Podcast Summary: Question Everything

Episode: A Minnesota Dad Takes on ICE

Host: Brian Reed
Air Date: January 31, 2026

Overview

This special episode spotlights the escalating constitutional crisis in Minnesota, where thousands of ICE agents have been deployed, leading to the deaths of American citizens and widespread fear among residents. The show steps away from its usual format to feature an unfiltered phone conversation between managing editor Kevin Sullivan and Michael Corey, a historian and former data journalist living in St. Paul. Michael describes how ordinary Minnesotans are mobilizing to keep each other safe, document ICE activity, and deal with the collapse of institutional trust in media and government.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Life Under ICE Occupation in Minnesota

• Escalating Fear & Disruption

  • Mike describes a pervasive sense of danger and uncertainty, even for relatively privileged families.
  • "It's not just a story of protests. It's a story of ICE agents just completely disrupting the life of a whole state and just making everyone feel unsafe." — Mike Corey [02:58]
  • He describes abandoned cars, aggressive ICE driving tactics, and children trying to live normal lives in a state of emergency.
  • “You see abandoned cars every day, where presumably ICE had, like, picked someone up and just left them ... there was a car that had been left running for so long that there was an icicle going from the tailpipe to the ground, and it’s just been left running.” — Mike Corey [03:44]

• No One Feels Safe—Not Even White Families

  • Michael, who is white and lives in an affluent neighborhood, still feels anxiety about daily activities like taking his kids to basketball games.
  • He notes the targeting of diverse neighborhoods and the risk for anyone seen in public spaces or perceived as supportive.

2. Community Self-Organizing: Mutual Aid & Patrols

• Grassroots Mutual Aid and Rapid Response
  • Engagement has grown from a few hundred people to tens or hundreds of thousands, with no central leadership—people simply form local Signal app group chats.
  • “There is not a central organization. And I think that is like hard for people to believe. But like it, it really is self organizing, like set up a chat in your neighborhood with people you know.” — Mike Corey [06:41]
• Neighborhood Patrols and Plate Checks
  • Self-assigned patrols drive or walk particular areas to alert others of ICE presence.
  • License plate databases for suspected ICE vehicles are crowd-sourced and constantly updated, though the trustworthiness of data and potential for surveillance are persistent concerns.
  • “There’s this database of like thousands of license plates that are allegedly ICE plates ... The problem was that, like, they changed their plates every day.” — Mike Corey [07:49]
• Perpetual Risk of Surveillance and Infiltration
  • Despite using encrypted apps, there’s always a risk that government agents have joined group chats. Mistakenly sharing sensitive data can endanger participants.
  • “If someone is in there, like, that's maybe a risk and it sounds paranoid, but ... these people have the entire resources of the US Government, like, at their disposal.” — Mike Corey [08:36]

3. The Collapse of Institutional Journalism’s Primacy

• Shifting from Newsrooms to Ground-Up Reporting
  • After George Floyd’s murder, media was at the center of information sharing, often through Twitter. This time, the flow of timely, granular information is almost entirely through local Signal chats.
  • “I am getting my news from the Signal chats and maybe like hours later the Star Tribune will report on the same thing ... For a long time their homepage did not reflect to me like the gravity of what was happening.” — Mike Corey [09:23]
• Verifying Information in Chaos
  • Data is largely unvetted, making traditional journalistic verification impossible, but it remains the best available.
  • “All that’s completely unvetted. ... I think like, covering something like this has really been a challenge for the media ... The federal government’s not going to give you any information, and then the things they do give you are going to be a lie.” — Mike Corey [11:17]
• Institutional Recognition
  • Michael dismisses the idea that legacy news outlets deserve special recognition for minimal coverage; instead, he credits grassroots communication platforms.
  • “I think you should give Signal a Pulitzer.” — Mike Corey [12:11]

4. Direct Confrontations and Bearing Witness

• Confronting ICE in Action
  • Mike recounts a dramatic incident in the Cedar Riverside neighborhood involving ICE and a Somali American US citizen, Mubashir Khalif Hussein.
  • Mike and others hurried to the scene, filmed the encounter, and directly confronted agents.
  • “He was just screaming like, I'm a US Citizen. I'm a US Citizen. Have my id. ... And they just keep saying, we don't care, we're going to find out. And they drag this guy out.” — Mike Corey [13:59]
  • The man was detained despite identifying himself as a US citizen, which was later confirmed.
• Community Yelling vs. Government Violence
  • Mike contrasts community restraint and discipline with ICE’s use of force, pushing back against federal narratives of “violent agitators.”
  • “They're the ones with guns, they're the ones with pepper spray ... And so for them to talk about violence I think is so telling, but like also just absurd ... people here have been so incredibly patient and disciplined.” — Mike Corey [16:30]
• Accountability and the Moral Question
  • Mike and others make a point to call out federal agents directly, questioning what they’ll someday tell their families about their actions.
  • “What are you going to do in 10 years? What are you going to tell your kids? What are you going to tell your grandkids? Are you proud of what you're doing right now?” — Mike Corey [15:40]

5. Firsthand Testimony: Mubashir Khalif Hussein

• After his release, Mubashir held a press conference detailing the ordeal.
  • “I felt like I was getting assaulted, I was getting kidnapped, and that's exactly what it was ... If this is what's happening to a US American citizen on camera, imagine what could happen to your loved ones when there's no one around to witness what they're doing.” — Mubashir Khalif Hussein [18:47]

6. Government Response and Media Fact-Checking

• The Department of Homeland Security claimed Mubashir ran and resisted, and that “agitaors” threatened officers; security footage and bystander video found otherwise.
• Brian Reed closes by highlighting how misinformation and government overreach feed into the crisis, pledging continued coverage.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Mike Corey, on Living with Constant Anxiety:
  “Just constant anxiety, adrenaline. Like, it's just so asymmetrical. Like, you both have to, like, somehow go on doing your job while this crazy invasion is happening.” [03:57]
• On Whiteness as Temporary Protection:
  “Frankly, using my whiteness that does convey some protection to just be present in these spaces ... sometimes, like, just directly meeting these guys. Because I have to say, like, some of the times when I have seen them, it does throw them off when it's like a white dude with a beard who is, who is yelling at them.” — Mike Corey [12:31]
• Confronting ICE Agents in Cedar Riverside:
  “He was just screaming like, I'm a US Citizen. I'm a US Citizen. Have my id. ... And they just keep saying, we don't care, we're going to find out.” — Mike Corey [13:59]
• Mubashir Khalif Hussein, Press Conference:
  “If this is what's happening to a US American citizen on camera, imagine what could happen to your loved ones when there's no one around to witness what they're doing.” [19:08]
• DHS Statement vs. Reality:
  Brian Reed: “The Department of Homeland Security gave a statement ... They claim Mubashir then violently resisted officers ... security camera captured what happened ... you'll see Mubashir was not resisting officers. The folks recording him are, yes, shouting, but standing and walking peacefully documenting what happened.” [19:25]

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:06 — Brian Reed introduces urgent context: ICE killings, journalist arrests, and fear in Minnesota
• 02:58 — Mike Corey describes daily life and anxiety living under ICE occupation
• 06:14 — Discussion of mutual aid, patrols, and grassroots digital organization
• 09:23 — Shift from legacy media to Signal chats as the principal source of information
• 12:57 — Mike recounts specific ICE confrontation in Cedar Riverside
• 13:59 — Mubashir incident: Detainment of a US citizen, despite protests and clear ID
• 18:47 — Mubashir’s press conference, describing his experience and the importance of witnesses
• 19:25 — Host debunks DHS narrative with eyewitness video and pledges continued reporting

Conclusion

In a state besieged by federal overreach, ordinary citizens in Minnesota have taken on both the roles of journalist and protector, documenting abuses and organizing neighborhood-based systems of mutual aid. Through Mike Corey’s firsthand perspective, this episode exposes the collapse of traditional media’s ability to cover fast-worsening crises, the dangers of mass surveillance and government violence, and the profound courage found in everyday acts of documentation and solidarity. As pressures mount on both journalists and witnesses, “Question Everything” reaffirms its purpose: bearing witness, sharing truth, and holding power to account.