Human Events Daily with Jack Posobiec

Episode: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent Interview: Anti-ICE Group Funding is under Investigation

Date: January 12, 2026

Overview

This episode centers on breaking developments regarding large-scale fraud in Minnesota involving welfare funds, alleged links to terrorist organizations, and the escalating aggression of anti-ICE protest groups. Host Jack Posobiec interviews Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent about a federal investigation into the funding of anti-ICE groups, specifically discussing new federal actions to follow and restrict suspicious financial flows connected to leftist activists, Somali fraud rings, and potential overseas terrorist recipients. On-the-ground reporting from Minneapolis captures recent protest violence, and the episode places these American developments in a broader, international context—including comparisons with Venezuela and discussions of free speech challenges in the West.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Escalating Political Tensions in Minneapolis

• Jack Posobiec recounts recent on-the-ground experiences in Minneapolis amid unrest sparked by an attempted attack on an ICE officer, referencing agitation and violence by left-wing and Antifa groups.
• Field reporting includes direct witness accounts and exclusive video footage from the protests, including attacks on conservative journalists Nick Sorter and Cam Higby by protestors led by far-left streamer Andrew Mercado.

Notable Quote:

"I went to the area where this deranged leftist attempted to murder an ICE officer... The left has now tried in vain, I would say, to turn this into a cause celebre."
—Jack Posobiec (16:18)

2. Exclusive Field Report: Violence Against Conservative Media

• Direct interview with field correspondent Kevin Posobiec who was present during the violent incident against Nick Sorter and Cam Higby. Kevin describes the overall lawlessness, the escalating aggression of Antifa organizers, and the failure of local authorities to maintain order.

Notable Segment:

• [12:19] Kevin describes the attack:
  • Protestors blocked vehicle exits, spray-painted cars, threw rocks and frozen water bottles.
  • "Thank the Lord above that no one else was in the back of this truck at that time... It could have gotten way worse—head trauma, or Lord knows what else could have happened here."
  • He notes that calls of "vehicular homicide" and "broken legs" were false claims made by agitators after the fact.
  • [14:57-18:44]

3. Comparison to International Authoritarianism: The Venezuelan Perspective

• Interview with Venezuelan political refugee Franklin Camargo connects themes of regime oppression, lack of gun rights, and collectivo militia violence in Venezuela to similar trends in the US.

Notable Quotes:

"Colectivos in Venezuela is a great example of why we should have gun rights in the United States... Here we do not allow [the left] to gain power and violate those rights."
—Franklin Camargo (24:19, 25:42)

4. EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent

Federal Investigation into Welfare Fraud and Anti-ICE Group Funding

• Bessent outlines a federal crackdown on vast welfare fraud in Minnesota, with $300–$600 billion government-wide lost to fraud (28:24).
• Discusses how money is being illicitly funneled overseas—particularly via four major money service businesses in Minnesota—some allegedly funding terrorist groups like Al Shabaab in Somalia.

Protocol Changes Announced:

• Lowering reporting thresholds for suspicious activity (from $10,000 down).
• Banning transfer of public assistance funds overseas, and classifying such transfers as potential fraud triggers.
• Following “who is funding these agitator organizations” and using IRS Criminal Investigators to pursue these funders—potentially targeting nonprofits, law firms, or even public officials.

Notable Quotes:

"We follow the money. We put away the Mafia, the Mexican cartels—now we are going to put away these Somali fraudsters... Not only do we put them away, we stop the flow and have recoveries."
—Scott Bessent (29:26)

"We are going to examine four... storefronts that wire money out. We don't believe they followed proper procedures and they could be shut down. Managements could be held liable."
—Scott Bessent (29:47)

"Money meant for a Minneapolis or St. Paul Daycare center is actually buying machine guns back overseas."
—Scott Bessent (33:25)

"When we asked him about those groups—the Anti-ICE groups—he said definitively, the Department of the Treasury will be looking into those groups and will be focusing on following the money... they will be placed under financial investigation."
—Jack Posobiec (39:56)

5. On Political Corruption and Cultural Context

• Discussion of the normalization of fraud, the complicity or incompetence of Minnesota officials, and public officials’ potential exposure.
• Treasury Secretary Bessent announces a forthcoming whistleblower program to encourage insider reporting on fraudulent activities.

Notable Quotes:

"Minnesota nice has been jiujitsu on them... the payments have been turned into business."
—Scott Bessent (36:29)

6. Broader Crackdown on Leftist Organizing and Funding

• Bessent confirms investigations not only track Somali fraud but extend to funding for anti-ICE and Antifa/leftist protest groups.
• Specific mention of IRS criminal investigators pursuing leads, including tracking who is purchasing gear (like umbrellas, lasers) and supplying agitators.

7. International Focus: Free Speech, Europe, and AI Policy

• Interview with Matt Schlapp (CPAC) discussing global rankings of free speech, highlighting the erosion of free expression in Western democratic countries—especially the EU and Canada.
• Critique of the EU’s moves to ban X/Grok over AI-generated images, questioning the selective nature of regulation as a pretext to police dissent.

Notable Quotes:

"America gets 100 in our rankings... compared to the rest of the world, this idea of free speech that our founders had, it is really a disappearing right."
—Matt Schlapp (45:36)

"So they're really just selectively focusing on Elon Musk because they can and because they clearly want to."
—Jack Posobiec (49:47)

Memorable Moments & Quotes

• [09:48] “We have to follow them around… They need to not be able to move without the entire country...”
  —Andrew Mercado, describing plans to intimidate right-wing journalists.

• [21:04] “I think it’s actually going to get hotter again... Citizens are increasingly emboldened to do blockages and harass ICE vehicles.”
  —Kevin Posobiec on escalating tensions in Minneapolis.

• [32:34] “The amount of leakage in the system and these cockroaches are very good at figuring out... how to exploit them. We're going to shut it down.”
  —Secretary Bessent

• [38:49] “[This] woman tried to bribe the juror... She was given $200,000 to bribe the juror. She stole, and always tried to give the juror $100,000.”
  —Secretary Bessent, on endemic corruption and fraud linked to welfare scandals.

Important Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment / Speaker | Topic | |-------------|------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------| | 09:48 | Andrew Mercado (C) | Threats to harass right-wing journalists | | 12:19-18:44 | Kevin Posobiec (E) & Jack (A) | Description of protest violence, field reporting | | 22:53-26:44 | Franklin Camargo (F) | Venezuelan regime, colectivos, gun rights, comparison to US protest | | 27:39-39:51 | Scott Bessent (D) & Jack (A) | Federal investigation, welfare fraud, funding overseas, anti-ICE | | 41:53-50:23 | Matt Schlapp (G) & Jack | Free speech, EU/Canada, AI, conservative media, CPAC rankings |

Summary

• Host Jack Posobiec reports on the violent tactics of left-wing protestors in Minneapolis, tying local unrest to systemic welfare fraud and deeper efforts by the Treasury Department to “follow the money” from U.S. assistance programs to suspected criminal and terrorist entities overseas.
• Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent lays out a comprehensive federal strategy: crackdown on illicit money transfers, new regulations on public assistance use, shutting down money service businesses when needed, and broadening investigations to include the funding of anti-ICE and other protest-oriented groups.
• Secretary Bessent breaks the news that anti-ICE groups, described as “the next evolution of Antifa,” are now officially under federal investigation for their funding streams.
• International context is provided with discussion of Venezuela’s oppression and lack of gun rights, as well as of the declining state of free speech across Europe and Canada, culminating in new global rankings from CPAC.
• The episode closes on a note of vigilance, promising continued investigative journalism and urging the audience to understand and defend American freedoms.