Federal Agents Kill Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. Our live coverage with Maritsa Georgiou, Nick Valencia, Maria Cardona and Olivia Troye

Summary

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The Jim Acosta Show – Special Live Edition

Episode: Federal Agents Kill Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. Our live coverage with Maritza Georgiou, Nick Valencia, Maria Cardona and Olivia Troye
Date: January 25, 2026
Host: Jim Acosta
Guests: Maritza Georgiou, Nick Valencia, Maria Cardona, Olivia Troye

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Episode Overview

This special live edition of The Jim Acosta Show delivers on-the-ground, real-time coverage of the killing of Alex Preddy, a 37-year-old ICU nurse and Minneapolis resident, by federal agents (ICE) during an immigration enforcement action. The discussion features live reporting from Maritza Georgiou and Nick Valencia at the scene, as well as in-depth analysis and passionate responses from Maria Cardona and Olivia Troye. The panel examines the shooting, the broader pattern of escalating abuses by federal immigration authorities, the community’s reaction, political implications, and urgent calls for accountability and collective action.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Scene Report: What Happened in Minneapolis (00:00–18:23)

• Maritza Georgiou, onsite reporter, describes the aftermath of the shooting at 26th and Nicollet — a diverse, vibrant area known as Eat Street.

  • Large crowds of protesters despite frigid temperatures (−3°F/−4°F).
  • Heavy police and federal presence; tear gas in the air; press and bystanders affected by crowd control measures.
  • Protesters are united, carrying signs like “six versus one and they still used a gun”.
  • “My nose is going to be running because it’s four below zero action right now and these streets are packed.” (Maritza, 01:25)

• Acosta notes a press conference with strong remarks from city leaders:

  • Mayor Jacob Frey: “‘How many more Americans need to die?’” (Acosta quoting Frey, 02:36)

• New videos surface suggesting Preddy was pepper-sprayed, subdued, and on the ground with weapon already taken before he was shot by multiple agents.

  • “It was like target practice on somebody lying on the ground.” (Acosta, 05:14)
  • Community already traumatized from prior incidents, including the killing of Renee Goode two weeks earlier.

2. Patterns of Aggressive Policing & Community Trauma (18:47–29:23)

• ICE and other federal agents have doubled down on heavy-handed tactics.

  • Physical attacks on press (e.g., journalist Jana Shortle gassed while clearly wearing press credentials).
  • Clashes reminiscent of George Floyd protests, but more widespread and persistent.

• Community Unrest:

  • “This is just another period of grief that the city is going through. And we don’t know what comes tomorrow.” (Maritza, 04:59)
  • Immigrant communities elsewhere in Minnesota (e.g., Romer) also facing repeated ICE raids.

• Outpouring of local solidarity:

  • People sharing food, whistles, warm gear; clergy and entire families turning out to protest.

3. Firsthand Accounts of the Shooting & Aftermath (29:23–42:34)

• Nick Valencia, on-scene journalist, describes arriving minutes after the shooting:

  • Detained for questioning by FBI who mistook him for a witness.
  • “At one point while I was out there reporting, I was the only journalist behind police lines.” (Valencia, 29:51)
  • Notes law enforcement aggression and use of chemical irritants on crowds and journalists.

• Descriptions from Video Evidence:

  • Preddy was observed trying to help a woman on the ground.
  • An officer appears to remove a firearm from Preddy’s waistband; Preddy is then shot while subdued.
  • “Beg the question what kind of threat he was. Even if he was resisting, they had removed, it appears, his firearm.” (Valencia, 32:32)

• Federal pushback against citizen documentation; streams going offline, possible interference.

  • “It’s like they’re effectively gaslighting us...telling us what we’re seeing is not the reality.” (Valencia, 33:21)

4. Escalating Fear & Trauma in Affected Communities (35:48–42:37)

• Ongoing general strikes and mass protests — over 700 businesses participated; tens of thousands on the streets.

• Teachers and families in shock after the arrest of a 5-year-old boy, Liam Conejo Ramos.

  • “You have teachers now walking students to the class and they are at a loss themselves.” (Valencia, 36:22)
  • Children fear they may be taken next; massive trauma reported throughout schools and neighborhoods.

• Valencia connects his own fear as a journalist of color reporting in this environment:

  • “I was fucking terrified coming out here...not because of the tense environment, but because of the color of my skin.” (Valencia, 38:05)

5. Government Response & Political Accountability (42:37–60:13)

• Acosta calls for political action; critiques Congressional Democrats who continue to vote for DHS funding.

  • “How in God’s name can you vote to continue to fund ICE and these murders? At what point does it stop?” (Acosta, 18:47)

• Calls for collective, strategic, peaceful protest to counter possible federal escalation (reference to potential Insurrection Act invocation).

• Maria Cardona delivers emotional condemnation:

  • “ICE has become a killing squad that they have let loose in American cities to go after US citizens and anyone else.” (Cardona, 44:33)
  • Clarifies law enforcement’s need for community trust; debunks GOP spin about local police ‘refusing to cooperate’.
  • “There have been sheriffs around the country...looking at what ICE is doing right now and saying these guys are goons, these guys are thugs, these guys are amateurs.” (Acosta, 48:58)

• Cardona stresses that Democrats — and any pro-democracy Republicans — must withhold further funding for the current DHS/ICE apparatus.

  • “No Democrat...should be voting for this...bill which gives these, this now ICE killer squad more money...to go after US citizens.” (Cardona, 54:27)

6. Witnessing and Documentation as Resistance (61:43–68:44)

• Olivia Troye, ex-Trump administration DHS official, decries what she sees as a government turning on its own people.

  • Emphasizes importance of documenting abuses for eventual accountability.
  • “Just watching basically the federal government turn on its own people. That’s what this is.” (Troye, 62:50)
  • “We have the absolute right to document. We have the absolute right to film things.” (Troye, 64:50)
  • Suggests real power is in the hands of operatives like Stephen Miller, not Trump himself.

• Warns that current ICE/federal agents are not properly trained, are operating outside norms, and the situation is “uncharted territory.”

7. Closing Reflections & Calls to Action (68:44–73:00)

• Acosta expresses moral outrage and a sense of national betrayal:

  • “What we’re seeing right now in the street should boil the blood of every good American.” (Acosta, 69:07)
  • Recounts his family’s immigrant history as a frame for the current crisis.

• Grief turns to resolve — repeated calls to “say their names” (Renee Goode, Alex Preddy, Liam Conejo Ramos), keep bearing witness, and demand change.

  • “This is a spark. This is a turning point in this country. What we’re seeing right now, folks — we’re in the middle of it.” (Acosta, 71:45)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Maritza Georgiou

  • “Everybody here...they feel like, how much more can they go through? What comes next? What comes tomorrow?...It’s heartbreaking.” (03:51)
  • “It took so much to recover from what we saw during George Floyd and the riots after that. And...this is just another period of grief that the city is going through.” (04:59)
  • “This city is not going to [stop documenting].” (11:01)

• Jim Acosta

  • “It looked like by multiple agents. It was like target practice on somebody lying on the ground...this just looks like he was shot dead in the street.” (05:14)
  • “We need to say their names. We need to say Renee Good’s name. We need to say Alex Preddy’s name.” (18:46)
  • “If you’re a Democrat in Congress...how in God’s name can you vote to continue to fund ICE and these murders?” (18:47, 54:24)
  • “They are trying to gaslight us. They’re tear gassing us and they’re gaslighting us.” (34:01)

• Nick Valencia

  • “Part of what they were frustrated at was ... local and state police protecting the feds from yet another fatal shooting.” (30:24)
  • “It’s as if they don’t want any recording or evidence of this at all.” (33:21)
  • “When people get a taste of [fascism], they want more. And it is a sickness in the head.” (40:12)
  • “[I was afraid] not because of the tense environment, but because of the color of my skin. How weird is that to say?” (38:05)
  • “Sol pueblo, salva pueblo. Only the people will help each other. And that is the spirit we’re seeing out here.” (35:14)

• Maria Cardona

  • “ICE has become a killing squad that they have let loose in American cities to go after US citizens and anyone else.” (44:33)
  • “No Democrat...should be voting for this...bill which gives this...ICE killer squad more money.” (54:27)
  • “This is not the country that my parents brought my family to. This is not the country that your father brought you to. This is not the country that promises everyone can have a better life if you live and play by the rules.” (44:40)

• Olivia Troye

  • “Just watching basically the federal government turn on its own people. That’s what this is.” (62:50)
  • “We have the absolute right to document. We have the absolute right to film things.” (64:50)
  • “[These agents] have not produced at scale the kinds of operations they are doing right now in the streets. We are in uncharted territory here.” (67:14)

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Important Segment Timestamps

• 00:00–11:30 — Live scene report with Maritza Georgiou: events, crowd reactions, police presence, community grief.
• 12:54–18:47 — Breaking developments: AP identification of Alex Preddy, press conference snippets, calls for answers and accountability.
• 29:23–34:06 — Nick Valencia joins: on-the-ground observations, being detained by FBI, clashes, crowd reactions.
• 35:48–42:34 — Trauma in schools and families, the striking ripple effects of violent enforcement.
• 44:33–60:13 — Maria Cardona: History, law enforcement analysis, debunking political spin, urgent calls for Congressional action.
• 61:43–68:44 — Olivia Troye: Federal government “turning on its own people,” importance of documentation, concerns over federal overreach and accountability.
• 68:44–73:00 — Closing rally: Acosta’s personal appeals, final calls to action, emotional summary of the national moment.

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Final Reflections

The episode is a searing, immediate account of another fatal instance of federal overreach in Minneapolis, coupled with personal testimony and deep analysis of the systemic collapse of civil rights protections. Repeated themes: the necessity of truth-telling and documentation, solidarity across communities, the bipartisan imperative to halt wanton state violence, and the need for urgent, peaceful, strategic mobilization.

“This is a spark. This is a turning point in this country. What we’re seeing right now, folks — we’re in the middle of it...It is time for the people of this country to rise up. It is time for the people of this country to say, no more.”
– Jim Acosta, 71:45

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Transcript

[A]

Hey everybody. Welcome to a special live edition of the Jim Acosta Show. I'm with Maritza Giorgio who is live in Minneapolis right now. She's at the scene of the shooting that took place earlier today where federal agents shot and killed a man, a 37 year old man who is a Minneapolis resident, according to authorities. Maritza, you're there on the scene. I don't want to take up too much time explaining what happened because you're there. Tell us what happened. What do you know?

[B]

Yeah, well, I mean, we saw these videos this morning, Jim. I was landing in Minneapolis and I got a text message saying another person was shot by ice. And so we just saw that first initial video. And now as you've mentioned, more people have been showing new videos, new angles as we saw with what happened with Renee Good here in Minneapolis just a couple weeks ago. So I just got down to the scene. I mean, I should mention my nose is going to be running because it's, it's four below zero action right now and these streets are packed. I'm going to turn this around and kind of show you where I'm at. So we're right here at 26th and Nicollet and you can see I'll try to stand on my tippy toes, but a lot of people gathered here in this intersection where this happened this morning. And right here, I mean, Nicollet Avenue, this, there's like a 17 stretch of block here known as Eat Street. This is a melting pot of this Minneapolis community where you can come down here and basically find any kind of culture that you are looking for, right? There are Hmong restaurants, there are Greek restaurants, there are Ethiopian restaurants, Somalian restaurants. But if you go down here, I mean these protesters are down here for blocks of blocks. I know that they were using tear gas quite a bit. You can still smell it in the air. One of the longtime local anchors here at Carolina, Janice Shortle, actually got hit earlier and she was clearly wearing press credentials. They're out here in the middle chanting hawk ice. And you can see all these signs. There's one over here that says six versus one and they still used a gun. Wow, so many people down here though. It took us quite a while to get in. My, my girlfriend actually owns property just about a half block away from this intersection. And all of these streets were blocked by Minneapolis police cars, actually. And just to get in here, I mean, all of these cross streets are filled with people. The corners are filled with people. Everyone has whistles, really. Just this community coming out together to look out for one another.

[A]

Yeah. Maritza and I should tell everybody that Minneapolis authorities are having a press conference or just wrapped up a press conference, or they may still be in the middle of it. But the mayor of Minneapolis said just a short while ago, quote, how many more Americans need to die. That was from Mayor Jacob Fry and Amarita. We're not going to show the videos here. People can find them on their social media accounts. But there was a video that just came out in the last hour or so that seemed to really indicate that this man posed no threat to the officers, and they just unloaded their. Their weapons on him and killed him in the street. I'm wondering what you're hearing some people down there.

[B]

Well, everybody is saying that. And, you know, I think that the big conversation there, like, like I said, we're still waiting for a lot of details, but when you watch the video that I saw, the very first video, I mean, there are so many shots that you hear fired. And I know that the feds, that the administration is trying to spin this, that he had a gun. But the second video, it. It looks what I saw with him helping a woman, another woman pushed to the ground, and then they had him detained on the ground with, like, you know, multiple officers.

[A]

Right.

[B]

And. And then you saw. I saw some. An officer clearly hit him in the head, and then we saw the shots. So there's going to be a lot of analysis on this. I've been traveling, so I haven't had a chance to sit down and fully watch this frame by frame. But people up here, here, they. They're. They are so. Emotions are so raw. Jim, this neighborhood has been through so much. You talk about George Floyd, you talk about what happened here, you know, five and a half years ago. And just everybody here, they feel like, how much more can they go through? What comes next? What comes tomorrow? This happened today. What are we going to wake up to tomorrow in this community? It's just. It's heartbreaking. My friend who's here, you know, I grew up here. I grew up in St. Louis park, and I'm with my girlfriend who we've known each other since grade school. And like I said, she has property here just a half block away. And she's just saying it took so much to recover from what we saw during George Floyd and the riots after that. And it took so much for the community to rebound, not just financially, but. But morale. And this is just. It's just another period of grief that the city is going through. And we don't know what comes tomorrow.

[A]

Yeah, no, and, and according to the Minneapolis police chief, he says, I think the video speaks for itself. He was a 37 year old white resident with a permit to carry. And as folks are mentioning in the comments, I've seen the video too. You've seen the video and of course we have to wait for all the facts to come in and so on. It looks as though the weapon, the gun that they're saying he had was taken away. In addition to that, he was pepper sprayed in the face and appeared to be subdued before they started shooting him. And so it looked like by multiple agents. By multiple agents. It was like target practice on somebody lying on the ground. And you know, there are multiple people that I've, I've been speaking with who've been in and out of the federal government who've looked at this and have said this is, this is murder, that they, that they murdered him. And of course we have to wait for all the facts to come in and all the video angles and everything else, but I mean, this just looks like he was shot dead in the street. And he was, according to the video from the so called Woman in Pink that you, I think we both saw, it looks as though he was, he was there to observe or document. And you know, if he's just somebody there to observe and document, why, what's going on here? What's the threat?

[B]

Well, and that's what we've seen, right? That's what the friends and family of Renee Dunn said that she was there to observe and document. We've seen. There was this image just from a couple days ago, the protester, already subdued, already on the ground. And one of these agents just walked up to him and just let off a spur of irritant in his face.

[A]

Right.

[B]

So there's a, there's an aggression that is unpredictable. Like I said. Jana Shortle, longtime Care11 personality, journalist, news anchor, highly respected. You know, she was, she was gassed today and she was wearing full press credentials that were clear. So people are not, people are not okay here. And landing in Minneapolis right after this happened, it was just everyone. It's just so somber. It's just so somber. And it's. Again, what comes next.

[A]

Exactly. And according to some of the reporting that's starting to come out is that this man was an ICU nurse there, there's an Associated Press report saying that he was an ICU nurse. And so this is somebody, you know, who obviously comes from the community. There are a lot of folks there in Minneapolis who are outraged over what's been going on, and they're going around and trying to document this stuff, blow whistles and so on.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

And, Rita, you were saying you're from this, you're from that area. I can't imagine being from that area and just seeing your hometown, your home area, just getting torn apart like this.

[B]

Well, it is, and it's so. It's just. It's hard to explain. I mean, you don't want to see this happening anywhere. But when you know these streets and you know these communities and you see people you recognize in photos, it's heartbreaking. And I think that's the other thing for this community. You know, somebody asked me today about a neighborhood in California. Is it safe? And I said, you know, they had heard some. Some bad things about this neighborhood. And I said, well, if you ask people around the country right now, they would hear bad things about Minneapolis. And we know that's not true. And the image that's trying to be painted of Minneapolis, where I grew up, it's just. You can see here how many people are so engaged and they care so much about what is happening. I'm just walking through this crowd here. But then you compare what we saw happen this morning at this intersection with 50,000 people hitting the streets, flooding the streets peacefully in Minneapolis yesterday. Just come together. This community, as much as they don't want to have had to rally together in the past six years, they know how to do it. This is not. This is not a community that's just going to sit back and not come out. Like I said, It's 4 below zero right now, and these streets are flooded with people. Not just this street, not just Nicollet Avenue, all of the nearby cross streets.

[A]

Wow. And, you know, it just seems to be. And this is about two weeks after the killing of Renee Goode. And ever since, I mean, even before, they're killing a Renega, but even since they've doubled down on these tactics, we've seen people getting roughed up, thrown to the ground, pepper sprayed in the face. We saw the man from the Hmong community pulled out of his house, you know, in his boxer shorts. It's just crazy. And. And it looks like the guy had a camera. And, I mean, I don't understand. He had his phone out and he was recording it. And it's like one of the things I've been seeing lately, Maritza, is that they seem to want to stop people from documenting what they're doing. And so I'm wondering if that was part of the motivation for their excessive, apparent excessive force here.

[B]

Well, yeah, we've seen that trend. And I've seen clips where ICE officers have said, you know, haven't you learned? And what do you think is going to happen? Or it's illegal. You can't take video of us. You know, Jim, our mutual friend Liz Oyer, she was on our show Grounder last week or maybe two weeks ago now, and we talked about this, we clarified this. And you and I know in journalism, you're on a public street, you can take video. If you are on a public street and you are within your legal right, right to take video, it's when you're on private property that that changes. So there is so much intimidation happening, and they want people to stop shining a light on what's happening. This city is not going to do that.

[A]

Yeah. And it's so cold where you are right now. I mean, I know Minnesotans are hardy folk, but I mean, for folks to get out there in this kind of weather and protest and document, I mean, the video, the images from yesterday when everybody flooded the streets there, it's inspiring to see in light of what's going on, all this abuse that's going on, that people are still taking to the streets and, and pushing, not pushing back physically, but saying that this cannot stand.

[B]

Yeah. And I don't see them stopping. And of course, we want things to be done peacefully. As our state and city leaders have said, go out and do this the Minnesota way, be peaceful. But I don't think any kind of weather is going to deter the people of the Minneapolis metro area and beyond. I mean, there are people all across the state who came down for that protest yesterday, and probably from out of state, too, I would venture to guess. But the thing is, this isn't just happening down here in Minneapolis. There's a town called Romer, Minnesota. It's in west central Minnesota, about an hour and a half, two hours outside of the Twin Cities. And there have been so many ICE raids there in that community of, you know, these immigrant populations. And as you know, Jim, as has been reported with that little boy that broke all of our hearts. Ramos.

[A]

Little Liam. Yeah.

[B]

I mean, I just. I don't know if I'll ever get his face out of my head. And I don't want to because we need to show what is happening. And all of you know, the superintendent of Leo Ramos's school said that family was doing everything right. They had, they had the paperwork to seek asylum. That. And so this is just there just doesn't seem to be rhyme or reason to it other than very aggressive tactics that we're seeing.

[A]

And this is what the Associated Press is saying right now. Federal immigration officers shot and killed a man in Minneapolis, drawing hundreds of protesters in a city already shaken by another fatal shooting weeks earlier. The police chief said it was a 37 year old man who was killed. The man was identified by his parents as Alex Preddy, an intensive care unit nurse. So the parents have identified the victim to the Associated Press. He's been identified as 37 year old Alex Preddy. And we're not going to show the video here. You know, folks can find it on social media and so on. But I mean, Maritza, when I look at the video from all the different angles and people, I don't understand why ICE doesn't understand this. Or maybe they do understand this and they want this fear to be spread far and, but everybody has a phone and every time they do this, every time one of these things happens, there are going to be videos from multiple angles showing what occurred.

[B]

And we heard, you know, there were rumblings going around and I have not seen this confirmed but we heard that immediately some of those witnesses were detained and I need to confirm that Jim, but I heard that pretty from quite a few sources that that was happening. We were, it's been reported through the Star Tribune in the local newspaper here. Make sure you support your local news folks that, that Minneapolis police officers were told to leave the scene. Basically, I'll tell you, there are Minneapolis police squad cars all around this neighborhood right now. They are here.

[A]

I just, you know, at some point we've got to search for some answers here as to how to stop, you know, the administration from doing this. They just had a vote on a DHS funding bill. Seven Democrats voted to continue to fund the DHS basically as it's been operating right now. I, I don't, I mean I, I, I, you know, I don't mind being opinionated these days as, you know, Marines. I don't understand, I don't understand a vote like that. I'll be really honest with you. I know the Republicans feel like they can't cross Trump or else they'll get primaried and so on. I mean if that's how you want to go out in this world, you know, as somebody who just doesn't want to cross Trump, I guess that's how it goes. But for the who had the ability to stop some of this, you know, it just boggles the mind. But Maritza, I mean, tell Me about some of the people in the crowd there. It may be difficult from a technical standpoint to actually interview them live, but it just seems to me there's really an outpouring of support in this community right now, 100%.

[B]

I mean, there are people handing out whistles to them. There's some donuts from Blam Doll here. This is a very popular Sin City's donut Donut restaurant here in Blam Doll. Looks like they're. They have a lot of customers here today supporting this local business. I saw a clergy clergyman out here. He's live streaming. I've seen, you know, guys who would appear to be kind of rough and tumble. Probably like motorcycle guys, is how I would describe them. They're out here. I mean, I see. I see young women, I see of all ages. I see just tons and tons of people. Everyone's out here. They're braving the cold, they're bundled up. But you can see I'm kind of up on a snowbank here.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Gone for blocks and blocks and blocks.

[A]

And you're kind of.

[B]

Again, this is right.

[A]

Yeah, you're kind of right at the spot where it happened. I'm sorry, I don't mean to interrupt.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Oh, you're not interrupting. This is again, just for people who don't know this area. We're on Nicollet Avenue. This is called Eat Street. Several blocks, several city blocks of, you know, really wonderful cuisine, locally owned. You can come down here and find food from all kinds of cultures from all over the world. And certainly this area has been very targeted by these raids. I see over there an upside down American flag. Sign of distress.

[A]

Exactly.

[B]

You know, everyone has signs. Everyone there, they came prepared and I, I didn't. I am. I just. I got dropped off here from my friend's car and so I know I. I just landed, like I said, not very long ago, but I have microphones and stuff. Jim. I'll be here for a few days. I'm happy to come back, come out and interview people when I have all my gear and we're more equipped. But we wanted to just get on and kind of show everyone what is happening today.

[A]

Absolutely. And I appreciate you coming on and spending some time with us. I noticed some of the people around you, just as you were showing the video, people wearing ski goggles. Ski goggles.

[B]

Because right here, let me flip this around. I have a similar gas mask here. Yeah, I mean, like I said, you can smell the chemicals in the air. They were definitely deploying gas earlier. I know someone by friends here in local news. Had to leave because it was just, it filled the air so much and you can still smell. Here's a, you know, camera operator with a full gas mask on. So there's a lot, there's a lot going on. But you know, here's another example. This guy has hand warmers. People are really taking care of each other. I saw a wagon with water and snacks. Again, this is a community that takes care of each other. And growing up here, that's how I grew up. You take care of your neighbor, you care about other people, you do what you can to help. And that's what we're seeing down here this afternoon on at the intersection of 26 and Nicholas.

[A]

Yeah, well, thank you very much, Marita. I'll let you go get warm or whatever you have to do. Go gather information. And thank you so much for coming on. And I just noticed, I looked at my weather app, it's negative three where you are right now. So please be safe, please, you know, take care of yourself, Marita. Thank you so much.

[B]

You got it. Thanks so much, Jim.

[A]

All right. Great to see you. Thank you.

[B]

You too.

[A]

Oh, boy. My friend, Maritza Giorgio, veteran journalist, great reporter, just absolutely does a fantastic job and she just did a terrific job there laying out the scene. As it stands right now on the streets of Minneapolis, as I was just telling you a few moments ago, the Associated Press is reporting that the man who was shot and killed by ice by those federal agents there, I guess we don't know the exact agencies that that carried out this killing there. He's been identified as a 37 year old man, a white man who had a permit to carry a firearm and that he's been identified by his parents as Alex Preddy and that he was an intensive care unit nurse. This happened just earlier today In Minneapolis, about two weeks, a little more than two weeks after the killing of 37 year old Renee Good. Renee Goode was 37. This man was 37. I, you know, folks, we need to say their names. We need to say Renee Good's name. We need to say Alex Preddy's name. And I think the question needs to be asked. And you know, I question needs to be asked, what are we going to do about this folks? What can we do? What more can we do? You saw the outpouring of support on the streets of Minneapolis yesterday. You saw tens of thousands of people filling the streets of Minneapolis. Just a community that has been traumatized by this administration, by this White House, by this president, by Stephen Miller by Kristi Noem by the Department of Homeland Security, by their fellow Americans. This is American on American violence. It is American on American violence. And from what I can tell in the case of Renee Good, that was a murder. And what I can tell in this case, this very much looks to me to be yet another murder in the streets of the Minneapolis St. Paul area. And I cannot for the life of me understand. If you're a Democrat in Congress and you have the ability to vote up or down on a piece of legislation to fund the Department of Homeland Security, how in God's name, how in God's name can you vote to continue to fund this department? How can you vote to continue to fund ICE and these murders? At what point does it stop? And it seems to me that, you know, the Democrats, they need to have a soul searching moment here. It's not enough. And I saw somebody on video somewhere saying, well, this person's in this swing district and that person's in that swing district and so on and so forth. This is about what is in here. This is about what is in here, the heart of this country. And it seems to me these lawmakers, they need to, these politicians need to think less about their political future and more about all of our futures. And it, it seems to me that that is not what is happening right now. It's just not happening. And so Donald Trump, you know, we have to be very careful with this, this character. We have to be careful with this dictator wannabe. He came back from Davos with his tail between his legs. He tried to bully the world. It didn't work out. He had his ass handed to him yet again. And I said this on the show the other day, and I'll say it again, he is, he is probably looking for a way to vent these frustrations and he's going to look for a way to change the narrative. He's going to look for a way to change the story on Fox, on his conservative media sycophantic outlets. And the protesters need to understand, as frustrating as this is, as God awful as this is, we have to be careful that you don't give them the spark. Because what, what Donald Trump is likely to do, and he may already be in the process of making this decision as we speak, they are looking for a reason to invoke the Insurrection Act. They are looking for that spark so they can invoke the Insurrection act and, and send these thugs into the streets en masse. And, and it seems to me that is giving them what they want. And what needs to happen, I think at this point is strategic pushback, strategic protesting, strategic demonstration. Maybe it is a national walkout. Maybe it is something along those lines. Maybe it is an overwhelming presence on the streets in Washington, D.C. surrounding the White House. Maybe it's time for people to take to the streets outside the White House to protest peacefully, to follow the law. But at some point, there needs to be collective action on the part of the people. And we need somebody to come forward on the side of pro democracy forces. Whether that person be a Democrat, independent, Republican, I don't care. It needs to be somebody. Somebody needs to come forward and say, or a group of people. We need our friends over at Indivisible, a group of people to say, now is the time. Now is the time to take to the streets and show this rogue administration that you can't just shoot people in the street, that you can't just murder American citizens in the streets. I'm willing to be one of those voices. Are you? I'm willing to be one of those voices. Are you? It is time, it seems to me, for this rogue administration to understand, for this rogue White House to understand that they, they don't rule over us. They've got it. They've got it asked backwards. They don't rule over us. We rule over them. We the people are in charge of this country. We the people call the shots. Not Stephen Miller, not the thugs at Ice, not Sea Cot Barbie, Christy Noem, not Pam Bondi. And it just seems to me that we've got a major problem on our hands. Folks, I'm going to see if I can. Let me see if I can send an invitation to my friend Nick Valencia. My friend Nick Valencia is there on the scene as well. And folks, just give me a little bit of time to figure this out. It's my producer Matt's birthday today and we'll be celebrating his birthday soon, but he's tied up getting things going here. And so I'm kind of running this thing solo here on the Substack app. And we'll put this video out on other places later so people can see it on other places later. But to our Substack community, I'm deeply appreciative of you for joining us. I've just told Nick Valencia, who I believe is still on the scene there, to go ahead and join us. If you can. Just sent you the invite on Substack, we'll see if Nick Valencia hops on here. It looks like Governor Walls of Minnesota has called on the national Guard to assist in calming the situation there in Minneapolis. Governor Walls is in a tough spot. He and the mayor of Minneapolis have both made it very clear and sent the message to Donald Trump that ICE is no longer welcome in Minneapolis. And you know, I'm a little worried that Tim Walls is in a no win scenario here. I don't believe in the no win scenario, but I believe he's, he's very close to a no win scenario. He probably needs to call out the National Guard for two reasons. One is obviously to maintain peace on the streets. If that's, if that's at all possible at this point. We want it to be possible. We want it to happen that way. But if there's any way to have these National Guard soldiers on the streets to protect the people of Minneapolis, my God, isn't that the reason why we have a National Guard in this country, to protect the people? And so I've sent a message out to Nick Valencia to see if he can join us. But it just seems to me that we're now in a position where every Democrat in Congress, every pro democracy Democrat, and if, if there's a Republican out there who wants to have a change of heart, my God, we'll welcome you into the, into the tent, too. We'll welcome you into the pro democracy tent, too. But it seems to me this is a moment where every Democrat in Congress must rise up. Every Democratic governor across the country must rise up and say no further. This stops. This ends. Every possible piece of leverage that every Democrat has across the country must rise up and say no more of this. This cannot happen anymore. You know, somebody did mention just a few moments ago in the chat here, and I can see all the chats, that the Supreme Court has a hand in this, too. Hey, there's my friend Nick Valencia in, in Minneapolis right now. Nick, it's good to see you.

[D]

How are you?

[A]

I'm, I'm sure you had.

[D]

Hey, Jim. I'm, I'm doing well. I'm trying to recover after getting g couple times by the feds. You know, it was, it was pretty intense out there. It's calmed down. We've taken a little bit of a break just to get a snack, so I'm stepping outside, but.

[A]

Good.

[D]

It's active out there.

[A]

You know, I, I saw some of your great video. I saw some of your great reporting. You were there almost when it happened. Is that right? Tell us what you remember happening. I know it's been a day for you.

[D]

Yeah, I was, I was there probably within 15, 20 minutes after the shooting. And in fact, at, at one point while I was out there reporting, I was the only journalist behind police lines and the FBI, four different agents stopped me to question me, thinking that I'd actually witnessed the shooting. Once they realized I hadn't, they let me go. I guess I was briefly detained by them for questioning, but what I saw, I could only speak to what happened afterwards. And it was an incredibly tense atmosphere. There was demonstrators who have been just traumatized by this federal immigration operation, the largest one in Trump's, you know, in the history of America. And the trauma is so evident, yet another person killed in their eyes, murdered. And they came out of the streets very quickly and they effectively sort of cordoned off an area blocking in a cornucopia of law enforcement agency. It was, it really was, you know, who wasn't out there was, it was FBI, it was hsi, all sorts of federal agencies. And part of what they were frustrated at was the appearance as though the local and state police were protecting the feds from yet another fatal shooting. And at that point we saw some water bottles, frozen water bottles, glass bottles used. They deployed chemical irritants. We were hit multiple times and that dispersed the crowd, but it only riled people up. Eventually the feds did leave, but not before they tear gassed more protesters. At this point, about a mile away from where I'm at there is where this shooting happened. It has been taken over by demonstrators entirely and they plan on being out there all night.

[A]

Yeah, and Nick, I mean, you and I have both seen the video too. Yeah, the videos, I should say. There's the original and I know it's so cold out there, so just say when you got to go back inside. I completely understand. There was the original video, which was a little difficult to see exactly what was taking place on the, on the ground. But then there's the additional video, we're not going to show it here, from the so called women in Pink that you can see the man had clearly been subdued. The 37 year old man who was shot and killed clearly was subdued and there may have been a gun pulled away from him. Minnesota authorities say he had a license to carry and, and then they just shot him. I mean he had been pepper sprayed and subdued and they shot him.

[D]

Yeah. You know, what we saw unfold was basically an observer, you know, a community resident. They started seeing ICE activity. Federal immigration officers out there blowing their whistle and then a woman was pushed to the ground. Alex Preddy, who's the victim in this shooting, he came to the defense of this woman. What ended up transpiring was eventually he was taken to the ground. And at one point in the video, you see an officer what appears, you know, to remove a firearm from his waistband and then they open fire on him. Jim. While he is on the ground.

[A]

Yes.

[D]

Begs the question what kind of threat he was. Even if he was resisting. They had removed, it appears, his firearm. He was also legally allowed to carry that. Having said that, there's a lot of people here. They're not splitting hairs about what they see and what they're saying they saw. They think they saw a murder on film, which is why the streets are packed out with demonstrators right now.

[A]

Yeah. And he was there observing. It looked like he had his phone out to document this. That's right. That's all legally protected, constitutionally protected activity. And they just don't seem to understand that at ice. And a part of this looks like they were trying to stop these observers from documenting what was going on. And there's. That seems to be escalating, I think in Minneapolis too, and among the ICE agents in that they don't want regular citizens documenting this stuff. And they're getting rough with just people who are pulling out their phones and trying to get video.

[D]

I'm so grateful that you brought that up because I don't think it was a coincidence that our live shut down. The power ended. Our live wasn't able to save. We saw some this great video that a lot of people were watching while we were out there. Including yourself. Thankfully, some people screen recorded it, but, you know, that's something that people are considering here. It's as if they don't want any recording or evidence of this at all. You heard Border Patrol Commander Greg Vivino come out and say that they were responding to a riot. What riot? We saw what we're seeing with our own eyes. It's like they're effectively gaslighting us, Jim. And telling us what we're seeing is not the reality. And to believe what they're saying rather than what we're seeing.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

You know, it just doesn't make sense.

[A]

No, they are trying to gaslight us. They're tear gassing us and they're gaslighting us.

[D]

That's right.

[A]

And it just seems to me that they're just way in over their heads and. And just trigger happy.

[D]

I mean, this is operating above the law. And part of this is incompetence. But part of this is also a lack of training and being under qualified and set out there into these Scenarios, this community looking at people, in their eyes, they have pts. You know, I've had PTSD from the stuff that I've covered as a correspondent. The, the, the mannerisms, their fast cadence of speech, you know, the lack of sleep in their eyes, just how they move their. You know, it is so evident that this large scale operation has had an impact on everyone. And then now they wake up on their Saturday to yet another killing of yet another one of their citizens here. Who's out there in their legal capacity to be able to document. The feds. You can go out there and document this. You can record. And it's, and it's so hard to, to make the argument that they don't want us to do this when it seems that they're shutting down our lives while we're out there going after people who are recording this. And thankfully they are, because where is the accountability? You know, you ask lawmakers and it's like, what are you guys doing right now? What are we supposed to do when our families are being persecuted? When it feels like we can't go to local law enforcement for help? What are we supposed to do? And these individuals, they are such, they are, they're traumatized, they're at a loss. They feel like no one is helping them except for themselves. You know, in Spanish they say sol pueblo, salva pueblo. Only the people will help each other. And that is the spirit that we're seeing out here. People are frustrated. They have a lack of confidence in the government now they have a lack of confidence in their local law enforcement who they believe is on the side of the feds who murdered another person.

[A]

They think, yeah, and Nick, I mean, the cruelty is the point. The fear is the point. This is just a couple days after a little. Liam was arrested. The five year old boy Liam was arrested. He's in jail. They put a five year old in jail. I mean, these are the people that we're talking about here. And it's about two weeks after the killing of Renee Good, which looked like a murder as well. And it just seems to me that they've, they're out of control and they're running wild without any kind of oversight or accountability. And that is why you saw what tens of thousands of people on the streets of Minneapolis just yesterday. They've had it in this town.

[D]

More than 700 businesses took part in that general strike. There was tens of thousands of people out there. We were out there on the streets. And I'm so glad that you brought up Liam. Liam Conejo Ramos I was invited into his school by the principal at Valley View Elementary. If you want to go check out the report on nickvalencinews.com or just on our Instagram. You're a father, Jim. I'm a father of an almost five year old, you know, and an eight year old. And I went in to see his empty locker and to see his little dinosaur stuff he left behind, his favorite blanket. To hear the stories of the students who are asking, am I next? Am I going to be taken next? Is this going to be my fate as well? You have teachers now walking students to the class and they are at a loss themselves. Jim. I talked to a teacher who had a father taken and they're deporting these people very fast. You know, within 24 hours they're in another state. And she was saying, what am I supposed to tell my kids who come to me and ask me, is this my fate next? I can't say in good faith that they're not going to be targeted next. And you know, it's, it's so evident, the trauma that these teachers, every single classroom in that school has been affected. 19, 20 families. Liam is just the latest. And a five year old, I mean, we talked about how this has galvanized people who really didn't care that much because I don't think they realized what they were dealing with. Seeing a five year old, what kind of violent threat or what kind of threat?

[A]

Nothing.

[D]

Country as a five year old, nothing.

[A]

It's disgusting. And I have to think that those little five year olds, his classmates, are probably wondering, are the bad people gonna get me next? Are the bad people gonna grab me? And the bad people who are grabbing kids are government employees. They're paid for with our tax dollars. It's just, it's disgraceful.

[D]

It's a hard conversation for me to have at home because I know that you only get one childhood and you gotta protect the innocence of your kids. But also, Jim, I was fucking terrified coming out here, man. Not because of the tense environment, but because of the color of my skin. How weird is that to say that? I'm driving around here and I was so scared that I picked a fight with my family before I came out here because I was in fear. I was like, I'm going to be driving around here going into what seems like a police state. Part of what I wanted to show the people here in my audience and yours is that it's not everywhere. And sure, what we saw happen on 26 and Nicollet and it's not everywhere. But the ripples and the ramifications and the trauma is everywhere. And so I, you know, I'm telling my son, look, he.

[A]

He.

[D]

I want him to, you know, look to police officers in case something happens. And I have to tell him, look, dad is scared because I am being targeted. People like us that have our color skin are being targeted by people don't like us. These are not police officers. These are federal employees. And it's so hard to have this conversation, but it's so necessary, I think. I believe this because, you know, look, there's good people in this world, and there's bad people in this world, and the bad people right now, in some cases, it feels like they're winning when you're abducting people off the street. We should be talking about amnesty. We should be talking about, you know, if this was really just about going after this pendulum swing and this overcorrection of all these people that Biden supposedly let in, we would only be going after the people that Biden let in. We wouldn't be going after the grandmas, the people that have been here for 30, 40 years, putting people through college. You know, cruelty is the point. Chaos is the point. That's it.

[A]

That's it. That's exactly right. No, and. And they're grabbing, you know, elderly men, like the. The. The man from the hmong community in St. Paul. The other day, they bring him out in his boxer shorts. I mean, it's just absolutely disgraceful.

[D]

Now they're saying they don't need a judicial warrant. They're saying that they're above the Constitution and that they are above the law. Where are all the people who say, don't tread on me. Where are all the people who say that they don't want the government, that they want small government?

[A]

It's okay to them. It's okay to them if Donald Trump is doing it. I mean, that, to me, is what's happening. They have completely become hypocrites in all of this. They never believed it in the first place. And they've gotten a taste of authoritarianism. They've gotten a taste of fascism. And I've been saying this on my show, and I'll say it again. Fascism is contagious. When people get a taste of it, they want more. And it is a sickness in the head. It's a sickness of the mind. You can't treat other human beings in this fashion. Nick Valencia, you should not be afraid to go down the streets of Minneapolis and do your job because of the color of your skin. My God, what is happening to this country?

[D]

And that's not to be dramatic or poetic. It's real.

[A]

You're so right about this issue of they think they can just go into people's homes without a judicial warrant. It's totally nuts. And libertarians and MAGA Republicans and conservative Republicans, they used to trash all this shit when Obama was in the White House and Biden was in the White House. And they, they used to say, these are the guys who are going to come after us. Bullshit. Obama and Biden respected civil liberties. There's no respect for civil liberties. It's completely out the window. But I mean, Nick, the other thing that we should point out, because you're downtown now and people are starting to join to the stream and so on, but you were there almost like 15 minutes or so after it happened. I saw your Instagram video earlier today. You are choking on the tear gas. They were, they were trying to clear people from that area, what, a couple of hours ago?

[D]

Yeah, they were, they were gassing journalists. They were gassing anyone that was in their way and that was their way to, to deal with trying to disperse the crowd. I was even roughed up. And at one point I got roughed up by a border patrol agent who took exception even though the state police and the local police were allowing me to be behind the police line. I had my badge, I was clearly identifying myself. And even still, the border patrol, they roughed me up. All of that was on camera. They are not facing any sort of accountability and thankfully I was able to reason with them because every single one of these federal agents has discretion. They have the single handed dictatorship that they could go anywhere. And they use their discretion whether or not they want to take somebody into custody or not. They don't have to be acting like this out there, but they are and they're acting above the law.

[A]

Well, Nick, I'll go let you get warm and eat and everything. You rest, you recover and let us know if anything else comes up, man. We'll put you back on whenever you need to. But thank you, Jim.

[D]

It's going to be an active day out there. We'll be in touch, man. Thank you so much for having me.

[A]

God bless you. You hang in there, bud. Thank you so much. That's my friend, Nick Valencia, Great journalist, just doing a wonderful job. And I'm going to try to bring in my friend Maria Cardona because she, you know, she texted me just a short while ago and said, I want to, I want to talk about this I, I have something to say about this and I am, I'm telling my friends in the pro democracy community far and wide, if you want to come on and talk about this, let's talk about this. I'll do this a bit longer, but I. What Nick was saying just a few moments ago is absolutely chilling. There is no reason why a Latino journalist in this country should ever feel as though he can't be reporting from the streets of the United States. That is absolutely abhorrent. It just pisses me off to hear him say that. But it is absolutely what is going on in this country right now. I think that I'm just saying something to Maria right now. Uh, let's see here. You know, it just seems to me that we're in a moment right now where something needs to happen. You know, Donald Trump's been waiting for a spark. Stephen Miller has been waiting for a spark. But it seems to me we have, we have seen the spark. We have been, we have been given the signal and there needs to be action. Maria Cardona, I know you're there. Thank you so much. I know you wanted to come on and say something about this. I mean, your thoughts on everything that's happening right now. A 37 year old US citizen shot and killed. He was an intensive care nurse. His name was Alex Preddy. From all. I mean, it looks like in the video, the guy was just flat out murdered by these federal agents. Once again, it's happened. It's happened again in Minneapolis, Jim, you.

[C]

Know, and we texted about this because I know that you, like me and many others, are so focused on what is going on right now with the Trump killing squad. ICE has become a killing squad that they have let loose in American cities to go after US citizens and anyone else that they think are going to keep them from doing their quote, unquote job. Right? Which of people that don't look like them. And to me it is heartbreaking. This is not the country that my parents brought my family to. This is not the country that your father brought you to. This is not the country that promises that everyone can have a better life if you live and play by the rules. And let's be very clear that so far, two US Citizens have been murdered in cold blood. Murdered, procrastinated, assessed, executed.

[A]

Yes.

[C]

Of all of our eyes. Right. No if, ands or buts. I know the administration is trying to spin this because they are afraid that they are losing the argument and they are losing it badly because of these horrific, violent, cruel, draconian, un American illegal, unconstitutional tactics, murder tactics, frankly, that are going on right now as we speak. Speak. And, and we saw, you know, yesterday they kidnapped a five year old boy. My goodness, little Liam, what have we become in this country?

[A]

We're, we're putting five year olds in jail.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

And Donald Trump, who is a lying son of a, said that they were going to go after the criminals and the gangbangers.

[B]

Right.

[A]

And they are going after the abuelos and the hos. They're going after the abuelos and the hos and it is absolutely disgusting. And I, you know, I, I was think the other day, you know, maybe it's not smart politically, strategically to impeach him again when the Democrats get back into the House. But it, it seems to me this son of a. Is not going to stop and it is totally out of control in this country right now. And something needs to happen. Stephen Miller needs to be fired. Kristi Noem needs to be fired. Their asses need to be hauled out of office.

[C]

All of the above, Jim. But there are a couple of points that I want to make with you because I don't think they've been made enough on social media, national television, you name it. And, and they are points that Republicans are spinning and they're just outright lies. The first one is that Republicans are saying, oh well, this wouldn't be happening if local law enforcement simply would help the ICE agents do their job. That's bullshit. And the reason it's bullshit, Jim, is because first of all, they say that in other, in other places. It isn't happening in other places. ICE agents are doing their job and it's very calm and cool and nothing's happening. You and I know that that's crap because incidences have happened in Chicago, in Portland, in New Orleans, here in D.C. everywhere where they have made their ICE agents spread out and given them a gun and said, go hunt immigrants. There have been incidences of people getting hurt, including US citizens, period. That's number one. The second thing is that we hear constantly, well, you know, in Minnesota there's a law that keeps local law enforcement from helping, you know, ICE agents enforce the law. And on its face, that does sound like, well, maybe that shouldn't be the way that things go. And this is why I need to clarify this. As you know, I was a former communications director at what was formerly the ins, Right. And I have had so many agents call me people who would have been in, you know, back then we called them Interior Enforcement agents and they would have been ICE today. They say to me, Maria, what we are seeing is a grotesque monstrosity that is absolutely unlike anything we would have ever done, ever. Correct, ever been allowed to do. Nor would we have engaged in it because it is immoral. These are former law enforcement, immigration agents saying that to me.

[A]

Yeah. And there have been sheriffs around the country. I mean, there was a sheriff in Maine the other day. There was a sheriff in Philadelphia who said this the other day. All the law enforcement professionals around the country are looking what, at what ICE is doing right now. And they're saying that these guys are goons, These guys are thugs. These guys are amateurs, they're bozos, they're overweight, like you know, small dick bozos. And they're taking out their aggressions because they can't get a date. They're taking out their aggressions on the American people. And it has to fucking stop. It's just totally out of control. The little five year old boy breaks my heart. The man from the Hmong community who's hauled out in his boxer shorts breaks my heart. Renee Goode. Her name needs to be said. We cannot forget Renee Goode and this man, Alex Preddy. We need to keep saying it because, Maria, as you know what Mr. Rogers used to say, find the helpers, find the helpers in a situation where things are out of control. He was an ICU nurse. This was somebody who's, whose life was helping other people. He was a nurse in the intensive care unit at a hospital. This is a good person. He's on the scene trying to videotape and document this. They throw him to the ground, they slam his face into the ground. They're pepper spraying, he's been subdued and then they kill him.

[C]

Yes, that is, that is such insanity. And an important point to make on that specific incident, Jim, because you know, they're trying to spin it as if. Well, he, he had a gun. He had a gun. He was carrying a holstered gun, which is allowed in Minneapolis.

[A]

He had a license to carry.

[C]

He had a permit, way shape or form, threatening them with that gun. They are now using that because they know they are in deep shit because they executed yet again another US citizen in cold blood. But there's another point that I want to make, Jim, because again, something that Republicans are trying woefully to spin and that is that again, going back to local law enforcement. Well, local law enforcement needs to help ICE agents do their job. No, they don't, Jim. They don't need to help ICE agents do their job. But there's A very good reason for this, and this is not talked about enough, the reason why many jurisdictions don't allow their local law enforcement officers to coordinate with ICE agents or with immigration agents is because in order to do their job, in order to keep the peace, in order to protect the people that they police, they need to have the trust of the community. They need to tell their people that they police on a daily basis, that they have their best interest in mind, that they are not going around behind their back and telling ICE agents where to find people who might be there without papers. Now, there's a caveat to this, and this was said today in the press conference that Governor Waltz had. And it's a very important caveat. There are criminal, Violent offenders that are undocumented and that the immigration agents are going after. And they ask help from local police. Absolutely. Local police will be there 1000% of the time to help them go after those violent offenders. There is no question about that. Okay, so when Republicans say to anyone who's listening to this that local law enforcement is not allowed to coordinate with ICE agents and they are letting violent criminals loose, that is an absolute bullshit lie. It is.

[A]

Yes.

[C]

Prove. Okay, so they don't coordinate on a daily basis because they don't want the ICE agents to be going after the abuelitos and the abuelitas and the five year olds and the single moms and the workers that work at a hotel or the, you know, police officers even. We've had police officers in Minneapolis being detained, for God's sake.

[A]

Right. They're arresting the cops.

[C]

Yes.

[A]

And so they're saying, oh, they're saying, oh, please, we want the local law enforcement to help us out. They want the local law enforcement to help them oppress the community.

[C]

Correct.

[A]

And so if you're the mayor of Minneapolis, you're gonna say, fuck that. No way. I mean, you're not gonna wanna do that. And you don't want their civil rights abuses to become your department's civil rights abuses. The mayor and the governor there in Minneapolis and Minnesota, they don't want to, you know, to take that on and be sued by citizens of their community and be hated by citizens of their community because they're working with Stephen Miller and J.D. vance and these pieces of shit that are running that agency. Absolutely disgraceful. Maria. The other thing I gotta ask you before we wrap this up is, you know, there was a vote the other day to continue to fund dhs, and there were seven Democrats who voted in favor of it. And I've heard all The. Well, they're in a swing district and we gotta win back the House and everything. It seems to me we're not in that moment. We're not in the moment where we need to parse like, oh, well, you know, we need 5% over here and this district over there. And this person's retiring. Enough is fucking enough.

[B]

That's right.

[A]

This shit is out of control, right?

[C]

That is absolutely right, Jim. No Democrat, and frankly, if any Republican wants to have a prayer of surviving the midterm elections in November, they also should not be voting for this horrific funding bill which gives these, this now ICE killer squad more money to, you know, essentially go after US citizens, go after folks who have no criminal record, do it unconstitutionally, breaking the law, do it criminally. They are completely unaccountable. And every Democrat in the Senate now, I hope, will have the backbone to vote no on this, to vote no funding until these killer ICE thugs agents stand down, until Trump has them stand down.

[A]

Because the question is.

[C]

Right.

[A]

Yeah. I mean, the question is, Maria, I wouldn't be surprised if there are some Republicans in the Senate like, you know, the Fisk guy. What was the Fisk guy from Missouri?

[C]

Yes, Holly. Josh Hawley.

[A]

Josh Hawley, yeah. I wouldn't be surprised if he maybe votes with the Democrats on this, Rand Paul, because I. Maria, you and I have been around politics long enough to know this, that, you know, I just asked the Republicans, imagine life with the shoe on the other foot. President Gavin Newsom comes into office. He also says that I have the immunity decision, so I can do whatever I want. And DHS says all you need is an administrative warrant to go into people's homes. And if you have a permit to carry a gun, that shit doesn't matter anymore. Apparently, if you look at the case, what happened today, do Republicans want a Gavin Newsom administration to run wild the way that the Democrats are doing? Right, or that the Republicans are doing right now? It seems like you don't. It seems like you don't want that to happen. And they don't look at it that way.

[C]

And that's what they need to ask themselves. Right? Because pretty soon the shoe is going to be on the other foot. And this is where Republicans need to think hard about how they're going to find their backbone, how they're going to find their cojones and stand up to this insidious, unlawful, criminal, violent, unconstitutional behavior and call it out. Because to your point, at the very beginning, we are not in the same political paradigm that we might have been Even two or three years ago, where people in swing districts could say, well, I need to be careful about what I say, because the independents, no bullshit. We've seen in the, in the recent polls, Jim, you've seen this, we've talked about this. Independents are the ones that are disgusted by this, along with the vast majority of Democrats and even some Republicans who are disgusted by what they are seeing by the. This ICE out of control, by the zero accountability about what they're doing on our streets, to our children, to our neighbors, to our seniors, to our grandparents, you know, to everyone who is out there bearing witness as to what's happening. Right, they are taking them down, literally assassinating them, executing them in cold blood.

[A]

Terrible.

[C]

Cannot let this stand. None of us who love this country, who know what, what it. What it is actually about, what it stands for, the values that this country stands for, we cannot stand for this. We have to stand up and speak out. Every single one of us has that responsibility. And for people who are elected officials, every single Democrat out there, they cannot vote for this DHS funding bill. It is one of the few levers that we have because we don't have power, as you know, we don't control the House, we don't control the Senate. Hopefully that will change in November. But right now, we have to use the levers of power that we have, and we have that power to say no to this continuation of funding this killer squad that is out there doing harm and murdering US Citizens.

[A]

That's right. You said it perfectly. And when you talk about cojones, there are some women out there with more cojones than some of the guys, the guys at ICE seem to be to have the smallest cojones that I've ever witnessed in my life covering politics because. Or any at all, if you're, if you're working in this agency, you should be telling your supervisors, I am anti murder. I am not pro murder. I am anti murder. And what they're doing right now is just blowing people away. It is absolutely a travesty. And it makes me sick. It makes me sick to see this unfold. And the way Trump is going after Minneapolis, he's doing it out of spite and for petty, childish reasons. He doesn't like Tim Walls. He's pissed that he lost the state three times, even though he lies and says there's so much disgusting psychology that's going on here that is just really. It's just awful to think about. But it seems to me you're absolutely right. Democrats have to draw a line. Enough with this. Well, you know what? If we lose this district or that district, it's now all hands on deck. Our country is on the line. This democracy is on the line. But thank you, Maria. It's great to see you.

[C]

Thank you, Jim, as always. Gracias, amigo mio. And hope to be on with you again soon to continue bearing witness to this and calling it out.

[A]

Thank you. Thank you, Maria. You too. You as well. Keep fighting the good fight. Thank you so much. You're the best. Thanks, Maria.

[C]

Thank you.

[A]

Bye. Well, I, I, I'm going to try to bring in maybe one more person here. I think Olivia might be standing by. And then I heard, I saw Michael Fanone was watching. He did message me and said he, he's at the store. So he can't do it right now. We love Mike, but he can't do it. So for folks who are wondering about that, that's what's going on there. I'll try to bring in Olivia for one last perspective on this. But it seems to me that, you know, with this DHS funding bill moving over to the Senate, I mean this is a very big moment for Democrats and the Senate. This is a very big moment for the leadership of the Democrats in the Senate. We have to stop the, the, you know, the politics of going along to get along. The politics of, well, if I vote for this, you'll vote for that. It's not about that right now. Olivia Troy is joining me now. Olivia, you and I were texting each other earlier. What, what are your thoughts on what we've witnessed today? They've, they've identified this man who was shot and killed US citizen, 37 year old Alex Preddy. And apparently he was an intensive care unit nurse. And if you look at all the videos I haven't been showing him here, but folks can find him on social media. It looked like he posed no threat to these ICE agents. It's clear.

[E]

Yeah. I'm very curious about the one woman that we see filming it in the videos that we've seen and I'm wondering, I hope first that she remains safe. And also I there you have a firsthand witness right there with a clear bird's eye view and clear when I, I have watched that video unfortunately repeatedly because I was trying to process another shooting ICE and trying to understand what had happened. And I will say that like just watching doesn't appear that there was a need for that engagement to have happened the way it did and for how it went down. And so while we don't have all the details. I will say though, that the one thing that I have been thinking about this entire afternoon and in the time period that since it's happened is just watching basically the federal government turn on its own people. That's what this is. And look, I thought Tim Walls did a very good job in his remarks and the message that he was trying to get across to people. And I do think that he's right. I do think that most Americans watching this are, are not okay with what is taking place here.

[A]

Yeah, yeah. And for folks who want to see the video for themselves, I've put it on my social media, I've posted the, the Pink lady video as she's been described and the original video that came out. So if you need to see it, you can go see it on my Instagram. I'm not going to play it here and play it over and over again. You know, excessively. We don't need to see somebody killed in cold blood over and over and over again.

[E]

For a second time.

[A]

Yeah, for a second time. Two weeks after the killing of Renee Goode, a couple of days after ICE arrested a five year old boy and put him in jail. I mean, this is totally nonstop craziness. It's all flowing out of Stephen Miller, it seems to me. You know, Stephen, absolutely. From the first administration and Donald Trump, because he's in declining cognitive health, it seems like he's being, I mean, it's just all bets are off and the people who want to do the most dangerous, sinister things around him are, are now allowed to do that full throttle.

[E]

I don't think he's actually running the country right now. I don't think he's actually in charge of what is happening here. I think this is a Stephen Miller operation that we're seeing. You know, he's too busy, I think Trump is too busy focusing on showing the Melania movie tonight, apparently that he's hosting, where he really should be focused on what is happening right now in the streets of our country. And like, I think these people that are out there that are showing up in this bitter cold have absolutely should continue to show up and document, stay peaceful. But I think it's incredibly important to document what is happening here because I think we need to keep people accountable and it may not happen in a moment, but keep documenting.

[A]

That's such a great point. It's such a great point. And it seems to me if you look at the video, it looks as though the Pink lady video, as it's being called, forgive me for using that vernacular. But it looks as though what the ICE agents are doing in this particular video, and we've seen this and a few other instances that have been documented, is they're trying to stop observers from getting video of what they're doing.

[B]

Absolutely.

[A]

And they're shit.

[B]

Exactly.

[E]

And they're getting upset and they're getting angry. But hey, listen, we have the absolute right to document. We have the absolute right to film things.

[A]

I mean, that's right.

[E]

They are. It is within their right to bear witness to what is happening here, especially in a moment like this in this country when the federal law enforcement operatus is out of control. Jim. And I say that as someone who served at Homeland Security for a very long time. This is not Homeland Security or law enforcement, as many have stated. Right. I mean, if you have been in this community, you know that this is crossing the line and it's actually endangering people is what it's doing. And so what these people are doing out there, they're saying, get out. Get out of our state. And the federal government needs to respect that. And I would hope that they would. But like you said, I think this is Stephen Miller's dream and this is the kind of country that he wants. He wants those images of fear. And so I don't know what the next step will be. I don't see them leaving. Given the press conference we saw today from the head of CBP Border Patrol. And like the statements that we're seeing from the administration, it doesn't seem like they are actually going to do the responsible thing for US Leadership and actually abide and really work with the community there to really bring down the temperature there.

[A]

This is, yeah, you know, this is not homeland security. This is homeland terrorism. And they're, they're. The cruelty is the point. The fear is the point. The terror is the point. They don't want the people on the streets documenting this stuff. They think if they ratchet up the fear and the terror that people will stay in their homes. Like you see what happens in Russia. I mean, you know, this is not about funding ice. It's not about funding DHS right now. This is about whether we're going to fund a secret police in this country, a Putin like thug ocracy secret police that can just beat the shit and kill people in cold blood without any accountability whatsoever. And what separates the United States from places like Russia and other authoritarian regimes like that is we don't. We used to not have that here. We're not supposed to have that here the people are supposed to be in charge of the law enforcement and the government and the people with the guns, not the other way around.

[E]

Yeah. And I'll say this. You know, there's a lot of terminology to be thrown around by the leadership and the federal government right now, especially at dhs. And they're saying, oh, well, these were trained people. These are trained agents. I will say they. They're. They. They have not produced at scale the kind of operations that they are doing right now in the streets.

[A]

Yeah.

[E]

And so I'd say that we are in uncharted territory here. And so I think that. I think that, you know, they need to be reined in because the dynamics here and the behavior and the characteristics that they are exhibiting are truly actually un American to what we know to be right. Of what this is, of an operation like this. And just. It's just awful.

[A]

It is awful.

[E]

And there will be more.

[A]

And there will be more.

[E]

I said that this would happen again, and here we are. And there will be more until this type of police force, I've heard people call them gestapo, and that's really how they're operating right now. So I can't think of a better term for them right now. But until this dynamic gets toned down, I think we're going to continue to see this.

[A]

Unfortunately, I think you're right. And people need to understand. Olivia worked for the first Trump administration. Republican, somebody who believes in a restrained government state. I mean, that is the. That is supposed to be the ideology of conservative Republicans. Don't tread on me. That the government can't come after us like this. And. And, you know, to me, it takes me back to what Stuart Stevens has said. It's all a lie. It's all a lie. It just seems to me that a lot of Republicans. It was all a lie. And, you know, what. What is happening to this country, it is just absolutely. It makes me sick. It makes me sick to see this unfold. But, Olivia, thank you for coming on and sharing your thoughts. I really appreciate it.

[E]

Thanks for having me.

[A]

Yeah. Good to see you again. Thank you so much, Olivia. I really appreciate it. Yeah, you too. It really is my friend Olivia Troy there, folks. I got to wrap this up, but, you know, listen, it was important for me to jump on with you today. I hope I didn't get too hot under the collar in my comments. And. And I want to be judicious in my comments, too, and. And what I'm seeing and how I'm reporting on this and how I'm Talking about this, but I'm pissed, guys. I am pissed. I am, I am seething. I'm seething right now. I'm sick to my stomach. I'm angry. I'm furious, outraged. And I want to be judicious, I want to be thoughtful in this moment. But it seems to me that what we're seeing right now, it, it should boil the blood of every good American. What we're seeing right now in the street should boil the blood of every good American. And my blood is boiling right now, ladies and gentlemen. It is. I, I'm, I'm, I'm about to blow. I, I'm, I'm just absolutely sickened by this. This is. There's a man in, in Minneapolis who is dead today. He should be, he should be walking around and alive right now, but he was killed in cold blood by our government. And it seems to me that, that something has got to give. Something has to give. And so I, you know, you've heard me pop off here, and, and I certainly feel like doing that right now. But I just want to say that in my heart of hearts, deep down, what I'm thinking at this moment is I, I am going to be thinking deeply and, and praying deeply for this country this weekend. I'm going to be just thinking and praying and, and searching my thoughts to see if I can find the words to articulate what is going through my mind right now. Because I don't want to say what I think I'm feeling in my heart right now, which is that we are being betrayed as Americans. We are being betrayed as citizens of this great country, this country that I've always felt so proud to be a citizen of. And as Marie was saying earlier, my father, he came to this country from Cuba in 1962, three weeks before the Cuban Missile Crisis. I can't imagine him coming to this country as a little boy and, and being terrorized by the government the way little children are being terrorized by the government now. I can't imagine him being ripped, Ripped away from his mother the way the little children are being ripped away from their mothers now. I, I, I, I didn't think I would see a moment come to pass in this country where just ordinary citizens, regular citizens, good Americans, good citizens, take to the streets and want to film and document what is taking place as observers as, as constitutionally protected observers being killed in cold blood in this country. I didn't, I didn't think we'd see this moment, but this is where we are. And it seems to me is that this is a spark. This is a. This is a turning point in this country. What we're seeing right now, folks, we're in the middle of it. We're feeling it. We're seeing it in real time. It is time for the people of this country to rise up. It is time for the people of this country to say, no more. It is time for the people of this country to say, we're not going to take it anymore.

[C]

Anymore.

[A]

We're mad as hell. We're not going to take it anymore because we love this country too much. I want to thank everybody who joined me today and Ritza, Nick, Maria and Olivia. Thanks to all of you for tuning in. Please spend some time thinking deeply about what we could do for this country. Pray. Say a prayer. My fear is it's going to get worse before it gets better, ladies and gentlemen. But in the meantime, thank you for watching. Still reporting from Washington, I'm Jim Acosta. God bless. See you next time.