Staff Reports
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt did not mince words during the January 15, 2026 briefing when she said she “absolutely” believes Democrat rhetoric that vilifies ICE agents is fueling leftist violence in our streets. Her blunt charge is not theater — it is a warning from the administration about a dangerous trend of demonizing the people who enforce our laws.
Her comments came amid explosive unrest in Minneapolis following multiple confrontations between federal immigration officers and locals, including the tragic shooting of Renee Nicole Good and another recent ICE shooting that set off protests. The footage and aftermath have been hotly contested, but the chaos on the streets has real victims and real consequences for public safety.
Leavitt pointed at elected Democrats and a complicit media for stoking the flames, noting that officials have even compared ICE to Nazis and the Gestapo — rhetoric she says is directly encouraging attacks and vandalism against federal officers. Images of a spray-painted vehicle and hostile mobs are not abstract talking points; they are the predictable result of constant dehumanization.
When a reporter challenged her, Leavitt pushed back hard, calling out blatant media bias and refusing to let the narrative criminalize our law enforcement. She defended the ICE agent involved as acting in self-defense and reminded Americans of the victims of illegal-alien crime, saying the focus should be on facts and accountability, not sensationalism.
Conservatives should not shrink from this fight: when politicians and pundits fan anti-law-enforcement sentiment, they embolden the radicals who patrol our streets with violence and vandalism. We must stand with the brave men and women who put on the uniform to keep our neighborhoods safe and insist that criticism be fair, responsible, and rooted in facts rather than outrage for clicks.
This is bigger than one briefing room spat — it touches on whether the rule of law and the safety of law-abiding citizens will be sacrificed to a permissive, performative politics. If elected Democrats and a biased media continue to cheer on or excuse attacks on federal officers, they must be held accountable by voters who care about order, justice, and common sense. The nation cannot afford to let mob rule become policy.
