Federal authorities are escalating their uncivil war on America

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Thousands of protesters shut down parts of Minneapolis and St. Paul on Friday as hundreds of businesses closed their doors. Photo by David Guttenfelder/The New York Times

Another Shooting Death

Two key events happened in Minneapolis in the past few days:

Massive protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activities in the city
Federal immigration agents killed another Minneapolis man

From New York Times reporting: [2]

Thousands of protesters shut down parts of Minneapolis-St. Paul on Friday as hundreds of businesses closed their doors, and workers and students stayed home to demand an end to the sweeping immigration crackdown that has roiled the Twin Cities for weeks.
The action on Friday, which unfolded in subzero temperatures, was the most widespread and organized demonstration since federal agents arrived in Minneapolis more than six weeks ago. It was aimed at pressuring the federal government to pull thousands of its agents from the streets.
Businesses, many of them locally owned, closed their doors to halt economic activity, saying that losing a day’s revenue was worth the cost to be part of the effort to end the immigration enforcement.
“There’s a time to stand up for things, and this is it,” said Alison Kirwin, the owner of Al’s Breakfast, a Minneapolis restaurant that closed on Friday. “If it takes away from a day of our income, that is worthwhile.”
The day of protests followed weeks of clashes between Minnesotans and federal agents, mostly in the Minneapolis and St. Paul areas. The immigration operation, which started late last year, has led to some 3,000 arrests, at least two shootings in Minneapolis and chaotic scenes on the streets.
Calls for the ouster of federal agents have grown from residents and local officials, especially after a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent fatally shot Renee Good, an American citizen, in Minneapolis on Jan. 7. Protesters and state officials have also filed lawsuits to restrict the agents’ conduct and to block the surge.

A day later, agents killed another Minneapolis man. From NBC reporting: [2]

Federal immigration agents shot and killed a 37-year-old Minneapolis man Saturday, officials said.
The shooting, captured on a video posted to Facebook and verified by NBC News, was followed by a heated confrontation between agents and protesters who oppose the federal government’s immigration enforcement tactics.
In the video, agents are seen wrestling a man to the ground when several shots are fired. The Department of Homeland Security said on social media that the officers were conducting an operation when they were approached by an armed Minneapolis resident. The department said the man was shot after violently resisting efforts to disarm him, but no evidence was provided to back up this account.
Though the details of what led to the shooting remain unclear, the city’s police chief, Brian O’Hara, said at a news conference local officials believe the man was a lawful gun owner with a permit to carry.
Minneapolis police received a report of a shooting just before 9 a.m. and found a man suffering from gunshot wounds, O’Hara said.
He said he believes more than one federal agent fired shots.
Officials declined to release the man’s name.

Updates are coming in fast – this from Minneapolis Star Tribune reporting: [3]

The man fatally shot by federal officers in Minneapolis on Saturday, Jan. 24, has been identified as Alex Jeffrey Pretti, according to sources familiar with the investigation.
The shooting follows the shooting death of Renee Good by an agent on Jan. 7 in Minneapolis.
Pretti, 37, has an address listed in south Minneapolis.
At a news conference, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said the man who was shot was a 37-year-old white man whose record only showed some parking tickets. Law enforcement sources said Saturday their records show
Pretti had no serious criminal history.
O’Hara said the man was a “lawful gun owner” with a permit.
Records show that Pretti attended the University of Minnesota. His LinkedIn page notes that he was a “junior scientist” at the University of Minnesota Medical School starting in 2012.
Also, state records show Pretti was issued in 2021 a license to be a registered nurse, and it remains active through March 2026.

The outrage is palpable and justified, [4][5] and far too much to document in a single newsletter – it does seem that the Trump administration is declaring an uncivil war on the people of America, [6] and it’s escalating.

Narratives

The book I’m reading or movie I’m watching

Update next week…

GIF Game

Notes and Sources

[1] Chris Hippensteel, Talya Minsberg, Maia Coleman, and Summer Rabold, “Demonstrators Flood Minneapolis Streets as Hundreds of Businesses Close to Protest ICE,” New York Times, January 23, 2026, https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/23/us/minnesota-businesses-protest-ice.html

[2] Matt Lavietes and Minyvonne Burke, “Federal agents shoot and kill man in Minnesota, officials say,” NBC News, January 24, 2026, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/minneapolis-investigating-ice-shooting-rcna255733

[3] Jeff Day and Paul Walsh, “Alex Pretti identified as man fatally shot by federal officers in Minneapolis,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, January 24, 2026, https://www.startribune.com/alex-pretti-identified-as-man-fatally-shot-by-federal-officers-in-minneapolis/601570109

[4] Popehat [@kenwhite.bsky.social], Bluesky, January 24, 2026, https://bsky.app/profile/kenwhite.bsky.social/post/3md6wm7pcw22u

[5] Philip Bump [@pbump.com], Bluesky, January 24, 2026, https://bsky.app/profile/pbump.com/post/3md6xhxw47k2z

[6] Mic Farris, “Battles in an Uncivil War,” June 7, 2025, https://www.micfarris.com/articles/battles-in-an-uncivil-war

Decisions with Mic Farris

Seek Truth. Honor Differences.

“Shot and Killed”