Executive Disorder: Alex Pretti Shooting, DHS Funding Bill & Rojava

Summary

Podcast Summary: It Could Happen Here – "Executive Disorder: Alex Pretti Shooting, DHS Funding Bill & Rojava"

Date: January 30, 2026
Hosts: Garrison Davis, Mia Wong, James Stout, Robert Evans
Produced by: Cool Zone Media and iHeartPodcasts

---

Overview

This episode delivers an intense, in-depth discussion of the week’s major events, focusing heavily on the killing of Alex Pretti by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis, the chaotic political fallout, and repercussions across the country. The hosts also cover developments in federal DHS funding debates, briefly update on Rojava and U.S. foreign policy, and touch on the assault against Representative Ilhan Omar. The tone is urgent, skeptical, and laced with dark humor, in keeping with the show's chronicle-of-collapse approach.

---

Major Discussion Points and Insights

1. Alex Pretti Shooting in Minneapolis

Incident Recap

• [02:52] James Stout recounts being in Minneapolis Airport when the shooting occurred.
• Alex Pretti, 37, an ICU nurse and Air Force veteran, was shot by two CBP agents during an immigration raid. Pretti was filming the operation and attempting to assist a woman when he was detained, maced, beaten, disarmed, and then shot multiple times.
• [04:17] Agents appeared unclear about the gun’s status even after it was taken from Pretti: "The agent that first fired at Preddy was standing right behind the agent that disarmed him...and then seconds later starts shooting." – Garrison Davis

Official Narratives, Disinformation & Public Response

• DHS and officials publicly claimed Pretti attacked agents and was "brandishing his weapon", but multiple synchronized videos show him holding only his cell phone and being disarmed before being shot.
• The footage contradicts nearly every official justification.
• FBI and DHS ratcheted rhetoric, labeling Pretti a "domestic terrorist" and suggesting intentions to "massacre law enforcement".
• Press conferences were characterized by outright falsehoods, with government spokespeople caught in contradiction by video evidence:
  • [09:43] "The party told you not to believe your eyes and ears. It was their final, most important command. I mean, if this ain't that, then I don't know what is." – James Stout

Witness & Community Accounts

• Sworn testimony from bystanders consistently disputes the official story.
  • [11:34] “The man did not approach the agents with a gun. He approached him with a camera.” – (witness in ACLU suit)
• Federal agents prevented a doctor from assisting Pretti after the shooting and appeared to be "counting his bullet wounds" instead.

Fallout: Vigils, Protests, and the National Mood

• Protests erupted, with Minneapolis police deploying “less lethal” rounds to disperse vigils; the shooting resonated well beyond activist circles.
• [19:51] Some of the most striking cultural fallout included NFL stars and fans—deeply conservative spaces—expressing outrage.
  • [21:25] For the first time ever, national anthem booed at NFL games; “fuck ICE” chanted in Seattle during a live broadcast, forcing Fox to cut audio.
  • "He doesn't talk about politics, but he's very obviously conservative...and he looks at this and goes, holy shit, they murdered this guy." – Mia Wong on NFL commentator Kurt Warner [26:13]

Political Backpedaling

• Language from DHS and administration pivoted from harsh condemnation to qualified statements as video evidence went viral and criticism mounted.
• [18:05] DOJ lawyer: “I am not describing it as anything except for a tragedy.”
• Former aggressive officials like Stephen Miller began walking back the DHS' initial terrorism narrative.

Second Amendment Implications

• The scenario—government agents disarming and executing a legal gun owner—galvanized even gun rights communities against the administration.
  • [29:41] "The Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus has been pretty impressive....they have been, like, reinforcing that what Pretty was doing was in no way illegal and should no way lead to you being killed." – James Stout

Disinformation, AI & Truth

• The hosts raise alarm over "AI-enhanced" stills claiming to show supplementary gunfire, and other doctored images spreading online, muddying the waters further.
  • [33:11] “Nothing can enhance a photo...you can’t just like add details...AI did. Someone said ‘add visuals of a bullet’ and they did...That’s just going to be everything...every controversial thing...” – Host

---

2. Surveillance, Databases, and Protester Intimidation

• CNN reports that Pretti had been previously identified/encountered by federal agents, was physically assaulted at a prior incident, and that a memo asked officials to collect information on “protesters and agitators”.
• ICE/Homeland Security have hinted at the desire for protester databases; similar surveillance observed at protests in other cities.
• Discussion clarifies that such surveillance and intimidation tactics are not new—activists and legal observers have long been harassed and photographed by law enforcement.
  • [47:43] "If you are spreading this as a ‘you need to be afraid now’...You are doing their job. You are spreading the fear...."

---

3. Congressional and DHS Funding Fallout

• The Pretti shooting catalyzed a backlash in Congress.
• Senate Democrats blocking a House-approved DHS funding bill unless concessions are made: strict rules on body cams, agent identification, judicial warrants for arrests, ending “roving patrols,” etc.
  • [39:45] James Stout explains the legal meanings of border jurisdiction.
  • [41:46] Push for judicial warrants instead of administrative “Form 215” was highlighted as crucial.

---

4. Assault on Rep. Ilhan Omar

• [48:50] Omar assaulted at town hall—sprayed with apple cider vinegar by man shouting for her resignation; no serious injuries but considerable concern.
• DOJ quickly brought federal assault charges; more details provided via producer update.
• Trump’s response: “She probably had sprayed herself, knowing her.” [51:17]

---

5. Rojava, Middle East Updates

• Brief update as per listener requests:
  • Syrian Democratic Forces and opposition government agreed to a fragile, frequently-violated ceasefire, mainly due to U.S. concerns over ISIS prisoner escapes.
  • U.S. resuming detainee transfers; Trump threatening Iraq over PM choice, signaling intent to "cut all ties."
  • Region remains highly unstable; U.S. maintains transactional approach to alliances, especially with the Kurds.
  • “We spent twenty fucking years killing people in Iraq...the idea that we were doing regime change, but when the regime isn’t the one that we like...we’re doing regime change again. Obviously, the whole thing was a fraud and a lie.” – James Stout [55:18]

---

6. Federal Reserve Independence

• Quick update on efforts to pressure the Fed:
  • Despite political pressure, Fed held rates steady; no public comment on the Trump DOJ’s investigation into the Fed.

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "The party told you not to believe your eyes and ears. It was their final, most important command. I mean, if this ain't that, then I don't know what is."
  – James Stout [09:43], on administration lying about the shooting.
• "You can't make a case for that. Reasonably. People will do it unreasonably. I don't care."
  – James Stout [06:24], on official justifications.
• "He doesn't talk about politics, but he's very obviously conservative...and he looks at this and goes, holy shit, they murdered this guy."
  – Mia Wong about Kurt Warner [26:13].
• "This is the second time they've done this in two weeks."
  – Recurring theme across the episode—on repeated federal shootings and narratives [25:41].
• "This story is like the ultimate conservative nightmare of the government physically disarming you, then executing you."
  – Garrison Davis [27:59].

---

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:52] – Detailed walkthrough of the Alex Pretti shooting
• [09:43] – Analysis of official narrative versus documented evidence
• [19:51] – Sports world, NFL enters the discourse
• [26:13] – Cultural shift & conservative response
• [33:00] – Disinformation & AI-evidence segment
• [39:45] – Congressional fight over DHS funding
• [48:50] – Ilhan Omar assaulted
• [52:54] – Rojava and Middle East situation
• [55:55] – Federal Reserve update

---

Conclusion

The episode paints a portrait of rapidly unraveling federal legitimacy, unprecedented cultural backlash against administration violence, and a growing chasm between official narratives and documented realities. The Alex Pretti shooting is dissected as both a symptom and catalyst: exposing how state power, technological shifts (AI fakes), and escalating surveillance intersect with deep national divides and resistance, even in traditionally “apolitical” spaces. The hosts close with a reminder to support Minneapolis mutual aid and efforts, underscoring the urgent, participatory nature of this uniquely volatile moment.

Transcript

[Host 1]

This is an iHeart podcast.

[Producer Sophie]

Guaranteed Human.

[Promo Announcer]

Friday, February 6th. Kick off the Winter Olympics in style with the opening ceremony from Italy featuring a special performance by Mariah Carey. Celebrate the greatest athletes from around the globe as they come together to go for gold. The opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics.

[Garrison Davis]

Ilia Malinin, redefining this sport.

[Promo Announcer]

Friday, February 6th, NBC and Peacock.

[Grainger Advertiser]

If you're an H Vac technician and a call comes in, Grainger knows that you need a partner that helps you find the right product fast and hassle free. And you know that when the first problem of the day is a clanking blower motor, there's no need to break a sweat. With Grainger's easy to use website and product details, you're confident you'll soon have everything humming right along. Call 1-800-GRAINGER clickgrainger.com or just stop by Granger for the ones who get it done.

[Host 1]

Media.

[Garrison Davis]

This is it Could Happen Here. Executive Disorder, our weekly newscast covering what's happening in the White House, the crumbling world and what it means for you. I'm Garrison Davis. Today I'm joined by Mia Wong, James Stout and Robert Evans. This episode, we're covering the week of January 21st to January 28th. Massive snowstorm across most of the country, at least the real parts of the country, which is the east coast and the south now. And wow, there is a lot of snow. It makes me feel kind of like a penguin just walking off to the mountains by myself. Weathering the weather. Finally. I feel akin to the president who is now also a suicidal penguin at.

[James Stout]

The wrong end of the globe.

[Host 1]

Yeah, yeah.

[Garrison Davis]

Well, you know, as soon as they start the remigration, they're going to be deporting penguins to Greenland.

[James Stout]

Gets into Greenland.

[Garrison Davis]

Yeah, it's held in a military detention camp off of Greenland. Now that we might own a tiny bit of our military base. Still very unclear what the details of that Greenland deal are.

[Host 1]

No, he just wanted to be able to say he made a deal. And I don't know if it's going to be any different than the status quo was before. But he'll claim victory and so will his supporters. And we'll all move on as we.

[Garrison Davis]

Kind of already have.

[Host 1]

Yep. It's too much other bullshit going on.

[James Stout]

That is the motto for 2026.

[Garrison Davis]

Some of that bullshit is the third immigration enforcement related shooting in Minneapolis in just three weeks.

[James Stout]

Yeah.

[Garrison Davis]

James, do you want to start with that?

[James Stout]

So, yeah, I was in Minneapolis. I was actually just in Minneapolis airport when this happened on Saturday of this week. Alex Pretty was Shot by two CBP agents in Minneapolis while he was filming an immigration raid in which ICE agents attempted to pursue someone into a donut shop that seemed to have locked the doors. Pretty seemed to be trying to assist a woman who had been pushed to the ground by agents. When the agents grabbed him, maced him, beat him, disarmed him, and then shot him several Times. Pretty was 37. It was a Veterans Affairs ICU nurse. And when this confrontation with immigration agents began, he was legally carrying a Sig P320 handgun concealed inside his waistband. I can go on and summarize the video for anyone who hasn't seen it. It's obviously quite distressing. So, you know, if you're going to watch it, just know that you're going to see someone die. Video shows several agents beating Pretty as one grabs a handgun from his inside waistband holster. Very quickly after this, 10 shots are fired by at least two agents. You can hear at one point an agent shouting, gun, gun.

[Garrison Davis]

He's got a gun.

[James Stout]

Yeah. And then in the aftermath, another video shows agents asking, where is the gun? So it doesn't appear that the agent who cleared Pretty's gun informed the other agents that that had happened, though the.

[Garrison Davis]

Agent that first fired at Preddy was standing right behind the agent that disarmed him and is literally like looking down at where the gun is being removed as he then seconds later starts shooting. Pretty falls to the ground. Then more agents fire on his body as it lays flat on the ground.

[James Stout]

Yeah. The CBP Initial Use of Force Review, which was sent to Congress today, suggested that on Wednesday. Yeah, this is Wednesday, the 28th, that two agents fired. So we know at least two agents fired. Right. It's not entirely clear, I don't think if all of these were CBP agents, but at least one of the agents who fired shots was an 8 year CBP veteran and a range safety officer. Greg Bevino has declined to identify them because he said that would be doxxing. That's not what that word usually means.

[Mia Wong]

No.

[James Stout]

DHS has claimed that Pretty had two extra magazines on his person, but I haven't seen any evidence of that. What they provided was a photograph of a SIG P320 with a red dot sight and a slide lock back clearly on the front seat of a vehicle with two charge cords next to it. Right, that's. That's not normally how evidence is treated in a crime. That is an unusual way to go about that, to put it mildly. DHS Secretary Christy Noem has told reporters that Pretty attacked and impeded law enforcement and was brandishing his weapon. Videos don't show that. The only time that you see his weapon is when it is removed by the agent who takes it out of his waistband.

[Garrison Davis]

Preddy appears to be holding his black cell phone for the entirety of this interaction.

[James Stout]

Yeah. And it's very clear that it's a cell phone. Right. CBP agents are inches, obviously, from the phone in his face. Yeah. There is no reasonable claim.

[Host 1]

No. As a rule, throughout the interaction, there was never any confusion that would have led them to believe he had a gun in his hand or to be unaware that he had been disarmed. There's no argument for that.

[James Stout]

You can't make a case for that. Reasonably. People will do it unreasonably. I don't care. The allegation that he attacked them was repeated by FBI Director Kash Patel in the interview he gave to Fox News. I'm going to give a little video of Noem's claim.

[Dana]

This individual impeded the law enforcement officers and attacked them. State the facts as they unfolded on the street today. We were doing a targeted operation against an illegal criminal, and this individual came with a weapon and dozens of rounds of ammunition and. And attacked them. And these agents took action to defend their lives and to defend the lives of the people around them and acted according to their training.

[James Stout]

CBP Commander at large, potentially no longer Commander at large. Gregory Bevino claimed that Pretty had assaulted federal agents, and throughout a press conference that Bevino gave, referred to Pretty as a suspect and the people who killed him as victims. Pavino also claimed that Pretty planned to, quote, massacre law enforcement.

[Robert Evans]

Was he simply walking by and just happened to walk into a law enforcement situation and try to direct traffic and stand in the middle of the road and then assault, delay, and obstruct law enforcement? Or was he there for a reason? Did he fall victim to that violent and heated rhetoric by Amer Fry, Governor Waltz? Look, Dana, they're trying to portray Border Patrol agents and ICE agents as Gestapo, Nazi, and many other words. Did this individual fall victim, as many others have, to that type of heated rhetoric?

[Dana]

I want to stay focused on this incident right now, because what you were saying is that he went there to try to stop this law enforcement operation. All of the video that we have seen shows him documenting it with his cell phone, which is a lawful thing to do. And the only time he seemed to interact with law enforcement is when they went after him when he was trying to help an individual who law enforcement pushed down. So where do you have the evidence to show that he was trying to impede that law enforcement operation.

[Robert Evans]

Sure, Dan, at first he was there in the scene. He was in the scene actively impeding and assaulting law enforcement to the point.

[Dana]

But that's not illegal. He wasn't impeding it. He was filming it, which is a legal thing to do in the United States.

[Robert Evans]

Dana, let's don't freeze frame adjudicate this. Now, he was there for a reason, and that reason was to impede law enforcement to the police.

[Dana]

What evidence do you have of that.

[Robert Evans]

And here's a good point, Dana, is the fact that de escalation techniques were utilized during this action. Those de escalation techniques, whether it was physically trying to remove them from that law enforcement scene, that active law enforcement scene in which law enforcement.

[James Stout]

I wanted to include a little bit more there because I feel like that's one of the few times we've seen him not just able to deliver his.

[Host 1]

Right where someone's pushed a little.

[James Stout]

Yeah, exactly.

[Mia Wong]

Yeah, well, and there's. There's a thing in the video that I think is really effective where, you know, you can hear him lying about the video and then the video is playing next to it and you can just see what is happening. And then he's just saying, shit.

[James Stout]

Yeah, it's a good piece of television news, Ghost. That's not the worst piece I've seen him saying. They use de escalation techniques as you watch half a dozen guys mace him in the face and then beat him is. I mean, there's this line I think a lot about in chapter seven of 1984, which was the party told you not to believe your eyes and ears. It was their final, most important command. I mean, I don't. If this ain't that, then I don't know what is.

[Garrison Davis]

Yeah, I mean, yeah, they don't even try to convincingly lie at this point.

[Host 1]

Like, they just keep to the narrative that has been set at the top. Yeah, well, not even in this case at the top. It was kind of set at like the upper middle.

[James Stout]

Yes.

[Host 1]

The top has been backing off from this narrative at least a little bit.

[Garrison Davis]

We'll get to that kind of back and forth in a sec. But I mean, it's very clear from this that they just consider blowing a whistle to be impeding. Like, that's. That's all the justification that they need.

[James Stout]

Consider his presence there.

[Garrison Davis]

As long as you are physically presence.

[Host 1]

There, anything you do that they don't like is assaulting an officer at this point.

[Garrison Davis]

Yes, it's kind of a Minor point. But also his pronunciation of Gestapo.

[James Stout]

Stoppo. He does that every time.

[Garrison Davis]

It's like, dude, we could. We know, we know.

[James Stout]

Yeah, yeah. He's like.

[Mia Wong]

He's wearing that coat.

[Garrison Davis]

He's wearing the outfit.

[Mia Wong]

People are calling this stuff. It's like, come on.

[Garrison Davis]

And. Yeah, no, it's. It's. It's. It's pretty insane.

[James Stout]

Yeah.

[Host 1]

I love the articles that are like, no, he's just wearing a traditional old style military coat. It's not a Gestapo coat. Guys, come on, man.

[James Stout]

I've seen a lot of border patrol agents. Guys.

[Host 1]

No one else wears that coat. He picked that coat because of how it looks.

[James Stout]

To my knowledge, that's not a uniform piece for the Border Patrol.

[Host 1]

No. And he's never been in the military.

[James Stout]

Yeah.

[Host 1]

You know what he is in is a secret police unit. Anyway. Sorry.

[James Stout]

Yeah, no, I think it's a good. It's worth beating that one. I want to talk about this ACLU lawsuit.

[Host 1]

Right?

[James Stout]

So in sworn testimonies, which were part of this ongoing lawsuit, multiple witnesses said Pretty did not brandish or draw his handgun. Quote. I have read a statement from DHS about what happened, and it is wrong. The man did not approach the agents with a gun. He approached him with a camera. He was just trying to help a woman get up and they took him to the ground. One said another witness, a doctor, was prevented from performing cpr. Quote, none of the ICE agents who were near the victim were performing cpr. They said agents demanded the physician's license, which evidently they did not have. Right. They just ran out of their house in their pajamas. Their testimony continues. Quote, I could tell the victim was in critical condition. I insisted the ICE agents let me assess him. They appear to be operating under the assumption that these people were ice. Some of them were cbp. I should just say that. They also noted that agents, quote, appeared to be counting his bullet wounds. Yeah.

[Mia Wong]

Jesus Christ.

[James Stout]

And there is video that shows him doing bizarre things to his remains that are not within the remit of trauma care or first aid. In my experience and training, which is pretty significant when it comes to, like, this exact scenario.

[Garrison Davis]

The documents that released today said that they placed chest seals on him.

[James Stout]

They were placing chess seals on him.

[Garrison Davis]

Yeah.

[James Stout]

Yeah. That might explain it. It looks like they're sort of pulling up on his shirt.

[Garrison Davis]

I mean, this whole. Again, this whole instance, very, very clearly documented with video, multiple angles. After the shooting, an agent is, like, on top of his body screaming for scissors to cut off his clothing.

[James Stout]

Yeah.

[Garrison Davis]

And then later, they place chest seals. According to that document that was released to Congress.

[James Stout]

Yeah. Weird not to carry scissors in your first aid kit when you're on trauma shoes, but minor quiver, I guess.

[Host 1]

I mean, these guys don't know what they're doing.

[James Stout]

Yeah, yeah, exactly. That's the thing, right? Bevino also noted in his press conference that the agents were still at work, but they had been redeployed for their safety outside of the Twin Cities. Following the shooting, a vigil was held and there were protests, including some armed presence in the protests. Minneapolis Police Department attempted to hold the space both to keep the vigil away and earlier that day they had refused to leave when told to do so by federal police. Later that night, they deployed extensive, less lethal munitions to clear the vigil.

[Garrison Davis]

Let's go on ad break and then return to discuss the back and forth characterization of the shooting from Trump's cabinet.

[Promo Announcer]

Friday, February 6, kick off the Winter Olympics in style with the opening ceremony from Italy featuring a special performance by Mariah Carey. Celebrate the greatest athletes from around the globe as they come together to go for gold. Let's see the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics. Ilya Malinin, redefining The Sport, Friday, February 6, on NBC.

[Grainger Advertiser]

And Peacock, if you're an H Vac technician and a call comes in, Grainger knows that you need a partner that helps you find the right product fast and hassle free. And you know that when the first problem of the day is a clanking blower motor, there's no need to break a sweat. With Grainger's easy to use website and product details, you're confident you'll soon have everything humming right along. Call 1-800-GRAINGER clickgrainger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it done.

[Garrison Davis]

We are back. The day after the shooting, Kash Patel went on Fox News to say that it is against the law to bring a firearm to a protest.

[Host 1]

Nope.

[Garrison Davis]

Here's a clip.

[Host 1]

As Christie said, you cannot bring a firearm loaded with multiple magazines to any sort of protest that you want. It's that simple. You don't have that right to break the law and incite violence.

[James Stout]

Yeah, that's wrong.

[Garrison Davis]

In Minnesota, it is not against the law for permit holders to carry a firearm while attending a Protestant. And it's arguable whether what Preddy was doing is even quote unquote, attending a protest. Yeah, these sorts of spontaneous mobilizations against ICE are not like a formalized we are protesting in this location. At this point. It's not a protest rally. It's community mobilizations. The Term protest is going to be applied a little bit loosely Now. The DHS statement three hours after the shooting made this claim, quote, this looks like a situation where an individual wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement, unquote. This is the phrase that Bevino said verbatim at the press conference on Saturday following the shooting. Miller said something similar on Twitter as he was tweeting at Democrat politicians, quote, a would be assassin tried to murder federal law enforcement and a domestic terrorist tried to assassinate federal law enforcement, unquote. Kristi Noem also had a press conference the day of the shooting where she said, quote, when you perpetuate violence against a government because of ideological reasons and for reasons to resist and perpetuate violence, that is the definition of domestic terrorism. This individual who came with weapons and ammunition to stop a law enforcement operation of federal law enforcement officers committed an act of domestic terrorism, unquote. But by Monday, the White House began softly backtracking previous DHS claims about the shooting. Press Secretary Carolyn Levitt said that she has not heard President Trump characterized Preddy as a domestic terrorist. That same day, FOX and Friends asked DOJ attorney Todd Blanche about whether Preddy committed domestic terrorism. And he replied like this.

[Mia Wong]

With all due respect, sir, my question is more pointed. Do you believe your colleagues may have gone Farther? Attorney A. DOJ 18 U.S. code 2331 has a legal definition of domestic terrorism, and it doesn't appear to most of the country that have watched the available video and we'll see if there's body cam video. I'd love to know if that's going to come out, if there was such a thing. But it does not appear to have met that definition of domestic terrorism. So I'm just sort of wondering how you in the DOJ are viewing whether your colleagues may have gone too far.

[James Stout]

Look, I don't think anybody thinks that they were comparing what happened on Saturday to the legal definition of domestic terrorism. What we saw was a very violent altercation. And I am not going to prejudge the facts. You're right. There's a bunch of video that's out there. There's a bunch of video that we haven't seen yet in the minutes leading up to what happened and what happened afterwards. And you're right to the extent there's body cam or other videos that, that witnesses are still providing to us. So I'm not describing it as anything except for a tragedy.

[Garrison Davis]

That's pretty, pretty wild. Two days after Kristi Noem tried to literally give a definition of domestic terrorism at A press conference. And then DOJ attorney is just claiming, no, it's not the real legal definition of domestic terrorism.

[James Stout]

Yeah.

[Garrison Davis]

This word is just a rhetorical tool for the administration to deploy at will.

[Host 1]

Yeah. We just were using it because we killed a guy and we wanted to shut down discussion.

[Mia Wong]

Yeah, yeah.

[James Stout]

And when we didn't stick the landing because there were multiple angles on video, now we gotta find something else.

[Host 1]

Yeah.

[Mia Wong]

And we just did this. Like how many weeks ago was the.

[Garrison Davis]

No, I mean, this whole incident shows how vital documenting interactions like this can be and how much public opinion is something that is not just fully, fully dictated by administration statements. Like they tried to deploy a narrative which after. After enough circulated documented footage contradicted public opinion of this incident, formed in pretty strong opposition to the administration's claims.

[Mia Wong]

Yeah, yeah. This has penetrated into a lot of places that are, under ordinary circumstances, either extremely apolitical or very conservative.

[James Stout]

Yeah.

[Mia Wong]

I am trying to remember honestly the last event that I saw between this and 2020 and the George Floyd uprising that had this kind of penetration into mainstream non political society. I remember one of the biggest things that I saw was this moment of, oh, actually this specific shooting has gone to a point where it's reaching people who normally would never hear about this stuff was there's an NFL commentator named Kurt Warner who used to be. He was a very famous quarterback. The only thing he ever talks about is quarterback play in football. This is the only thing he ever does. I'm not 100% sure about this, but when I looked back, I couldn't find him saying anything about George Floyd. And Kurt Warner came out and gave a statement about how this shooting was a horror and that the administration was lying about it. And you saw this sort of rattling through again, very, very conservatives sports circles, which again, this NFL circle specifically, where this kind of stuff never really penetrates. This weekend, you know, as. As this sort of murder was happening, the NFC and AFC championship games were going on in the sort of immediate wake of this. And these are for people who don't.

[James Stout]

Follow football at all.

[Mia Wong]

These are the. After the super bowl, these. This is the semifinals. The winner of these two games goes to the Super Bowl. These are the second most important games of the entire NFL season. And fans at both of these games booed the national anthem, a thing I have never heard of before at a football.

[James Stout]

This is a football game.

[Host 1]

Yeah, that's. That's wild. Yeah.

[Mia Wong]

Right. Like the beginning of most football games, there's a bunch of troops holding the flag and people. They didn't do this in 2020, they were booing the national anthem. So one of these games was being played in Denver, and the other one was being played in Seattle. And in the game in Seattle, the Fox broadcast kept cutting out the national Anthem because people kept chanting fuck ice. So they would just literally be cutting the audio anytime that happened. And this just kept happening through the entire course of this. I have never seen anything like this break through into sports like this. It's been breaking into. There's a whole bunch of stories about just random groups on a Reddit where it's from breaking through into where you're getting statements from, like, oh, God, I wish I remember who on Blue Sky I saw this from. But the person who runs the subreddit of where that's like playing your cat's butt. Like, bongo drums put out a statement about this.

[James Stout]

Yeah.

[Host 1]

I'm glad they finally spoke up, honestly.

[Mia Wong]

You know, we've all been waiting.

[James Stout]

But, like, I saw this in spaces where like. Like climbing forums or climbing subreddits.

[Host 1]

Like, no, because they just shot a nurse in the head.

[James Stout]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Mia Wong]

This is the second time they did it. And the thing, to me that I think is really significant about this happening at NFL games. Right. One of the two teams that was playing in the game in Denver is the New England Patriots. Right. The New England Patriots are famously very, very close to Trump as an organization. Their owner is very close to Trump. So I had remembered a story from last year about. So the Patriots have a jet that is the Patriots jet that they fly all their players around in that is. Has giant letters, the Patriots on it.

[Host 1]

Yeah.

[Mia Wong]

That is technically run through a charter company, but, you know, I remember last year there was a story about how their jet was doing flights to Guantanamo Bay.

[Host 1]

Sure. That makes sense for the Patriots jet.

[James Stout]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Right.

[Mia Wong]

This is the kind of organizations that we're dealing with here. Right. And while I was looking into the story about the Patriots jet being used to do things to move apparently not detainees to Guantanamo, but apparently just military people and supplies, which they do a lot, I found a completely unrelated story about a different Patriots jet in during the Biden administration doing deportation flights to Honduras. And this isn't considered an ideological thing.

[Host 1]

No, that's just money.

[Mia Wong]

Like, this is the kind of conservatism you're dealing. Yeah. You know, and I mean, this is. Technically, it's the contractors who are doing this, but, you know, it's. It's the plane with the Patriots logo on it, and they were doing deportation Flights under Biden, like, four years, three or four years ago. And now people are booing the national anthem. Enchanting.

[Host 1]

Fuck.

[Mia Wong]

Ice. A lot of the stuff that we've talked about and we're going to talk about, about the way the Trump administration has been backing off of this is because they have been forced to watch the entire country go, holy shit, you just murdered this guy and then lied about it. You just executed him in the street.

[Host 1]

Yeah.

[Mia Wong]

And lied about it.

[James Stout]

Yeah. I think they're lying, and you can just see them.

[Mia Wong]

And this is also the second time they've done this in a couple of weeks.

[Garrison Davis]

Like, the lying thing is, like, I think for a lot of people, that's the really insulting thing. It's obviously a tragedy to have someone be killed by federal law enforcement like this.

[Host 1]

Yeah.

[Garrison Davis]

But it just. The blatantness of the lying, I think, is what really activated people here.

[Host 1]

Yeah. Because this is. For years, they've skirted by. On situations like the Rittenhouse thing where you can kind of see what happens, but depending on what you bring into it ideologically, that can look like two different things. Right. Depending on where. Whether you think those protesters are dangerous or not or whatever. Like, that's a video that, like, everyone saw the same video and took something different out of it. Yeah. That's not the case with this video or really with the Renee Good video for most people.

[Mia Wong]

Yeah.

[Host 1]

And it's really jarring for them. Most people who were not political, because that's what we're talking about is, like, the sheer number of people who do not normally wade into this stuff were making a comment, they would see one of these videos that is much more like, if you're just kind of coming in and watching it, it's kind of unclear what's happening. And they would go, oh, it's another big con. I'm just not going to get involved with it. People are arguing about what this is. Let them argue. I'm going to go on with my life. This is very clear what's happening. Very clear that they're lying. And it's just upsetting. It's deeply upsetting to even people who don't normally think about this shit.

[James Stout]

Yeah.

[Mia Wong]

And I think part of that, too, is also, you know, there were a lot of people who didn't get involved with the Renee Goode shooting, because, you know, even then, people were still like, oh, well, maybe it's complicated, but once you've seen the second shooting in two weeks, where the line from the administration is exactly the same and you have video images. Again, that's how you get someone like Kurt Warner, who is a faith family football guy. He's very open about being a Christian. He's very open about. He doesn't talk about politics, but he's very obviously conservative in a way that he doesn't think is political.

[James Stout]

Yeah.

[Mia Wong]

And he looks at this and goes, holy shit, they murdered this guy. And the government's lying about it. And that's a kind of breakthrough moment in all of this.

[James Stout]

I've seen a lot of stuff from, like, folks in the gun community, like, who you wouldn't normally expect to be critical of the Trump administration. Being critical. Yeah. Because the Trump administration has come out with just like, insane. They're repeating, like, anti second Amendment talking points.

[Host 1]

Yep.

[James Stout]

I also saw his name's Tony Thomas, but he was previously the commander of Special Operations Command.

[Host 1]

Right.

[James Stout]

Has been sharing and unfortunately I quote, unquote, enhanced photo of this shooting. God.

[Host 1]

That. I need to talk a little bit about that, but please continue.

[James Stout]

Yeah. It's remarkable that you've got someone whose job has been killing people for the United States government. Right. Who've, like, retired to a role in investment banking, who doesn't normally make statements in public about immigration policy. But, like, again, this one is kind of broken containment. Right. Like, they saw the police shoot a man in the back multiple times in broad daylight from multiple angles. And, yeah, this one's been really hard for them to spin.

[Mia Wong]

Yeah. One of the things that, you know, when you talk about sort of Reddit as a side of this. Right. One of the things on the front page of Reddit for a while that day was just a thing from, like, R pics, where it's a picture of a frame in this shooting, and then it's a picture of a Nazi officer, like, with a gun to the back of the head of a prisoner they're about to shoot. And it's almost identical frame for frame. And that's the kind of thing that's just going around on, like, the front page of Reddit.

[James Stout]

Yeah.

[Host 1]

Part of what I think is happening here is they got very convinced of their ability to kind of just brute force their own reality over what actually happened. And maybe they gambled too hard.

[James Stout]

Yeah.

[Garrison Davis]

So much of this story is like the ultimate conservative nightmare of the government physically disarming you, then executing you.

[Host 1]

Yeah.

[Garrison Davis]

And that sequence of events is, I think, also in part what has created this pretty consistent turn away from the Trump administrations and the DHS is like, initial statement on what happened here, which the administration themselves have started to roll back on after the public rejected this claim that they kept making on him being like a terrorist, him attending to massacre law enforcement, all these things that they have no way to actually prove. On Tuesday, Stephen Miller told CNN that they are, quote, evaluating why the CBP team may not have been following White House approved protocol and that the initial statement from DHS following the shooting was, quote, based on reports from CBP on the ground, unquote. On Wednesday, the DHS spokesperson, Trisha McLaughlin repeated this claim on Fox Business.

[Host 1]

Secretary Noem accused Alex Pretty of being a domestic terrorist.

[Robert Evans]

Is the administration standing by that language?

[Dana]

So initial statements were made after reports from CBP on the ground. That was a very chaotic scene. We know that our ICE law enforcement are facing rampant violence against them, a highly coordinated campaign. So that is why this investigation is so important, so that we can get accurate facts to the American people.

[Garrison Davis]

Trump has denied that Preddy was acting as an assassin and has called the shooting a, quote, unquote, very unfortunate incident. But he has continued to say that Preddy should not have been carrying a gun. Quote, you can't have guns. You can't walk in with guns. You just can't, unquote.

[James Stout]

Yeah, the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus has been pretty impressive. Yeah, I'll say that. Like, generally, like, especially organized gun owner groups in the United States tend to align very heavily with conservative politics. They have been, like, reinforcing that what Pretty was doing was in no way illegal and should no way lead to you being killed. Yeah.

[Garrison Davis]

As of Wednesday, we do know now that the Border Patrol agents involved in the killing of Alex Preddy have been placed on administrative leave. Around January 26, Trump struck some kind of deal with local officials, namely Mayor Frey and Governor Tim Walls. Local officials have said that, quote, unquote, some federal agents would begin leaving Minnesota. Bonvino is expected to return to California with the Atlantic reporting that he's been stripped of his, quote, unquote, commander at large title and has been locked out of government social media accounts. Tom Homan has arrived in Minneapolis to take over immigration enforcement operations. And local Minnesota law enforcement have ramped up their policing of protests, especially outside of hotels where ICE and Border Patrol agents have been staying.

[Mia Wong]

And it's important to note as you're seeing a lot of stories about sort of ICE pulling out of Minneapolis and an administration rollback because of the sort of Bovino movement. Everyone that I have talked to in Minneapolis, and this is a fairly large number of people, have all told me that everything on the ground remains the same. The Raids are continuing and they want to make sure that everyone understands that the raids are continuing and that the same kinds of things that ICE and the Border Patrol have been doing up until this point are continuing to happen under, I guess, quote, unquote, new management.

[James Stout]

Yeah, I think they, they may have withdrawn some Border Patrol agents. Right. But the bulk of the people they deployed were actually ICE agents. They, to my knowledge, have not been withdrawn home and is not exactly a, like a liberal figure when it comes to deportation to bullet. Mildly. It might be like a change in the outward appearance, but the practice of what's going on, that has not changed.

[Garrison Davis]

Do we want to just have any kind of final discussion on that AI enhanced image that's been circulating?

[Host 1]

Yeah, yeah. So, I mean, there's an AI enhanced image. And this is, I've, when I posted this, I've seen people comment that like, oh, it's more disinformation from the fascists. This is the opposite of that. Yeah, someone AI enhanced a still frame from the video because there's a question as to whether or not when one of the ICE agents disarmed Preddy, did he accidentally negligently discharge his firearm into the ground and did that maybe spook them and cause the remaining chain of events? I don't think it's clear. And the video is not super clear as to whether or not the gun is firing. It's kind of grainy.

[Garrison Davis]

Yeah, we don't know that yet.

[Host 1]

So in like the new AI enhanced version, you literally see like a tongue of fire coming out of the barrel of the gun and then a full round of 5, 5, 6 seems to be exiting it.

[James Stout]

What, like with the casing. I just made shit up.

[Host 1]

It looks like it has the casing. It looks not like a firing gun. Look. And the text on this is, this is from the AI Info Twitter account. An enhanced video of a man who disarmed Alex Preddy shows the shows gun allegedly misfiring. His ICE agent runs with it, which has also been said to have spooked other agents into firing. AI video also enhances the visuals of the bullet so it would be clearly visible to the human eye.

[James Stout]

It was like, hey, I didn't enhance shit. You had a fight.

[Mia Wong]

You had the digital equivalent of a five year old scribbling on it.

[Host 1]

And you know, I don't know, maybe I guess this could be them trying to be like, oh, it wasn't the federal agent's fault. It's those damn sig P320s that spooked everybody. Yeah, but It', it's, it's like number one, AI can't enhance things. Nothing can enhance a photo that's not a thing that's real. You can't just like add details to a photo that weren't in, in a way that's different from just photoshopping them in. And that's what AI did. Someone said add visuals of a bullet and they did. And it's bad. It looks like a sparkler is stuck in the end of a handgun.

[James Stout]

Yeah.

[Host 1]

But yeah, it's just like this. That's just going to be everything. Like every clash, every murder, every controversial thing that happens, there's immediately going to be a bunch of different AI slot videos and analysis. And what scares me most or not even scares me, what I think is the biggest problem isn't even just the straight up disinfo videos. It's the stuff where people are claiming, look, I did some research using this AI and it revealed this thing that isn't immediately visible to the naked eye. But this is clearly what really went on and how that's going to supercharge conspiracy theories about stuff and how the response when people are like, but the AI didn't enhance anything will will just be like, you're not smarter than an AI. You don't know like that. That's, that's the kind of thing where it's just going to be annoying. Like the truth ecosystem is already so damaged. I certainly wouldn't say that this is going to definitely make everything worse, but it's going to make everything more annoying.

[James Stout]

Yeah, yeah.

[Garrison Davis]

I don't think I've seen this image that you're talking about, but I have seen a whole bunch of other like AI enhanced images of the shooting is specifically like the moment where, where or like around the time that the agents are firing into the back of pretty. And it's mostly like AI sharpened images, but taken to such an extreme extent that literally one of the heads of the border patrol agents is just missing.

[Host 1]

You know what? I wouldn't call that enhanced, but I'd say it's an improvement.

[Garrison Davis]

You have to like kind of like look for it because, because of how much movement is in the right.

[Host 1]

Of course.

[James Stout]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Garrison Davis]

But, and I, but I've seen, I've seen this the AI enhanced like like still from the pink jacket lady.

[Host 1]

Oh God.

[Garrison Davis]

Of the shooting. I've, I've, I've seen this image spread all around by, by people showing like how, how like brutal this looks and it, you don't need to spread this a Sharpened version with the, with that, with the head missing. Like there is like regular stills that maybe are a little bit more fuzzy, but they actually are, are real. And you've seen a few other like AI altered images spreading around, around this shooting. Specifically. There's been like AI altered images of Alex Preddy that like slightly changes his like facial proportions that have been used at some like memorials have been, have been spreading on the Internet. And that sort of stuff has been incredibly frustrating just to see the, this sort of proliferation of these, of these AI images into like the news cycle.

[Host 1]

I shared the enhanced image.

[Garrison Davis]

That looks really bad.

[Host 1]

It's really bad.

[Garrison Davis]

No, that's like, that's like cartoon. I've not seen that.

[Mia Wong]

Yeah, it's like a kindergartner. It's, it's unreal.

[Garrison Davis]

You don't need to do this. Like, the people that have seen the footage knows what happened. You don't need to spread these fake images. Like public opinion is already formed on this.

[James Stout]

Yeah.

[Garrison Davis]

Well, we'll go on ad break again, but I think to, to close this section, I'll play this short clip from the Minnesota Timberwolves game, which is, which is a basketball game, I believe.

[Mia Wong]

Yeah.

[Garrison Davis]

Which they held a moment of silence for Preddy and people chanted towards the end. I'll shorten the moment of silence for, for the audience, but you can take a listen here.

[Mia Wong]

The tragic loss of Alex Pretty that occurred yesterday in Minneapolis. We extend our love, support and heartfelt sympathies to Alex's family, friends in our community during this difficult time. Please join us in honoring the life in memory of Alex Pretty with a moment of silence.

[Promo Announcer]

Friday, February 6th. Kick off the Winter Olympics in style with the opening ceremony from Italy. Featuring a special performance by Mariah Carey. Celebrate the greatest athletes from around the globe as they come together to go for gold.

[James Stout]

Lipsych Sensational.

[Promo Announcer]

The opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics.

[Garrison Davis]

Ilia Malin redefining this sport.

[Promo Announcer]

Friday, February 6th on NBC.

[Robert Evans]

And Peacock, if you're the purchasing manager at a manufacturing plant, you know having a trusted partner makes all the difference. That's why hands down, you count on Grainger for auto reordering. With on time restocks, your team will have the cut resistant gloves they need at the start of their shift. And you can end your day knowing they've got safety well in hand. Call 1-800-granger. Click granger.com or just stop by Granger for the ones who get it done.

[Garrison Davis]

All right, we are back after the shooting on Saturday. Chuck Schumer said that Senate Democrats would not be advancing a House approved appropriations bill with the currently included DHS funding. Right now the Senate is considering a six bill spending package that was narrowly approved by the House thanks to seven Democrats. And now Senate Dems are seeking to separate out the DHS bill and advance the five others. These six annual spending bills are set to expire on January 31st. If at least some Democrats don't sign on to the bills by Friday, there will be a partial government shutdown. On Wednesday, Schumer reiterated quote, unquote Until ICE is properly reined in and overhauled legislatively, the DHS funding bill doesn't have the votes to pass the Senate. Unquote. Possible immigration enforcement concessions that Democrats are pushing for include, but are not limited to independent investigations into the recent shootings. Mandating judicial warrants for immigration arrests, mandating body cams, requiring agent identification, no masks, no arrest quotas, no roving patrols, and restricting Border Patrol agents to the US Border.

[James Stout]

Yeah, so I want to address, I've actually addressed the roving patrols before and the evidence standards for the, for stops on those patrols. I'm not going to do that. But I do want to address this last one Right. With the quote unquote US Border. So in the statute, Border patrol is supposed to operate within a reasonable distance of the United States border, which they interpret to be a 100 mile distance. Now when you are thinking of border, you might be thinking of land borders, but remember this also includes ocean borders. They interpret the Great Lakes to be international waterways and Thus it begins 100 miles from the shore of the Great Lakes. For context, that still doesn't get you into, into Minneapolis. Right. You're looking at a bit further. 150 miles was the shortest line I could draw on a map. People seem to be operating under the misapprehension that this includes airports and it does not. And I keep seeing this repeated online and then people keep telling me the statute is actually very clear on what does and does not constitute a border. And it talks about external borders and airports are not included in this. Border Patrol does not operate within 100 mile radius of every international airport in the United States.

[Garrison Davis]

Really unclear if Democrats will be able to get some of these things. Yeah, obviously pushing for more training has its limits. The people involved in the shooting had.

[James Stout]

Years and years of training and gave the training.

[Host 1]

In some cases they were doing what they were trained to do.

[Garrison Davis]

Yeah, but there's, there's other stuff in here like, like mandating body cams, which though Border Patrol currently has body cams ICE and Border Patrol, they have body cams. They're not required to always have them on.

[James Stout]

Yeah.

[Garrison Davis]

This would be seeking to change that. Other things like requiring the identification of agents deployed, not wearing masks, not having arrest quotas, these would significantly change the way that ICE operates on the ground.

[James Stout]

Yeah.

[Garrison Davis]

Possibly the most important thing that they are seeking here is the emphasis on judicial warrants as opposed to this administrative warrant.

[James Stout]

Yeah.

[Garrison Davis]

That ICE has been using as its primary justification the past few months.

[James Stout]

I think we should refer to those. I've been called the administrative warrants. I think a better, I guess down to use is the Form 215, because that's what it is. It's a form that they filled out. Right. Like, it is not a. It is not a warrant in any meaningful sense of the word. Yeah. But, yeah, I'm just noting that because that's a. That's a change I'm going to be trying to implement in my work going forward.

[Garrison Davis]

The last Minneapolis related story for this episode, which is mostly Minneapolis episode, I guess.

[James Stout]

Yeah.

[Garrison Davis]

Is based on a CNN report that has claimed that federal agents encountered Alex Preddy a week prior to killing him. Preddy is said to have been driving and stopped his car when he witnessed ICE agents chasing a family on foot. Pretty began shouting and blowing a whistle before agents tackled Preddy and broke one of his ribs. Pretty was later released on the scene. DHS has told CNN that they have no record of this incident, though an anonymous source told CNN that Preddy was a known and identified protester to federal officials on the ground, quoting cnn, quote, earlier this month, a DHS official in Minneapolis sent a memo to Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations officers assigned to the state on a temporary duty, asking them to use a form to input information on protesters and agitators. It is unclear whether the new intake form was used to share Pretty's information. It's also not clear whether federal agents who encountered Preddy on Saturday recognized him before they confronted him, unquote.

[James Stout]

Yeah, it's definitely HSI that has been doing the federal stuff that involves citizens, I guess.

[Host 1]

Right.

[James Stout]

Like. Like when they are investigating, detaining people. I know Pam Bondi is there today again and has posted pictures of people who are detained with HSI officers, which is not a usual thing to do. But, yeah, hsi, for whatever reason, they're kind of using as their, like, surrogate FBI in these instances.

[Garrison Davis]

James. And you can also speak on the sort of like, surveillance of protesters, quote, unquote, agitators that feds have been doing on the ground, based on what you saw in Minneapolis.

[James Stout]

Yeah, that's. Thank you.

[Host 1]

Gay.

[James Stout]

Yeah. So, like, I was at the Whipple Building, right? The Whipple Building being the federal building in Minneapolis where they are taking people who are being detained and where ICE and CBP are deploying out of every day. Right. I was there because there was a protest on Friday as part of a general strike, and I noticed they look like CBP or ice, Right. They had, like, what I would describe as tactical helmets and gear on, but using DSLR cameras to take pictures of people protesting. They were in vehicles and they were shooting. I can't remember they had a door or the window to allow them to take photographs. But I noticed, like, that is an effort at surveillance. Right. It is not unreasonable. I know. Garrison, you also have this video, which happened in Maine, right, of an agent more or less saying this, but it's not unreasonable to think that there is surveillance of people who are engaging in First Amendment protected activities.

[Garrison Davis]

Yes. And there has been some desire among ICE officials, including Tom Homan, who went on Fox News earlier this month, to say that he's pushing for a database, quote, where those people that are arrested for interference, impeding an assault, we're going to make them famous, unquote. So this news that Alex Preddy had been previously identified in some way by federal law enforcement follows an incident last Friday where a federal agent in Maine photographed a legal observer's car and said, quote, we have a nice little database and you're now considered a domestic terrorist. I'll play this clip here.

[James Stout]

It's not illegal to record. Exactly.

[Host 1]

That's what we're doing.

[Mia Wong]

Yeah.

[Producer Sophie]

Why are you taking my information down?

[Host 1]

Because we have a nice little database.

[James Stout]

Oh, good.

[Mia Wong]

And now you're considered a domestic terrorist.

[Host 1]

So we're videotaping you.

[James Stout]

Are you crazy?

[Garrison Davis]

George McLaughlin has told CNN that there is, quote, no database of, quote, unquote, domestic terrorists run by the Department of Homeland Security, unquote.

[James Stout]

Yeah.

[Mia Wong]

I want to say something about this main video, which is that I've been seeing a lot of people circulating this as, oh, there's new repression tactics happening here. They're going to show up to people's houses. This has been happening. I mean, I know it was happening in Chicago, it probably was happening in la. I just don't remember off top of my head. But the stuff that's happening here, where these people take pictures of your face is not new at all. It's not some kind of new innovation in these repression tactics. Like, obviously, be careful, but this is Not a reason that everyone suddenly needs to be afraid that there's, like, a giant crackdown coming. They've been doing this the whole time, and so far it really hasn't. Like, it sucks, but it hasn't stopped Minneapolis. It hasn't stopped Chicago.

[Garrison Davis]

No, they're trying to intimidate you.

[James Stout]

Yeah.

[Garrison Davis]

Stop doing this. Like that is the. The point of this agent walking by and joking about how you're now a domestic terrorist?

[James Stout]

Yeah.

[Garrison Davis]

Because that's not actually real. That is a way to scare you into not showing up based on the. Based on the idea that if you do, they'll take a picture of you. And now you get added to this domestic terrorist database.

[James Stout]

Yeah.

[Garrison Davis]

Now, is it. Is it possible that they're making, like, some kind of catalog of pictures of protesters that they can maybe use for reference in the future to build a case against someone? Or if they arrest someone, they can look to see if they've been at previous protests? No, that's. That's not impossible. That is something that they've been doing for quite a while. It's something that anti fascists do against, like, proud boys back in the day, where you just document a lot of people at a protest, and then maybe eventually the information will become useful.

[James Stout]

Right.

[Garrison Davis]

That is not, like, surprising, but, like, I've seen some pretty outrageous claims going viral that, like, yeah, after Preddy had this encounter with law enforcement previously where they broke his rib, that Freddie was then specifically targeted in the following weeks. Like, there is no information for that.

[James Stout]

Yeah. We have no evidence to prove that.

[Garrison Davis]

There's no information that this database led to him being intentionally targeted by federal agents on the ground. That is. That is just speculation at this point.

[Mia Wong]

Yeah. There's no evidence of that, and there's no evidence that this is like, a new kind of campaign of repression. And I want to be very clear about this. If you are spreading this as a. You need to be afraid now, because there's a new thing that's happening. You are doing their job. You. You are spreading the fear that this is an intimidation that this is designed to do. So please stop doing this.

[James Stout]

Yeah, I think, like, I understand that for a lot of people, any form of activism is very new and everything seems scary, but this is. This is one of those times when, like, you need to check what you're doing, because, as Mia said. Right. This has. The legal term is a chilling effect.

[Host 1]

Right.

[James Stout]

Like, the government, generally, courts have found the government should do not. Should not do things that have a chilling effect on First Amendment protected speech. That's absolutely what the government is trying to do. You don't have to help them or not the government, but that particular agent, I should say, acting at work, saying he's building a database. Right. That is what that is trying to do is, is to have a chilling effect.

[Mia Wong]

Well, I mean, I, I would argue the government's also doing this. Calling every legal observer a domestic terrorist. Right.

[James Stout]

Yeah, I guess. Yeah. Fair enough.

[Host 1]

So we should mention this just so we don't leave it out. Although we don't have a ton to say at the moment about this, but like the day before we recorded this, on the 27th of January, I believe, Ilhan Omar was doing a town hall in Minneapolis where she is a representative and was assaulted by a man named Anthony James Kazmierzak, who was a 55 year old. He was carrying what looked like a syringe, but without a needle. Just like a, like a large syringe. Like the kind you'd use to like give medicine to an animal or something.

[James Stout]

Yeah, like an irrigation syringe.

[Host 1]

Right. And it was filled with some kind of off brownish yellow liquid. I don't think we know what it was. It apparently was foul smelling, obviously. And he ran up screaming, you must resign. And sprayed some of it at her. I don't know how much got on her. He was tackled very quickly by a security guard. Omar seemed to be squaring up and ready to fight him, which was, you know, expected given like the kind of shit she's had to deal with. Right. She's. She's had to be very tough person. She doesn't seem to be injured. I don't think there's any evidence that the liquid or whatever was something that caused or is likely to cause health issues, which, I mean, doesn't make it not assault. It just. I don't think she's currently in any danger, thankfully. Yeah. There's been a chorus of denunciations about the attack on her from a bunch of other elected leaders. I know people have said that like it's been ignored, but at least it hasn't been from other people in the House. Right. There's a lot of folks, including some Republicans, who have made comments on it just because none of them like the thought of having shit sprayed on them, I think.

[James Stout]

Yeah, yeah.

[Host 1]

Anyway, we don't know a ton about this guy and why he did it otherwise. Other than that he presumably hated Illin Omar. Right. And that he wanted to get her to quit her job or otherwise harm her in some way. We don't really know much about this guy. There's some people talking about the fact that his kids seem to be on the left. Well, he's clearly not. As if. That's weird. It's not. If your dad is the kind of crazy asshole who will spray poison on Ilhan Omar at a town hall, I can see how maybe you become the opposite of him. But, yeah, that's about all we know at the moment.

[Mia Wong]

I do want to mention Trump's comment on it where ABC News asked Trump if he'd seen the video and, oh, yeah, Trump said, quote, no, I don't think about her. I think she's a fraud. I really don't think about that. She probably had sprayed herself, knowing her.

[Host 1]

Yeah, you said that like a guy who thinks about her constantly.

[James Stout]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Mia Wong]

Really hideous stuff.

[James Stout]

Yeah.

[Producer Sophie]

Producer Sophie here with a quick pickup. As we did not have this information at the time of recording, this is as of January 29, 2026, per AP News. Quote, the Justice Department has charged a man who squirted apple cider vinegar on Democratic Representative Omar at an event in Minneapolis, according to court papers made public Thursday. The man arrested for Tuesday's attack, Anthony Kazmarzak, faces a charge of forcibly assaulting, opposing, impeding and intimidating Omar, according to a complaint filed in federal court. Authorities determined that the substance was water and apple cider vinegar, according to an affidavit. After Kazmar Zak sprayed Omar with the liquid, he appeared to say, quote, she's not resigning. You're splitting Minnesotans apart, end quote, the affidavit says. Authorities also say that Kasper Zak told a close associate several years ago that, quote, somebody should kill, end quote, Omar. Court documents say Kazmar Zak appeared briefly in federal court Thursday afternoon. His attorney told the judge her client was unmedicated at the time of the incident and has not had access to medications he needs to treat Parkinson's disease and other serious conditions he suffers from. U.S. magistrate Judge Dulce Foster ordered that Kazerzak remain in custody and told officials he needs to see a nurse when he is transferred to the Sherburne County Jail, end quote. Again, that is via AP News.

[James Stout]

So I want to very briefly update people on Rojava. People keep asking for a whole episode. We will do one. I've been in Minneapolis.

[Host 1]

It's kind of a lot going on right now.

[James Stout]

Yeah, you may have noticed. But this is all very important, right? Like, horrible things are happening. So the stg, that's a Syrian Transitional Government. Ahmed Al Shara Jilani government right and the sdf. Syrian Democratic Forces, which includes YPG and ypj. It's the armed forces that defend Rojava, have signed a 15 day extension to their ceasefire. Both sides are accusing the other of widespread violations of the ceasefire. Both of them are right. Like I've seen a lot of videos of ceasefire violations. The ceasefire was internationally mediated, likely by the US and likely because of huge concerns around the escape of Islamic State prisoners. There was an attempted is suicide bombing in Iraq yesterday. As we record this, that's the first time I can remember one of those happening in a while trial that the person was apprehended. But the US I know has been transferring detainees from a prisoner. Hey, transferring them to US facilities in Iraq. Right. It doesn't. The presence of the detainees is not the thing that is going to make the US support their allies in Rojava or their former allies in the sdf. I guess I should say now, like the US Once again is not going to be a good friend to the Kurdish people. Trump has also truthed that Iraq should not appoint Nouriel Maliki as its next prime minister. In his truth, he said, quote, I am hearing that the great country of Iraq might make a very bad choice by reinstalling Nouriel Maliki as Prime Minister. Last time Maliki was in power, the country descended into poverty and total chaos. That should not be allowed to happen again because of his insane policies and ideologies. If elected, the United States of America will no longer help Iraq. And if we are not there to help, Iraq has zero chance of success, prosperity or freedom. Make Iraq great again.

[Mia Wong]

Jesus Christ.

[Host 1]

First off, I mean, Maliki does suck. He's a really bad guy.

[Garrison Davis]

Yeah.

[James Stout]

This is not a like, yay, Maliki post, but this ain't the way to go about doing that.

[Host 1]

No. I mean, just the whole we will cut all ties and support to Iraq thing when everything happening there is still downstream of us fucking with them.

[Mia Wong]

Yeah, we did this.

[James Stout]

We spent 20 fucking years killing people in Iraq. Like, you don't just get to be like, oh yeah, and like the idea that we were doing regime change, but. But when the regime isn't the one that we like that people elect. And I was like, we're doing regime change again. Like, obviously the whole thing was a fraud and a lie.

[Host 1]

Yes.

[James Stout]

Yeah, still is. Yeah. Very concerned for my friends. All the parts of Kurdistan, actually the peace process between the PKK and Turkey is falling apart. And state violence in Iran is still absolutely repugnant scale. Right, yeah. Yeah. Pretty tough time in that part of the world thinking of them.

[Mia Wong]

So finally, I want to give a brief update on my story from last week about this attempt to end Fed independence and this attempt to sort of do an investigation into the chairman of the Federal Reserve. So earlier today, as we were recording this, we got the results of the the Fed's vote about what they were going to do with interest rates. There's a whole episode about that. Go listen to that if you want to understand what this is. But the Fed, instead of cutting rates as the administration has wanted, has decided to hold interest rates at the same level, which was what was expected out of the Federal Reserve before Trump started putting even more pressure on them. However, comma, we did not get any updates from anyone at the Federal Reserve about this Department of Justice investigation or any of the Trump pressure that's been being put on the Federal Reserve. So we'll keep you updated as the situation evolves. But all we got was a very normal interest rates are being held at the same level.

[James Stout]

We will include our list of mutual aid fundraisers for Minneapolis again in the show notes for this episode. Should you like to donate, put a.

[Mia Wong]

Transfer on your couch.

[James Stout]

Yep. And if you want to email us coolzonetipsroton me, use a Proton mail address to send it.

[Garrison Davis]

We reported the news.

[Robert Evans]

We reported the news.

[Mia Wong]

It Could Happen.

[Producer Sophie]

Here is a production of Cool Zone Media. For more podcasts from Cool Zone Media, Visit our website coolzonemedia.com or check us out on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts you can now find sources for. It Could Happen here, listed directly in Episode Descriptions.

[Grainger Advertiser]

If you're an H Vac technician and a call comes in, Grainger knows that you need a partner that helps you find the right product fast and hassle free. And you know that when the first problem of the day is a clanking blower motor, there's no need to break a sweat. With Grainger's easy to use website and product details, you're confident you'll soon have everything humming right along. Call 1-800-GRAINGER click granger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it done.

[James Stout]

This is an iHeart podcast, Guaranteed Human.