US & Israel bombing Iran: They didn't bother to manufacture consent

When there is a pretense of democracy, leaders try to persuade the public to express agreement with whatever it is they're going to do. This time, they didn't bother.

Jared Yates Sexton writes:

"Having cut my political teeth during the run-up to the Iraq War, there’s something truly awful to all of this. Back then, we had to listen to Colin Powell lie about weapons of mass destruction. Dick Cheney made the rounds on all the shows. We were fed one piece of propaganda after another. The Bush Administration at least went through the process of telling us Saddam Hussein had helped al-Qaeda and that any failure to act would lead to a “mushroom cloud” erupting over the American homeland. The air was thick with drumbeats and it felt, maddeningly, like we were being marched toward an illegal and catastrophic war.

Now, it’s just kind of happening.

This is a taste of the peasant life. Living like an ant under the shadow of an elephant that moves and sits and attacks without so much as warning. Leadership and the population completely removed from one another save for the consequences and violence visited upon the population at the leadership’s behest. You might wake up one Saturday morning and find that the U.S. has kidnapped the President of Venezuela and then watch a disorienting and frankly embarrassing press conference where the President of the United States tells you in strange, bored language that America now controls the country. No one particularly asks follow-ups. There’s no clarification. Rather, everything becomes more confusing until it just isn’t talked about anymore. A story might get published revealing that money from Venezuela is being held in shadowy accounts in Qatar, but that doesn’t get much attention either."

— Jared Yates Sexton, The American Religion: Imperialism and the Next Step of Modern Fascism: As we stand on the edge of war with Iran, a new phase of authoritarianism rears its head. Dispatches From a Collapsing State, Feb 19, 2026

In 2003, writes Philip Bump, President Bush

"had spent months trying to convince the country that the nation of Iraq posed such a dire threat to American security that an invasion aimed at ousting its leadership was warranted. There were hearings and speeches and rallies, debates in newspapers, all the sorts of things you might expect before putting numerous soldiers, sailors and airmen in harm's way.

At the time, it seemed rushed and superficial. But history will show that it was, in fact, thorough and well-crafted — at least compared to the action against Iran President Donald Trump initiated this morning.

In 2003, Bush spent a big chunk of his State of the Union address arguing for the need to strike Iraq. During his SOTU speech this week, Trump mentioned Iran only briefly, including commenting that the nation's ability to build nuclear weapons had been "obliterated" during strikes last year. But, uh, they are still/now/again a threat!"

— Philip Bump, This way madness lies, but you knew that, How to Read This Chart, 28 Feb 2026

(Background: Why Did the US Invade Iraq in 2003?: For no good reason)

‘Peace President’ Trump Floats ‘Friendly Takeover’ of Cuba While Preparing to Attack Iran: “Trump ran on an explicitly anti-interventionist platform when he ran for president,” noted one critic. “He lied to the American people.” Brett Wilkins, Feb 27, 2026

For what it's worth, every criticism Trump ever launched about other people's warmaking has only ever been a pretext to insult them. He was never anti-war. He was waiting for the moment to make his own war.

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— Ayman Makarem (@aymanmak.bsky.social) February 28, 2026 at 8:40 AM

Oman’s Foreign Minister Said US-Iran Deal Was ‘Within Our Reach.’ Then Trump Started Bombing: “The Omani FM decided to go public,” suggested one observer, “so that the American people knew that peace was within reach when Trump instead opted for war.” Jake Johnson, Common Dreams, February 28, 2026

‘Bombs Will Be Dropping Everywhere’: Trump Launches Illegal Regime Change War Against Iran: “The US once again used the veneer of negotiations as a cover to bomb Iran.” Jake Johnson, Common Dreams, February 28, 2026

U.S. And Israel Launch Major Attack On Iran And Trump Urges Iranians To 'Take Over Your Government': Some of the first strikes appeared to hit areas near the offices of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Jon Gambrell, Konstantin Toropin, Josh Boak and Aamer Madhani, Associated Press, Feb 28, 2026

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1440 Media sent in an email on February 28:

Pakistan Declares War

"Pakistan yesterday proclaimed an "open war" against Afghanistan's Taliban government after the neighboring nations (see map) exchanged fire overnight Thursday [Feb 26].

The South Asian nations have been embroiled in conflict since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan after NATO forces withdrew in 2021, with Pakistan accusing the Taliban of harboring anti-Pakistani militants. The Taliban denies the allegation and, in turn, accuses Pakistan of attacking civilians. The Taliban launched the first strikes Thursday in retaliation for Pakistani airstrikes last weekend that it claims killed or wounded dozens of civilians. Pakistan disputes that account, saying its military carried out a targeted operation that killed at least 70 militants. As of this writing, the extent of casualties and damage from Thursday's strikes is unclear.

Pakistan is believed to have the world’s sixth-largest nuclear arsenal, with an estimated stockpile of about 170 warheads. Its nuclear program was developed in the 1990s as a deterrent against rival India, which has recently strengthened ties with the Taliban."

— 1440 Media

Fool Me Twice: The Case for War With Iran Is Even Thinner Than It Was for Iraq: The case for invading Iraq was based on lies. The Trump administration’s case for war with Iran hardly exists at all. Séamus Malekafzali, The Intercept, February 28 2026

The U.S. and Israel Killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. What Comes Next? “This tells any potential adversaries of the U.S.: Get nuclear weapons. Hedging is not a strategy.” Noah Hurowitz, The Intercept, February 28 2026

Trump’s Iran Attack Was Illegal, Former U.S. Military Officials Allege: “This is an introduction of U.S. forces into hostilities. It absolutely triggers the 48-hour notice requirement.” Austin Campbell, The Intercept, March 1 2026

You couldn’t make this up. And if you did, everyone would say it’s too much.

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— Nick Feik (@nickfeik.bsky.social) March 2, 2026 at 3:14 PM

White House privately tells Congress that "it is not possible at this time to know the full scope and duration of military operations that may be necessary."

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— Ken Klippenstein (@kenklippenstein.bsky.social) March 2, 2026 at 8:22 PM

One of the biggest successes of The War on Terror was recoding war as a form of global policing. There are no invasions, only actions; no enemies, only combatants; no countries, only jurisdictions. When there is no such thing as war, there's also no such thing as peace.

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— Benjamín Schultz-Figueroa (@benjaminschultzfig.bsky.social) March 2, 2026 at 4:58 PM

EXCLUSIVE: At more than 30 installations, U.S. commanders told troops the war on Iran is a Christian war. The Military Religious Freedom Foundation has been “inundated” with more than 110 complaints. One NCO said they were told the U.S. war is to bring about Armageddon and the return of Jesus…

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— Jonathan Larsen (@jonathanlarsen.bsky.social) March 2, 2026 at 8:54 PM

ANNA PAULINA LUNA: It is not the intention of the US government to invade RAMPELL: Did we not just invade? LUNA: Are you seeing boots on the ground there? RAMPELL: We just killed the leader of the country! The president has called it a war LUNA: Strategic strikes are not war JORDAN: Really?

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— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) March 1, 2026 at 8:24 PM

"Trump may have too sunny a view of what war with Iran would entail because Iran barely responded to the assassination of Qassim Suleimani in 2020 or to the bombing of nuclear sites last year. My guess is that Iran feels it now must re-establish deterrence and will continue to respond aggressively — not just attacking United States military bases but also perhaps striking ships in the Strait of Hormuz (through which one-fifth of the world’s oil passes) or organizing future terror attacks against American targets worldwide. * * * Trump created a nuclear crisis with Iran in part by tearing up the imperfect nuclear accord that President Barack Obama had reached with the ayatollahs; if we had remained in the deal, it seems to me we would be in a safer place today — and at peace." (Nicholas Kristof, New York Times, Feb 28, 2026)

"...like most of the country I’m still completely confused about what the point of this latest war is, other than, perhaps, distraction from the Epstein files.

To that end, it seems that Trump, even in his attempts to distance himself from charges of abuse and assaults on women and girls, can’t help but inflict more horrific violence on women and girls, as one of the first targets of his and Netanyahu’s joint bombing spree was a girl’s school where more than eighty children, mostly girls between the ages of six and ten, were killed on the first day of the attack."

— Starhawk, War In Iran, Mar 1, 2026

Iran Vows To Attack Any Ship Passing Strait Of Hormuz, Threatening Global Oil Supply: An Iranian Revolutionary Guards senior official said Iran will fire on any ship trying to pass the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian media reported. Reuters, Mar 2, 2026

Nearly all traffic cameras in Tehran had been hacked for years, with footage encrypted and transmitted to servers in Tel Aviv and southern Israel. www.iranintl.com/en/202603027...

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— Cynthia Brumfield (@metacurity.com) March 3, 2026 at 7:23 AM

JD VANCE: "There's just no way Trump is gonna about this country to get into a multiyear conflict with no end in sight" TRUMP HOURS LATER: "Wars can be fought 'forever,' and very successfully"

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— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) March 3, 2026 at 9:37 AM

Military Commander Tells Troops Bombing Iran Is ‘Part Of God’s Divine Plan’: One commander had a “big grin” on his face while saying Donald Trump “has been anointed by Jesus to light the signal fire in Iran," a service member said. Brandi Buchman, HuffPost, Mar 3, 2026

"The targeting and killing of Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, which opened an undeclared war with Iran, is the first time in modern history the US — in this case working with Israel — openly killed the leader of a foreign country, according to CNN presidential historian Tim Naftali.

For those keeping track, the US has now decapitated two foreign governments — both US adversaries overseeing vast oil reserves — in the past two months. Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro is in New York awaiting trial and Khamenei is dead."

— Zachary B. Wolf, Has the US ever assassinated a world leader before?, CNN, March 3, 2026

Only on March 4 does the US public get a story about what the objectives are:

"In her first press briefing since Israel and the U.S. went to war with Iran, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt laid out four major objectives she said President Donald Trump hopes to achieve, and wildly exaggerated the threat post by Iran, claiming the country is 'seeking to destroy western civilization itself.'

Per Leavitt, the objectives are:

• Destroy Iran’s ballistic missiles and its capacity to manufacture new ones.
• “Annihilate” Iran’s navy.
• Destroy Iran’s ability to fund and arm terrorist proxies throughout the region.
• Guarantee Iran can never obtain a nuclear weapon."

— Ryan Grenoble, White House Details Four Sweeping Objectives For War In Iran, HuffPost, March 4

Karoline Leavitt: Press 'Only Wants To Make The President Look Bad' For Reporting On Troop Deaths, Sebastian Murdock, HuffPost, March 4, 2026

"Iran is responding to America’s campaign in a very logical way, albeit “logical” in the context of having very few good options. Iran’s strategic deterrence and a decent amount of its military capacity were already destroyed in 2024 and 2025, the power of its proxies in Lebanon, Syria, and Gaza even more decisively shattered. So they’re launching missiles and drones everywhere they can to try to expand the conflict into some new configuration that is better than Iran facing the U.S. and Israel on its own. The challenge is that they’re launching attacks against basically all the countries in the region who might be most likely to rein the U.S. in, as well as those who have kept up at least reasonably robust ties with Iran.

* * *

I think we’re in this war because the Venezuela operation went pretty well for Trump, certainly in the short-run. That was fun. So why not do it again in Iran? And he’s escalating abroad in general because escalation, vast expression of power and violence, amount to a kind of psychological compensation for loss of power and popularity at home. It’s a kind of presidential self-care making use of the prerogative powers of the American presidency. I see little evidence Trump is ready for this level of chaos or economic shocks with a war few Americans thought there was any reason to commit to in the first place."

— Josh Marshall, Let’s Face Facts: This Isn’t Going Well (Iran War Edition), Talking Points, March 4, 2026

NYT

On March 4, Trump said the war was "exciting times" and he rated it a 15 on a scale of 1 to 10.

The Idea That Trump Was Antiwar Was Always Delusional The idea "rests on a deep, willful misunderstanding...what Trump has always hated isn’t conflict but sacrifice, the notion that American power should ever be constrained" Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/03/02/o...

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— AFinRenoFightsBack 🌊2026 🌊 (@callyson.bsky.social) March 4, 2026 at 9:46 PM

"The girls’ school in Iran, where 165 people were killed by an apparent US-Israeli attack, was hit with two strikes, with the second missile killing sheltering survivors, two first responders and the parent of a slain child have told Middle East Eye." (Exclusive: Iranian girls killed by ‘double-tap’ strikes on Minab school: Eyewitnesses describe second blast which killed survivors as they sheltered in prayer hall, Middle East Eye, 4 March 2026)

Of Course Trump Bombed Iran, Robert Malley and Stephen Wertheim, New York Times, March 5, 2026

Republicans Toil to Avoid Saying ‘War’ as Iran Conflict Widens

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— The People’s Press (@peoplespress.bsky.social) March 5, 2026 at 10:33 AM

New imagery suggests U.S. responsible for Iran school strike, CNN video, March 6, 2026

Oil prices are going parabolic. This is insane.

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— Clay Ranck (@clayranck.bsky.social) March 6, 2026 at 1:01 PM

Trump tells CNN he’s not worried whether Iran becomes a democratic state, Dana Bash, CNN, March 6, 2026

Writers do not earn very much

In 2005, I graduated with a degree in print journalism. It was already apparent that the internet was starting to disrupt the industry, but little did we anticipate how "writers' incomes declined by 42% between 2009 and 2019" ("Thousands of authors urge AI companies to stop using work without permission," Chloe Veltman, NPR, July 17, 2023) and that the 2022 median income for full-time writers was $23,000 (per "a forthcoming report from The Authors Guild," Veltman says).

Newsroom journalism isn't 'a path to fame and fortune'

"All The President’s Men is a very good movie — a suspenseful, high-stakes, real-life cat-and-mouse game about two little guys with grit taking on a king. And those little guys do it with excellent hair.

* * *

All The President’s Men made a working-class profession look like a path to fame and fortune. It may have ruined multiple generations of journalists. Suddenly, ink-stained wretches were dreamy. They were scrappy underdogs. Here’s the truth: Journalism is mostly eating at your desk. The true art of the reporter is typing with one hand and holding a sandwich with the other.

The problem with the movie is journalists aren’t superheroes. A good journalist knows that power in any measurement — even a spoonful — corrupts. Sometimes, rotten meat can smell sweet. A good journalist isn’t unbiased. They’re human beings. This means they’re hugely biased assholes. A good journalist knows that everyone is an asshole, including journalists. There are no creatures under heaven who excrete rose petals. Reporter, expose thyself.

Journalists are not sexy Robert Redford, with sensitive furrowed brows. Dustin Hoffman’s Carl Bernstein is a chain-smoking ladies’ man in All The President’s Men. Woodward and Bernstein were ex-hippies in tight pants with egos the size of Chevy Impalas — like the rest of their generation. Oy, Boomers. The movie made them rock stars, and only rock stars are rock stars. All The President’s Men is a fun fantasy to watch for two hours and 18 minutes, but it’s just make-believe. You know, bullshit. The Adventures Of Bob And Carl."

— John DeVore. Essay: 'All The President's Men' (1976): Journalism isn't sexy—it's mostly eating at your desk. July 21, 2024.

Neither is hustling for paid subscribers to your own blog

Shay, writing in October 2025, says: "as of this writing, I have made $6,821 in two years on Substack." And: "I only just this month cracked the 100 paid subscriber mark. At $5 a month or $50 a year, that’s not a lot of cash, especially when I must pay taxes on that money." Her monthly stats are 43,000 readers on Substack and 1.9 million readers on Facebook, but she's only getting $500 for that value she's providing to so many people (minus, I suppose, Substack's 10% fee and then owing income tax on the remaining $450).

Sometimes a reader will ask her why her Facebook posts don't have links. Obviously, it is because Facebook strips out the links when she copy/pastes her work to be freely available on Facebook. (Also, something she doesn't mention: Facebook's algorithm suppresses posts that contain external links because they discourage people from leaving Facebook.) Those readers will compare her "to someone else who is well-resourced with more time and money and possibly even an assistant or two," someone who is literally Substack's top paid writer, earning an estimated $5 million per year. Really:

"In the old days, you didn’t read unless you paid. Now? It’s a smorgasbord of consumption that is dismissive of who creates that work, or what goes into it. I spend hundreds a month on subscriptions so I can access accurate news as much as possible. I share unpaywalled links. So, yeah, nitpicking when you can’t get a source when you are on a device that has access to so much information feels less than mindful."

In other words, her sources are somewhere, and free readers on a platform that obstructs the posting of sources should take the time to find out where she posted her sources, which might be behind a paywall, in which case the readers should really think about paying for her work.

The way I do it

Personally, I write on Medium. Medium members pay $5/month for access to millions of articles on the platform by all the writers. I get paid a few pennies only when those paying members find and read my work. No, the pennies don't add up to "a lot." They add up to "something."

What is Palantir?

Palantir Technologies Inc., founded in 2003 and headquartered in Colorado, is a data and analytics company serving the agendas of government agencies, militaries, and corporations. Co-founders are Peter Thiel, Stephen Cohen, Joe Lonsdale, Alex Karp, and Nathan Gettings.

"CEO of Palantir Technologies Alex Karp called the defense and data behemoth "the first company to be completely anti-woke" during an earnings call on Monday [Nov 3, 2025].

Karp lauded those who work for Palantir as supporting free speech and "fighting for the right side of what should work in this country — meritocracy, lethal technology."

* * *

"We power ICE," Karp said on Monday. "We've supported Israel. Okay, these are very controversial. I don't know why this is all controversial, but many people find that controversial."

On the earnings call, Karp said he makes "sure Palantir stays as tribal and cultish and unique as it was 20 years ago" by recruiting "the right people."

* * *

In his shareholder letter, Karp also preached a "return to a shared national experience" and an "embrace of a common identity."

"It is and was a mistake to casually proclaim the equality of all cultures and cultural values," he wrote, without expounding upon which cultures he was referring to. "Some have proven to be wondrous and generative. Others destructive and deeply regressive. And an even greater mistake is to believe that we could or should convert the world to our way of living."

— Julia Hornstein, Palantir CEO Alex Karp calls his company the first to be 'completely anti-woke', Business Insider, Nov 3, 2025

Robert Reich called it "the most dangerous corporation in America," as "billions of your tax dollars" go to it and it "may put your most basic freedoms at risk." (Dec 2, 2025)

Super interesting reporting on Palantir‘s efforts to be used in Swiss governmental services and the military. They decided against it, because they worried Palantir was giving information to CIA and NSA and feared a loss of national sovereignty. www.republik.ch/2025/12/08/w...

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— Ulrike Franke (@rikefranke.bsky.social) December 11, 2025 at 11:30 AM

‘ELITE’: The Palantir App ICE Uses to Find Neighborhoods to Raid. Internal ICE material and testimony from an official obtained by 404 Media provides the clearest link yet between the technological infrastructure Palantir is building for ICE and the agency’s activities on the ground. Joseph Cox, 404 Media,·Jan 15, 2026

Getting off US tech: a guide I’m in the process of dropping US tech services. Here’s how I did it, and options you should consider., Paris Marx, July 18, 2025

404 Media, Jan 30, 2026:

"Earlier this month we revealed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is using a Palantir tool called ELITE to decide which neighborhoods to raid. The tool lets ICE populate a map with potential deportation targets, bring up dossiers on each person, and view an address “confidence score” based on data sourced from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and other government agencies. This is according to a user guide for ELITE 404 Media obtained. 404 Media is now publishing a version of that user guide so people can read it for themselves."

"ICE runs on corporate power, and at the center of that system sits Amazon. Through Amazon Web Services (AWS), Amazon provides the digital backbone that allows ICE and the Department of Homeland Security to surveil, track, and target immigrant communities at a massive scale.

ICE relies on Amazon’s cloud to compile and analyze enormous amounts of personal information. Immigration records, home addresses, family relationships, phone data, and location histories. All of it is pulled together, processed, and weaponized to carry out arrests and deportations. Without AWS, this level of surveillance simply does not exist.

Amazon’s technology is directly tied to Palantir, one of ICE’s most notorious tools. Built on AWS, ICE fuses immigration data with DMV records, license plate scans, utility data, social media activity, and commercial databases. It turns everyday life into a surveillance map and immigrant communities into targets.

Amazon knows exactly what its technology is used for. It profits anyway. That is why workers, organizers, and communities are demanding that Amazon cut ties with ICE and refuse to power surveillance, family separation, and deportation any longer."

— National Campaign for Justice (a project of Just Strategy), email sent 8 Feb 2026

Some reading material on US–Colombia relations

Petro: “Trump me dijo que estaba pensando hacer cosas malas en Colombia, una operación militar”
El País
Juan Diego Quesada / María Martín | Bogotá | 09 ene 2026
El presidente colombiano, en entrevista en exclusiva con EL PAÍS, reconoce que temió ser capturado igual que Maduro, pero cree que la llamada con el magnate “congeló” la amenaza

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Petro Reveals the US had Military Operation Planned for Colombia
Colombian President Gustavo Petro revealed in an exclusive interview with Spanish outlet El Pais that United States President Donald Trump explicitly admitted to planning...
Luis Felipe Mendoza - January 9, 2026
ColombiaOne.com

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Iván Cepeda, candidato presidencial en Colombia: “La política de Trump lleva a la tercera guerra mundial”
El País
Carlos de Barrón | Madrid | 07 ene 2026
El representante del Pacto Histórico, la coalición de izquierdas con la que gobierna Gustavo Petro, insiste en que su país “es un Estado soberano que tiene un régimen democrático”

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Colombia bajo amenaza de Trump: no se trata de Petro sino de la soberanía nacional
La euforia por la salida de Maduro del poder en Venezuela fue efímera. El fin de semana que cambió la historia contemporánea de América Latina, y dejó una señal inquietante: cerró con una amenaza directa de Trump a Gustavo Petro que debería ser rechazada por todos los sectores. Esta no es una pelea personal entre dos presidentes, sino una tensión que pone en riesgo a todo un sistema democrático.
5 Enero 2026
CambioColombia.com

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Pérdida territorial, napalm, masacres y narcotráfico: radiografía del matrimonio entre EEUU y la derecha colombiana
La derecha colombiana no defiende la patria: la ofrece. Es una derecha antinacional, dispuesta al tormento de su nación, su territorio y la población que en este reside —incluyendo los 2.8 millones de migrantes venezolanos
Diario Red
Diana Carolina Alfonso
Jan 7, 2026

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Gustavo Petro propone revivir la Gran Colombia mediante un voto constituyente
Caracol Radio

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‘Yankees Go Home!’ Colombians Demand at Mass Protests Against Trump Threats Thousands of people across the country expressed support for their president, Gustavo Petro, who spoke to President Donald Trump ahead of the rallies and struck a diplomatic but defiant tone. Julia Conley, Common Dreams, Jan 08, 2026

ICE shot a mother in her car in Minneapolis

Update

How to Message the Occupation of Minnesota: "One-pager" and more from Antonia Scatton and the Minnesota Messaging Group Antonia Scatton, Reframing America, Jan 26, 2026

8 weeks under siege in Minnesota President Trump unleashed federal agents on Minnesota to be foot soldiers in a brutal retribution campaign that’s violating the most basic freedoms of the United States. Max Nesterak, Minnesota Reformer, January 23, 2026

Thomas Zimmer says: "At the start of 2026, America is no longer a democracy," but "being lawless, immoral, and violent does not make the Trumpists omnipotent. Their authoritarian desires are limitless, but their ability to impose them on the country is not. Let us not adopt and perpetuate the propagandistic assertion of inevitability." In particular, what's happening in Minneapolis right now "is not law enforcement. It is an occupation. But in Minneapolis, as in every other urban center these masked goons descend upon, the local community is rallying in solidarity." A lot of people are upset about what ICE is doing, which curtails Trump, as "the regime still needs millions to comply in order to keep the machine going." (The Limits of Violent Authoritarianism, Jan 20, 2026, for paid subscribers)

Daycare harassment in Minneapolis

See:

"If we trace the chain of events that caused ICE agents to be deployed to Minneapolis in the first place, they are anchored in Trump’s lies. Trump has openly claimed that Minneapolis is being targeted because of its large Somali population, which is predominately Black and Muslim (a largely refugee population, by the way, that was assisted with resettlement by Lutheran Social Services with government support). At a cabinet meeting in December, as more than 2,000 ICE agents were first being deployed to Minnesota, Trump went on a racist screed, describing Somalia as a country that “stinks and we don’t want them in our country.” He went on to compare Somalis to “garbage” and falsely claimed that Somali gangs had “taken over” Minnesota and were “roving the streets looking for ‘prey.’”"
— Robert P. Jones, Trump's Lies Are Killing Us: The Deadly Consequences of Big and Little Lies Everywhere Trump's deadly lies represent a new stage in the backsliding of America away from democracy. White Too Long, Jan 09, 2026

"Kristi Noem, replete with even longer extensions and even more pancake makeup, stormed into Minneapolis on Tuesday [January 6, 2026] with 20,000 henchmen from Homeland Security because a few daycare facilities in the city had possibly violated Medicare funding rules."
— Denny Carter, The Content Regime Cranks Out More Content: Kristi Noem went to Minnesota to make some movie trailers for her fashy fans, Bad Faith Times, Jan 7, 2026

See also: DHS Sends 2,000 Agents To Minneapolis In Immigration, Fraud Crackdown (Jan 6, 2026)

Josh Powell says:

"The chaos is strategic. They want to blow every circuit in our collective ability to process what’s happening in real time. They want us so exhausted by the spectacle that we miss the systematic looting happening while we’re distracted.

And nowhere is this more apparent than in the Nick Shirley daycare video and Trump’s punishing response to this wannabe Charlie Kirk (the first wasn’t bad enough apparently) propaganda.

A 23-year-old social media grifter posts an amateur video the day after Christmas claiming—without evidence—massive fraud at Somali-run daycare centers in Minnesota. Within 72 hours, Trump freezes $10 billion in aid to the poorest families across five Democratic states. Within a week, federal agents deploy to Minnesota and Trump is calling Somali Americans “lowlifes” demanding they be sent “back from where they came.”

— Joshua Powell, Tick, Tick, BOOM - The Bomb Slowly Going Off in America's Blue States A YouTuber's fake fraud video gave Trump the pretext he needed to freeze $10 billion in aid to Democratic states. Boom - there goes Venezuela. Chaos is the point. What's he really up to? Does he Know? Jan 07, 2026

Governor I was not familiar with your game

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— Eli Valley (@elivalley.bsky.social) January 8, 2026 at 4:51 PM

Trump administration suspends $10 billion in federal aid for children and families in five Democratic states

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— EL País Unofficial (@elpais.skyfleet.blue) January 8, 2026 at 8:35 AM

Lawmakers can't get into ICE facilities

Rep. Angie Craig: "We were told because this facility is being funding by the 'Big Beautiful Bill,' not the congressional appropriations act, that we would not be allowed to enter the facility. That's complete nonsense ... I informed them they were violating the law. They said they didn't care."

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— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) January 10, 2026 at 11:53 AM

Judge halts Trump freeze of social assistance and child care funds in five Democrat-led states, for now Tami Luhby, CNN, Jan 8, 2026

ICE shoots a mother in her car

It is now confirmed from multiple sources that ICE shot a legal observer dead on Portland in Minneapolis between 34th and 33rd street. The victim is dead

— Minnesotan Kaiju (@whisperingpines.bsky.social) January 7, 2026 at 11:28 AM

A 23 year old larping as a journalist made a misleading and inaccurate YouTube video that the administration full of chronically online shitposters used to justify the “largest immigration operation ever” and now someone is dead

— Mia Sato (@miasato.bsky.social) January 7, 2026 at 1:58 PM

Nehls: I just recommend that people comply with officers' instructions. Reporter: They did tell her to move her car and she moved her car..

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— Acyn (@acyn.bsky.social) January 8, 2026 at 3:58 PM

This guy did it

his name is Jonathan Ross and he shouldn't get a good night's sleep for the rest of his life www.startribune.com/ice-agent-wh...

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— BUM CHILLUPS AKA SPENCER HALL (@edsbs.bsky.social) January 8, 2026 at 2:09 PM

BREAKING: The Hennepin County District Attorney's office says they have jurisdiction to charge the ICE agent involved in the fatal Minneapolis shooting.

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— MS NOW (@ms.now) January 8, 2026 at 3:58 PM

Why?

I’m re-upping this because we need to focus.No country should allow masked enforcement officers to terrorize communities. But this country’s history makes this practice ESPECIALLY repugnant. So long as we allow anonymity & impunity there will be brutality. NO MASKS open.substack.com/pub/sherrily...

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— Sherrilyn Ifill (@sifill.bsky.social) January 8, 2026 at 3:26 PM

Frey: So, they are already trying to spin this as an action of self-defense. Having seen the video of myself, I want to tell everybody directly: That is bullshit.

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— Acyn (@acyn.bsky.social) January 7, 2026 at 1:39 PM

@chrislhayes.bsky.social: “A 37-year-old American citizen, the mother of a young child is dead tonight. She was shot in the face by an agent of the federal government, and that government has spent the day telling despicable lies about her.”

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— All In with Chris Hayes (@allinwithchris.bsky.social) January 7, 2026 at 8:05 PM

Bystander Videos Capture Different Perspectives Of Fatal ICE Shooting: The videos raise serious questions about claims federal officials have made about the shooting. Li Zhou, HuffPost, Jan 8, 2026

This is literally what they do whenever a Black person is killed by police. No matter how solid the evidence is, they will keep pushing that lie, not just to poison the conversation and make sure the killer walks free, but to reassert the political idea that these people deserve to be killed.

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— Zito (@zeets.bsky.social) January 8, 2026 at 8:41 AM

WITNESS: "I just can't let this narrative of self-defense go any further. That’s absolutely not what it was… ICE agents didn’t let anyone help her for 15 minutes, then medics couldn’t get through with their ambulance.”

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— The Tennessee Holler (@thetnholler.bsky.social) January 7, 2026 at 10:35 PM

Walz: "I couldn't help but think, and it scares me a bit -- 'The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most important directive.' It certainly feels like that in this moment."

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— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) January 8, 2026 at 12:57 PM

Q: After you told ICE to get the F out, Republicans are criticizing you for escalating tensions FREY: I'm sorry if I offered their Disney princess ears, but if we're talking about what's inflammatory, on one hand you got someone who dropped an F bomb & on other you have someone who killed someone

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— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) January 7, 2026 at 10:25 PM

i think it is ok to reiterate that the victim as a us citizen. yes, noncitizens are equally entitled to human rights. but also, it's important to illustrate how ice isn't about immigration at all

— sarah jeong (@sarahjeong.bsky.social) January 7, 2026 at 8:41 PM

Make it viral.

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— Sherrilyn Ifill (@sifill.bsky.social) January 7, 2026 at 10:22 PM

To anybody who is offended by the governor of Minneapolis telling ICE “get the fuck out of our city,” but not offended by ICE ethnic cleansing secret police summarily executing a local mom, a message: Go fuck yourself. Learn the difference between a swear word and an obscenity.

— A.R. Moxon (@juliusgoat.bsky.social) January 8, 2026 at 10:35 AM

Minneapolis Incident Marks 9th ICE Shooting In 4 Months, Jan 8, 2026

Afterward

ICE agents stopped by protesters after the shooting an observer in Minneapolis, according to witnesse. ICE deployed pepper spray and tear gas.

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— Jon Collins (@jcollins.bsky.social) January 7, 2026 at 12:15 PM

a major american city is being forced to close schools because armed government agents are raiding and pepper spraying and terrorizing children and teachers for social media content

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— Andrew Lawrence (@ndrew.bsky.social) January 8, 2026 at 8:53 AM

Just seen Grok putting the body of the victim of the ICE shooting in Minneapolis into a bikini. Digital corpse desecration now available to the public.

— Eliot Higgins (@eliothiggins.bsky.social) January 8, 2026 at 8:30 AM

I just watched two women get kidnapped right in front of me in Northeast Minneapolis. ICE is still terrorizing our city.

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— Eric Holthaus (@ericholthaus.com) January 8, 2026 at 11:14 AM

The MAGA media machine is saying that she deserved it

“in america, you deserve to be murdered by the state if you have gender pronouns in bio”

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— onion person (@junlper.beer) January 7, 2026 at 6:56 PM

this is the Fox News signal that Good deserved to die

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— Katelyn Burns (@katelynburns.com) January 8, 2026 at 7:15 AM

Homan: "We gotta stop the hateful rhetoric. Saying this officer is a murderer is dangerous. It's just ridiculous. It's gonna infuriate people more which means there's gonna be more incidents like this."

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— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) January 11, 2026 at 9:52 AM

"You deserve to die if you disagree with us" is their position. bsky.app/profile/atru...

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— Adam Serwer (@adamserwer.bsky.social) January 8, 2026 at 9:37 AM

Since last year, Trump admin planned what to do if ICE agents were accused of crimes (even murder): Protect them “no matter what." Trump laid out ways to retaliate: —Refuse to hand over an agent —Charge local officials with “obstructing" —Threaten to cut off more funding led by @swin24.bsky.social

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— Prem Thakker ツ (@premthakker.bsky.social) January 8, 2026 at 2:55 PM

Trump regime won't allow the state of Minnesota to investigate

According to my sources, the FBI was initially open to a concurrent investigation with the MN Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (the state agency that would do this investigation). Trumpy U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen heard about this and intervened, barring the FBI from cooperating with local police.

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— Radley Balko (@radleybalko.bsky.social) January 8, 2026 at 11:35 AM

Walz: "We have learned that the Trump administration has now denied the state that ability to participate in the investigation. I want to make this as clear as possible: Minnesota must be part of this investigation ... it feels very very difficult that we will get a fair outcome."

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— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) January 8, 2026 at 12:41 PM

This is not the law.

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— Anthony Michael Kreis (@anthonymkreis.bsky.social) January 8, 2026 at 1:59 PM

Some quick thoughts on how Trump takes advantage of the period of uncertainty between an event and full understanding of what happened — from the 2020 election to Minnesota. www.pbump.net/o/trumpism-d...

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— Philip Bump (@pbump.com) January 8, 2026 at 11:15 AM

VPOTUS JD Vance lied: "That woman was part of a broader left-wing network to attack, to doxx, to assault and to make it impossible for our ICE officers to do their job."

You can tell things are going well when the VP is tweeting through it.

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— hannah gais (@hannahgais.bsky.social) January 8, 2026 at 1:58 PM

AOC: That is a fundamental difference between VP Vance and I. I do not believe that the American people should be assassinated in the street.

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— Acyn (@acyn.bsky.social) January 9, 2026 at 9:31 PM

JD Vance Is 'Not Happy' Renee Good Was Killed, But..., The vice president is in charge of creating the bad-faith unreality in which Renee Good was a terrorist., Denny Carter, Bad Faith Times, Jan 9, 2026

Rep. Randy Fine: "It's time for Americans to say 'enough,' and if you get in the way of the government repelling a foreign invasion, you're gonna end up just like that lady did yesterday."

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— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) January 8, 2026 at 9:30 AM

Pinning your hopes on police orgs breaking with ICE is not sound thinking. sherrilyn.substack.com/p/whether-it...

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— Sherrilyn Ifill (@sifill.bsky.social) January 10, 2026 at 11:48 AM

"If the greatest lie the devil ever told was to convince us that he wasn’t real, the greatest lie the oil industry ever told us is to convince us that they don’t want oil" @antoniajuhasz.bsky.social interviewed by @emdashsanders.bsky.social, on the fossil fuel industry's latest big lies:

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— Ketan Joshi (@ketanjoshi.co) January 10, 2026 at 10:34 AM

Live Updates Noem says DHS sending ‘hundreds more’ CBP officers to Minneapolis (CNN)

I will be holding a press conference at 3:30p CT today with @mayorjacobfrey.bsky.social and Mayor Her to discuss our lawsuit to halt ICE’s surge into Minnesota. Watch live:

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— Attorney General Keith Ellison (@ag.state.mn.us) January 12, 2026 at 4:27 PM

Federal Agents In Minnesota Wreak Havoc As They Demand Papers, Conduct Arrests, HuffPost, Jan 13, 2026

DHS Used Neo-Nazi Anthem for Recruitment After Fatal Minneapolis ICE Shooting The federal government is openly embracing white nationalist online content — including in a recruitment post after Jonathan Ross killed Renee Good. Austin Campbell, The Intercept, January 13 2026

ICE's killing and brutality is breaking through big time with disengaged voters. Joe Rogan just harshly criticized ICE as "Gestapo." And new data I've obtained finds very high percentages of young and working class have seen video of Minneapolis shooting. New piece: newrepublic.com/article/2052...

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— Greg Sargent (@gregsargent.bsky.social) January 14, 2026 at 1:57 PM

Trump Threatens To Use The Insurrection Act To 'Put An End' To Protests In Minneapolis Trump has threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act allowing him to deploy troops as protests against ICE persist in Minneapolis. Steve Karnowski, Alanna Durkin Richer, Hallie Golden and Aamer Madhani, Associated Press, Jan 15, 2026

Action

Want to Stop ICE? Go After Its Corporate Collaborators. ICE can’t function without help from the private sector. So we should force the private sector to stop helping. Eric Blanc, Wes McEnany, and Claire Sandberg, The Nation, January 9, 2026

Events, Petitions, and Volunteer Opportunities, Mobilize

Support the organizations doing this work:
Black Immigrant Collective — Black-led organization providing legal clinics, mutual aid, and policy advocacy
Unidos MN — Grassroots organization building power with working families for social, racial, and economic justice
Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC) — All-volunteer grassroots organization led by BIPOC and immigrant community members
Immigrant Defense Network — Network of 90+ organizations protecting immigrant rights in Minnesota.Learn about ICE (immigration) raids
Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI) — National organization at the intersection of immigration justice and anti-Black social structures

Support local mutual aid:

Stand With Minnesota
Twin Cities Mutual Aid
Pow Wow Grounds (accepting donations for community needs)
Northern Coffeeworks (supporting weekly food deliveries to immigrant families)

"As the parent of two young children, I was enraged by daycare centers across the U.S. dealing with harassment as they got the #pizzagate treatment from Shirley and other MAGA activists. Even moreso by the fact that some media outlets chose to both sides what was happening, rather than acknowledge the insanity and danger of wannabe MAGA influencers showing up to random daycare centers with video cameras to harass workers and children."
— Melissa Ryan, In Cold Blood: State-Sponsored Violence, First, they came for the daycares. Then they murdered a mom. Ctrl Alt Right Delete, Jan 11, 2026

Stunning photos from Minneapolis, including this one by John Locher for the Associated Press. www.theatlantic.com/photography/...

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— Mr. Dan Zak (@mrdanzak.com) January 15, 2026 at 2:22 PM

Aliya Rahman told ICE she was disabled She told them she was on her way to a doctor appt They broke her window, cut her seatbelt & dragged her away like an animal She was headed to the Traumatic Brain Injury Center when they grabbed her. She was denied access to a doctor & tossed in detention

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— Kelly (@broadwaybabyto.bsky.social) January 15, 2026 at 11:49 PM

Biometric data gathered when he went in for a green card interview. That's what they used.

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— Evan Bernick, a finite mode with a smol hooman and a lorg floof (@evanbernick.bsky.social) January 16, 2026 at 3:41 PM

CBS reportedly isn't comfortable with its own decision to run a story that the ICE guy suffered injuries when shooting Good.

On X

"under the 10th Amendment in the U.S. constitution, federal authorities do not have the power to command local law enforcement." (HuffPost)

He hopes he doesn't lose your vote when his ICE operations kill your child:

Trump: "ICE is gonna be too rough with somebody. They're gonna make a mistake sometimes. I felt horribly when I was told the young woman had the tragedy. But when I learned her father is - I hope he still is, but I don't know - was a tremendous Trump fan. It's terrible. It's so sad. It just happens"

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— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) January 20, 2026 at 2:32 PM

Every Stephen Miller tantrum and DHS recruitment ad speaks in these existential terms about "defending your culture" to elide the fact that they need people with the courage to wear a mask while interrogating a sixth grader

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— Gillian Branstetter (@gbbranstetter.bsky.social) January 21, 2026 at 1:07 PM

one of few human obligations nearly everyone agrees on is that to avoid living in such a way that a sentence like that must be written about something you’ve done to a small child

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— rax ‘levon honkers’ king (@raxkingisdead.bsky.social) January 22, 2026 at 9:11 AM

The existence of this agency, staffed the way it is today, is just completely incompatible with a democratic society.

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— southpaw (@nycsouthpaw.bsky.social) January 23, 2026 at 11:42 AM

How Right Wing Influencers Used AI Slop to Turn Renee Good Into a Meme, Owen Carry, 404 Media, 26 Jan 2026

"Minnesota is the only state challenging Trump’s anti-trans executive orders to “stop President Trump and his administration from bullying vulnerable children,” according to Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison. The state also sued to prevent the administration from pulling its federal funding.

Ellison is defending the state’s policy in court. He also proactively issued a legal guidance document in February that clarifies Minnesota law still requires schools to allow children to participate in sports consistent with their gender identity."

— Education Department refers Minnesota trans athletes probe to Justice Department: The move could lead to the state losing its federal funding over its transgender athlete policies. Bianca Quilantan, Politico, 01/26/2026

‘I Don’t Let Bullies Win’: Ilhan Omar Assaulted at Town Hall Amid Repeated Trump Attacks “Here’s the reality that people like this ugly man don’t understand,” said the Democratic lawmaker following the attack. “We are Minnesota strong and we will stay resilient in the face of whatever they might throw at us.” Jon Queally, Common Dreams, Jan 27, 2026