Podcast Summary

It Could Happen Here – Episode: “Everyone vs ICE: On the Ground In Minnesota, Pt. 2”
Date: January 28, 2026 | Hosts: Margaret Killjoy & James Stout

Overview

This episode provides a vivid, on-the-ground chronicle of Minneapolis’ community resistance against recent high-profile Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) actions. Hosts James Stout and Margaret Killjoy recount their experiences during a city-wide general strike, rapid response mutual aid, direct actions at ICE facilities, and moments of solidarity in subzero weather. The episode balances the hope and togetherness found in grassroots action with the somber reality of violence and tragedy in the ongoing struggle against ICE.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Dealing with Hope and Tragedy (01:12)

• Setting the Tone: James Stout opens with a clarification that while the episode is hopeful, community member Alex Pretty was killed by Border Patrol soon after recording. The hosts want listeners to embrace the hope but not forget the grief and ongoing danger.
  • “We don't want anything in the hopeful tone here to suggest that we don't grieve his passing... But we still want you to learn from what's happening in Minneapolis...” – James Stout [01:12]
• Margaret emphasizes the need to balance “the beauty of the things being built” with “the darkness that has caused them.”

2. The General Strike and City Solidarity (03:25 – 06:15)

• Margaret describes attending what she considers her second real general strike.
• A remarkable momentum has grown, with businesses (some unrelated to protest) closing in solidarity, and others offering services (food, coffee, bike repair, T-shirts) for free as community support.
  • “They just had a little thing being like—attention! We're not opening on Friday.” – James Stout [04:08]
  • “If you want to screen print ‘Abolish ICE’ on a shirt, swing by... We just want your solidarity.” – James Stout [05:00]
• Powwow Grounds, an Indigenous-owned coffee shop, now provides free refreshments and serves as a mutual aid hub. The American Indian Movement is deeply involved, sustaining a safe, welcoming space.

3. Rapid Response & Mutual Aid Networks (06:15 – 13:54)

• Mutual aid is deeply embedded: “There’s more of us than there are of them.”
• Community spaces double as rapid response hubs for warmth, food, and messaging, fostering networks that ensure ICE’s actions are monitored and resisted.
• The Whipple Building (central ICE processing facility) is historically and currently a site of repression; activists maintain a daily presence there to bear witness, document, and resist.
  • “There are people, there basically every day...just blatantly being like, we are here to track you all.” – Margaret Killjoy [09:21]
• The cold itself becomes a hazard, with mutual aid efforts adaptively supplying hand warmers, hot drinks, and even designated warming vehicles.

4. Direct Action and Police Escalation (13:54 – 23:13)

• Recap of the direct action at the Whipple Building: shield walls face off federal agents, small in number but high in audacity, despite -30°F windchills.
  • “The level of bravery of that. That is audacious...because there were maybe 100 people in that whole formation.” – James Stout [11:22]
• Notable humanitarian challenges: An Italian journalist gets maced, raising the stakes for exposure injuries, and the police deploy dispersal orders, making situations unpredictable and hazardous.
• The crowd is kettled by police, with unclear directions for dispersal and a real threat of mass arrest or violence.

5. Community Resilience & Escaping Police Kettles (23:13 – 32:08)

• Resourcefulness wins out: protesters use precious hot drinks and hand warmers to maintain morale as they outmaneuver police lines—eventually, the “comrade light rail” enables the hosts and others to escape a potential kettle.
• The extreme cold dictates every action, with electronics failing and even everyday tasks becoming a challenge.

6. The ICE Vehicle Crash & Recklessness of Power (24:22 – 27:08)

• The hosts rush to document an ICE vehicle that crashed into a telephone pole—a scene emblematic of the reckless impunity with which agents operate, reminiscent of border towns.
  • “...they drive erratically...because they think they are immune to all consequences.” – Margaret Killjoy [25:38]

7. The Massive Downtown March & Togetherness (27:08 – 33:16)

• 10,000 people are estimated at the day’s various protests. The downtown march is underscored by community hospitality (soup, hand warmers, hot cocoa) and mutual celebration of collective action.
  • “As soon as we stepped into the square, we were once again being offered hot cocoa and hand warmers...people just set up to care for people.” – Raymond [28:45]
• For Margaret, not usually a rally person, the experience is transformative: “It felt like...when you're doing a hard, long mutual aid thing...and once a year, you get together and have a dinner together.” [31:24]

8. Long-Haul Organizing & Movement Sustainability (32:27 – 36:09)

• Organizers are strategizing for a protracted campaign, expecting ICE to remain through summer.
• Networks of care are multi-layered, with even providers themselves receiving support—massage therapists, therapists, street medics, mutual aid for mutual aid.
• “People are very aware that they're organizing for the long haul...and there are people providing things to the people doing things.” – Margaret Killjoy [32:49]
• Analogy of solidarity: the “four-layers-deep chain” at protests, impossible for police to break through due to community cohesion.

9. Anarchism as Care, Not Chaos (34:27 – 36:09)

• James and Margaret clarify: anarchism is “building ways of caring for one another that don't reinforce ways of controlling one another.”
  • “People building networks here that make the state unnecessary ... people are still going to get food to their neighbors.” – James Stout [34:46]
• Wealthier community members actively shelter and financially support neighbors impacted by the strike and ICE presence.

10. Outrage, Solidarity, and the Power of Uprising (36:09 – 44:47)

• The kidnapping of young children, like the five-year-old “Spiderman” boy, galvanizes diverse groups to action.
• The “First They Came...” graffiti at the ICE building serves as a living reminder for action before repression can spread.
  • “First they came for the undocumented, and I said nothing...Then they came for me.” – read aloud by James Stout [45:00]
• Margaret and James reflect on solidarity’s roots and how acting in solidarity, while sometimes immediately dangerous, is ultimately the safest and most just way to live.

11. The Urgency & Accessibility of Neighborly Action (53:08 – 60:23)

• Anyone can participate: “You don't have to quit your job to walk outside your house when you hear someone yell ‘help’.”
• Building community starts with basic neighborliness—block parties, potlucks, sharing skills, offering help.
  • “If there’s one thing you can do...it is go out on your block and meet your neighbors.” – Raymond [56:22]
• Advice on practical first steps: share your phone number, fix things, bake bread, share plants, organize simple events, recognize that even small gestures build the resilience needed for more intentional resistance.

12. Final Reflections & Calls to Action (60:37–end)

• The episode closes with gratitude and awe at the beauty found in struggle, even amidst tragedy, and highlights vetted ways for listeners to materially support the Minneapolis resistance (see show notes).
  • “We just kind of wanted to get some ideas out while we were both in the same place in this shockingly beautiful city, around people who are so fucking inspiring.” – Margaret Killjoy [60:38]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Hope Amid Loss:
  “We remain so proud of everything they've done. But...we don't want anything in the hopeful tone here to suggest that we don't grieve [Alex Pretty’s] passing.” – James Stout [01:12]

• On Mutual Aid:
  “We don't want your money, we just want your solidarity.” – James Stout [05:00]

• On Community Rapid Response:
  “There’s more of us than there are of them.” – AIM member [06:22, paraphrased]

• On Facing ICE in the Extreme Cold:
  “Any exposed skin is danger.” – Margaret Killjoy [12:14]
  “This is the coldest day here since 2018 or 2019.” – Margaret Killjoy [10:58]

• On The Culture of Togetherness:
  “It felt like...everyone just having a dinner together after a long mutual aid project.” – Margaret Killjoy [31:24]

• On Lasting, Layered Organizing:
  “You need to build autonomy into these networks at every level...diversity of tactics makes movements strong.” – Margaret Killjoy [54:57]

• On Solidarity and Safety:
  “Solidarity is, in a sense, in your own self-interest. We want to live in a world where people take care of each other...” – Raymond [47:47]

• On Taking the First Step:
  “It won't cost you any money; it will take you a little bit of time, and it will probably make your life better. It is: go out on your block and meet your neighbors.” – Raymond [56:22]

• On the Power of Collective Action:
  “If it stops here, if you can't grab migrants off the street here, then you can't grab dissidents off the street somewhere else.” – Margaret Killjoy [44:47]

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Timestamp | Topic/Segment | |------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 01:12 | Acknowledgment of recent tragedy, clarifying the episode’s hopeful tone | | 03:25 | General strike in Minneapolis; businesses participating in solidarity | | 06:15 | Mutual aid at Powwow Grounds; AIM involvement; rapid response networks | | 08:51 | ICE’s Whipple Building as a site of state violence and daily resistance | | 11:22 | Shield wall direct action; facing police in subzero conditions | | 13:54 | Protesters providing community care (hand warmers, food, warming vehicles) | | 14:02 | Discourse on nonviolence/violence among activists – minimal division | | 16:20 | Shift from protester shield wall to police lines and threats of force | | 23:13 | Kettled by police, uncertain escape, rescued by light rail | | 24:22 | ICE vehicle crashes into power pole; emblem of recklessness | | 27:08 | Massive downtown march; community care in action | | 32:27 | Sustainable organizing and mutual support across all layers | | 36:09 | Wealthy community members providing rent and caregiving support | | 44:56 | ICE building graffiti: “First they came for the undocumented...” | | 53:08 | Practical advice: knowing your neighbors, building local networks | | 56:22 | “Best thing you can do is start to form community” – actionable steps | | 60:37 | Closing reflections; links to vetted Minneapolis mutual aid and bailout funds|

Conclusion

This episode vividly illustrates how Minneapolis residents, drawing from both historical and present-day knowledge, have created resilient, mutually supportive networks in the face of state violence. Harsh winter conditions underscore the challenges and the profound warmth of community solidarity. While acknowledging real risks and losses, James and Margaret repeatedly highlight that the heart of resistance is ordinary people showing up for each other—be it through direct action, passing out hand warmers, or simply meeting your neighbors.

Actionable Takeaway:
Organizing starts with the simplest step: know your neighbors, show up, and support one another—because solidarity, not charity, is what ultimately keeps communities safe and strong.

Support Links:
(See episode notes for direct mutual aid, bail funds, and support resources in the Twin Cities.)

“What makes it safe is that everyone is doing it... and what people asked us to do was share this, because they are safer if you do it, too.” – Raymond [44:08]