top of a hill so we can look out and show you this crowd. As this demonstration starts to break apart here in these last moments, I'm going to try and find some organizers here to talk to about their plans for the coming week, some of the organizing that they're doing here on the ground and their preparations that they are making for that general strike that is coming up here at the end of the week on the 23rd. So bear with me for just a moment while I find one of those organizers.

1:17:03 Sweet. What's your name, man? I'm Doug. Doug. JT. JT. Status. Coup. Uh, my cameraman's right down here if you don't mind.

1:17:16 All right. All right. I am here with Doug from the party of uh socialism and li Liberation. Doug, first I just got to be sure. Common spelling on Doug.

1:17:25 Yep. Common spelling D O U G. All right. First, I just want to get your reaction to this march. You had many hundreds of people out here despite the single-digit temperatures. One point we looked and it was 3° out here with the wind chill.

1:17:37 Uh slight breeze out here. Um but uh I just want to get your reaction. How did it feel to have that many people out here in the Minnesota cold to deliver um you know a message of you know one ice get out of the Twin Cities and two no troops here on the ground in in Minnesota.

1:17:53 Yeah, it was exhilarating. Um, I think I think that the people have been more and more, you know, the labor unions started the call, but the people are organically ready to stop work, stop school, stop shopping, to shut this city down, to such to shut this state down because uh, you know, our families, our our neighbors, our friends, they're all getting either kidnapped, hurt, or in some other way affected by this crisis. Um, and I think the troops being deployed here, um, was an added layer of just repression, but also needless, um, you know, provocation by the Trump administration. So, I think everybody realizes that this is, uh, an attack on the people like this, clearly the troops coming here. It was an attack on the Minneapolis for standing up. Um, and we're all ready to to shut it down.

1:18:41 Yeah. You you talk about that, you know, that that that sort of just ground swell of support even though that it was labor unions who started the call that it is just rank and file everyday people who are coming out and responding to that call for a general strike. And I'll say that it is something that in our reporting here on the ground in the Twin Cities, but before that in Charlotte, in Chicago, in all of these cities that we have been reporting from where that have been victimized by the Trump administration, by these immigration crackdowns where these paramilitary forces are going into their neighborhoods and tearing people apart, we had heard calls for I want to be a part of a general strike of some kind of economic action. Sure.

1:19:18 So, uh, I I'm when you heard finally that it seemed like unions that and other organizations were going to take a leadership role and actually start calling for something official, what was just on a personal level, what was your personal reaction to that news?

1:19:32 I think it's incredible. It's heartening because I'm myself, I'm a union member. I work for the state of Minnesota and uh you know seeing that unions recognizing that their members are under attack uh and that that you know the communities that they're members within or live within and reside in are also under attack. I think it's extremely heartening uh and I'm grateful that the unions began the call and I think that the people rising up also makes me really grateful. So I'm full of love and full of energy right now. It's been se it's been I think now a couple of weeks or at least more than a week since uh that call for the general strike was first initiated and the date was picked on the calendar of of the 23rd for this action to commence. It seems like we've got some very cold weather in store for that day that might you know temper what can be done on a on an actual action level out in the streets where you're

1:20:19 talking about a high of -10 but what are your hopes for the day? What do you want to see from your fellow motans? Yeah, I mean all of us can participate in whatever way we can for the strike. Um, so I encourage you to reach out to your communities to get connected to a rapid response network or to an organization uh if you're not, you know, a member of a union. Obviously, if you're a member of a union, then you should consult with them uh and see what guidance that they have. Um, but even if you're a business owner or um somebody that operates uh you know that works, there's a way that you can participate in the strike. Um, so yeah, come talk to us. You can follow us at PSL Twin Cities. Um, but we are here to support the strike and we're here to fight.

1:21:02 What I mean a something as monumental as a general strike takes a lot of organizing work. What if any work is PSL doing in the leadup to the general strike to try and help with that organizing?

1:21:13 Yeah, I mean we we are supporting the labor movement. Many of us are in labor. Uh, and also, you know, we are doing a lot of outreach with businesses. You can check out our Instagram page. Um we have been talking with many many businesses across the Twin Cities um to you know talk through what a general strike looks like um talk through how to shut down what what shutting down looks like and also publicize the fact that so many of these businesses are shutting down because their bottom line is already getting cut. Um and you know a lot of these businesses have faced many like financial issues, logistical issues, operational issues because of the ICE operation. Um, and the, you know, for some it might seem like it's a big expense to shut down for a day, but at the same time, the bigger expense is ICE being in our cities and terrorizing us.

1:22:01 So, is one day enough? Is that enough to send a message? Is that enough to accomplish what you would hope to accomplish with a general strike?

1:22:09 One day is a start. Um, I think we need to show the world that this is possible in America. uh America, you know, the United States, we're we're seeing an upsurge of of activity when it comes to fighting back against this Trump administration. Um they're trying everything. They're trying to cut our SNAP benefits. They're trying to go to war with all these different countries. They're bombing several like Trump has bombed the most countries out of any president ever. Um and they're trying all these things, but we're still rising up. And we I think that Minneapolis is going to be the spark for a larger movement. Um, and I hope that people listening from other places around the country and around the world um, start to realize that, you know, if you're an American, you can fight back. We're now exactly one year into the Trump administration and at least for myself, it really put into perspective the three

1:23:00 years that still lie ahead. When you're talking about this is the spark or this is the start. I mean, are you thinking already about longer term organizing about, you know, what might need to be done if the Trump administration continues to escalate the terror that it's inflicting on cities like Minneapolis?

1:23:17 Yeah, absolutely. I mean, the the fight is going to continue. I think we need to steamroll these general strikes across the country. Um, and I think we also need to realize that um, you know, we have to get organized. We have to get connected with each other before um, you know, things start to escalate even more. uh Trump is trying to normalize these troops on the streets. Um as a soldier, as a former soldier, as uh a veteran, I cannot fathom how the the vast majority of us think that this militarization of our streets is normal.

1:23:49 Um so we need to get connected to each other, build some trust in our communities, and fight back.

1:23:54 I want you to put yourself back in the shoes of when you uh when you were serving. If you had been asked to deploy to an American city, how would you what would have been going through your mind?

1:24:07 Yeah, I mean I think as someone who is trained to, you know, maneuver troops on the battlefield to to you know destroy enemies and things like that. Um if I were deployed the first question is who is the enemy? What is the situation? Um what is the friendly forces situation look like? What does the enemy forces situation looks like? what does the terrain look like? Um, I can't think of a a scenario where the enemy is not the US people. And as a soldier, you don't want the US people to be your enemy. That doesn't make any sense. Um, and I think a lot of soldiers are going to be soldiers, marines, airmen, whatever. Uh, you know, uh, sailors, etc. They're going to be questioning this because the logic of the military is fighting the enemy. And what other enemy is there?

1:24:53 It's got to be the US. And that doesn't make any sense. uh and we shouldn't be fighting ourselves. We should be uh defying illegal orders. We should be rising up uh and we should be fighting back.

1:25:04 The Trump administration has proven, I mean, even if uh you know, some of these soldiers were to, you know, defy illegal orders. I mean, the Trump administration has already shown zero tolerance for that kind of rhetoric, going after Democrats for doing something as simple as just stating what is, you know, military policy in in defying uh uh in defying illegal orders. Um but also now weaponizing the Justice Department against some of the local leaders here in in Minnesota. First uh uh Mayor Jacob Fry, Governor Tim Walls, and uh Attorney General Keith Ellison are all reportedly going to be subpoenaed as part of investigations by the Trump administration. When you when you hear that one, do you think that that kind of action is warranted? Have they done enough to warrant some sort of federal investigation? Like, have they done enough in your mind to resist the Trump administration to the point that the

1:25:55 Trump administration even should be looking to launch investigations into their political enemies?

1:26:01 I don't I don't think um Keith Ellison, you know, Jacob Fry, Tim Waltz, I don't think they've done anything to warrant like an arrest. I don't think it makes any sense. It sounds to me like what the what the Trump administration did to President Maduro in Venezuela. Um it's very fabricated. Um it's a lot of manufactured consent. Um, and I do think that, you know, there's no there's nothing to like um there's nothing to lose for these Democrats that are in power to take a stronger stance uh in fighting against the Trump administration and telling soldiers, federal soldiers even um that, you know, we should be protecting the people of Minnesota. We shouldn't be fighting them. Doug, I want to end just by talking about putting things into perspective a little bit and on a national level because I think it can be so easy to get hyperfocused on the latest incidents of violence that's being carried out here in the twin in

1:26:57 the streets of the Twin Cities, right? But to zoom out and put it into perspective, something that I haven't really heard covered in the national news of late is a the topic of the Epstein files. Do you feel like the violence that's being carried out here in the Twin Cities is in any way a distraction by the Trump administration? I I get that it's crass to maybe say that the violence that your city is facing is even implying that it is a distraction. I'm just curious as somebody who lives here, do you see it that way?

1:27:25 Uh certainly not. Um I do think that the Epstein files is definitely I mean I I'm not an investigator. I haven't read a ton about it, but I can say that it's definitely probably a huge component of what Trump's calculus is right now. Um, but I do think as well, like I don't want to discount the power of the people. Obviously, I'm biased, but I think we Minneapolis rising up, the state of Minnesota rising up to fight ICE. Um, I think Trump, you know, may or may not have a vendetta against this state. Um, and I think that uh it's very convenient to that he's here and that he's fighting here uh the people of of the state of Minnesota. And I do think that like you know while the Epstein files are, you know, probably a huge component of what Trump is thinking about when he's attacking us. Uh I don't think it's a distraction.

1:28:15 Yeah. So I want to end here by bringing it back to the organizing that you're doing. Sure.

1:28:20 You know, you're doing this organizing in response to a federal government that has functionally limitless resources, billions of dollars that they have thrown at ICE and and the Department of Homeland Security. How much organizing capacity do you have or resolve? Do you like have within yourself personally? Does PSL have do your partner organizations have? Do you feel like you have the fortitude to to go the distance here over perhaps another 3 years of the Trump administration if not more time depending on how the president wants to handle elections going forward? Like do you feel like you have the resolve and and the wherewithal to to meet that

1:28:57 limitless funnel of money and violence out of the federal government? Yeah, I mean I believe I personally I feel like I have faith in the people uh of this country but also of my city uh of Minneapolis that you know we won't stand for this and we're going to show the world we're going to show the rest of the United States that we have the power to fight back because you know our labor is the thing is the is the power that makes this country run. The economy wouldn't function if we stopped working. Um, and therefore, you know, the party is here to to in to help build that movement. Um, we're, you know, we're here to to gas people up. We're here to motivate. Uh, we're here to agitate, but we're not we're not the people. The people are the ones who have the power.

1:29:41 Doug, I've made it so you are the last one standing here in the square. So, thank you for your patience and being here with us. I appreciate the time. And I'll let you get going.

1:29:48 All right. Appreciate it. Thank you, man. I appreciate the time. Really? All right.

1:29:52 Okay. And this is normally where I would pivot to go and to ask somebody else to interview, but they've all dissipated. They've all gone home. And I I think it's understandable because it's 3° out here. John's hands were freezing there during the march. If you've been following along with us, you saw us there taking those breaks where we were letting the march kind of go past us just so John can warm up his hands inside of his coat. My uh face is feeling rather cold. I should probably pull my mask up here. But since I'm just saying good night here for the evening, you'll I'll let you uh gaze upon my pretty face for uh just a few more minutes uh before I uh uh put it away.

1:30:27 Uh but I I want to make one last call. If you're not, get subscribed to Status Coup and our partners, the Midas Touch Network who support our reporting. A big thank you to them. Big thank you to our entire team in order to support that team that we're trying to grow right now. It's right now it's it's John and I who are on the ground and we've got our our small but mighty team who support us uh from back home who do things like edit our videos together who are doing journalism in their own right. Uh they're out there. They're supporting us uh through administrative work and all the work that they're doing. We're trying to grow our team so it's not just John and I until we, you know, are near uh collapsing from physical exhaustion.

1:31:03 We need to bring in, you know, Will and Zach or or some other freelancers to give us that much needed break. And I'm thankful to them that they were willing to to do the work here in the cold of the Twin Cities to give us that break. But we're trying to grow our team here so that we can be in even more places. We get told all the time, people come up to us on the street and they're like, "Wow, Status Coo, you guys are everywhere." And it's like, well, yeah. And we feel that physically. We feel like we're everywhere sometimes. And uh we're trying to grow that team so that we can be in even more places. And so that's a more uh reasonable workload for us. if you want to be part of us helping to grow our operations here to have a truly peoplepowered and people centered movement of news here uh in the United States so that we're not just reliant on bill uh on millionaire uh millionaire uh uh news anchors paid

1:31:55 by billionaires who are sponsored by massive corporations and that's where our news comes from. If you want to break that chokeold and lift up some truly independent voices, please support us here at Status. Go to statuscu.com/join. For as low as $5 a month, you go to uh help John and I afford more hand warmers and more uh face coverings. We appreciate that and you help grow our team here. Thank you so much for being with us on behalf of myself, on behalf of John, uh Jordan, Colin, Michelle, Ty, our whole team here at Status Coup, the whole team at the Midas Touch Network, who is in partnership with us, and behalf on some of the uh independent journalists like Andrew Marcato, who was out here again with us from Marcato Media, and some of the other independent journalists that we saw out here again tonight. I want to say thank you. Have a good night. Stay safe and we will be live out here again from the Twin Cities

1:32:47 again tomorrow. Thank you. Good night.

Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "LIVE STOP ICE INVASION Protest as Trump TARGETS Top Minnesota Dems"?

JT Saskowski (Host), Josh (Guest), Emilina (Guest), Doug (Guest).

What is "LIVE STOP ICE INVASION Protest as Trump TARGETS Top Minnesota Dems" about?

A rally in downtown Minneapolis is protesting the Trump administration's rumored deployment of federal troops to the Twin Cities, urging an end to the occupation and advocating for local community autonomy. Protesters, braving frigid temperatures, are calling for a general strike and voicing their frustrations over executive overreach and the impact of ICE in the area.

What is mentioned in this MeidasTouch episode?

6 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Ice King, general strike, JT Saskowski, Twin Cities, Operation Metro Surge, Party for Socialism and Liberation. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "LIVE STOP ICE INVASION Protest as Trump TARGETS Top Minnesota Dems"?

The episode runs 1 h 33 min; the transcript is about 14,555 words in 222 timestamped sections.

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