Staff Reports
Minneapolis once again teeters on the edge because radical activists have carved out what they proudly call an “autonomous zone” on city streets after yet another deadly confrontation with federal immigration agents. What started as a memorial and protest quickly turned into barricades and checkpoints that blocked vehicular access and turned neighborhoods into staging grounds for chants and chaos.
This dangerous episode did not come out of nowhere — the city suffered two high-profile federal-agent shootings in January 2026, first the ICE shooting of Renée Good and then the Border Patrol shooting of Alex Pretti, and both tragedies have been seized by agitators to stoke unrest. Local video and reporting show these incidents have fueled the same fever that produced lawless zones in 2020, and now Minneapolis residents are paying the price.
What conservatives have feared for years is playing out in real time: protesters erected makeshift walls from trash bins and pallets, posted “no ICE” signs, and created self-appointed checkpoints while police were conspicuously limited in their response. Eyewitness accounts and on-the-ground coverage captured agitators directing traffic and forming human barricades that prevented residents and emergency vehicles from moving freely.
And the political theater from Minneapolis’ leaders has been appalling — some city officials publicly pleaded for federal agents to leave even as they allowed streets to be blocked and rallies to morph into occupations. That kind of wink-and-nod tolerance from local politicians is what enables militants to test the limits of order and emboldens the next wave of lawlessness.
Minnesotans deserve public safety, not symbolic virtue signaling that hands turf to the most aggressive protesters. State and federal authorities have already been dragged into legal fights over preservation of evidence and jurisdiction, a chaotic mess that highlights how badly leadership has failed to protect due process and everyday citizens.
Patriotic Americans shouldn’t be cowed by the narrative that siding with law enforcement equals siding with power for power’s sake. Federal agents answer to the law and to the safety of citizens; when politicians refuse to back them up, the vacuum is filled by opportunists who glorify confrontation and call it courage. The proper response is firm support for lawful policing, clear rules of engagement, and swift restoration of neighborhood access so residents can go about their lives without fear.
If Minneapolis won’t reassert the rule of law, then the rest of the country must take notice: soft-on-order rhetoric from the left has consequences, and allowing autonomous bubbles of disorder sets a precedent no American should accept. It’s time for elected leaders to stop posturing, defend our communities, and hold every violent agitator and every errant agent accountable under the same law — no exceptions, no excuses.
