Runaway Country with Alex Wagner (Crooked Media)

Episode: On the Ground in Minnesota

Date: January 29, 2026

Overview

This week, Alex Wagner travels to the epicenter of the Trump administration’s latest “Operation Metro Surge” in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Amidst a chilling political climate, Alex sheds media spectacle to focus on the lived reality: public executions by federal agents, a community under siege, and the grassroots resistance holding a traumatized population together. Through firsthand accounts and interviews with parents, faith leaders, and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, the episode explores the human cost of federal immigration crackdowns and contemplates how Minnesota’s struggle will shape national resistance and policy.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting the Scene: Fear and Occupation in Minneapolis

• [01:02–07:55]
  • Alex reports from the Minneapolis airport, where ICE deportation flights occur. A bus filled with detainees just left for destinations unclear, leaving families in the dark.
  • Community terror is acute: ICU nurse Alex Preddy was recently killed by ICE agents on camera. The shooting site has become a vigil, its walls covered in flowers, candles, and graffiti.
  • Federal officials like Greg Bavino present a narrative of law enforcement under attack, but even Republican commentators and NRA figures publicly refute these claims ([03:40–04:46]).
    • Notable Quote:
      Dana Loesch: "Simply approaching law enforcement with a firearm isn't indicative of ill intent, nor is it a crime." ([04:01])
    • Ted Cruz: "Escalating the rhetoric doesn't help ... be more measured, recognize the tragedy ..." ([04:26])

2. Rising Tensions, Shifting Figures, and Community Response

• Personnel Shifts:
  • Greg Bavino ousted, Tom Homan (infamous for family separation and under FBI investigation) installed, ICE's campaign persists.
• Grassroots Organizing:
  • Libby, a parent-turned-organizer, shares the trauma and adaptation after ICE raids targeted local daycares.
    [05:38–22:57]
    • Daycares now keep kids inside, windows have blinds drawn at all times.
    • Parent patrols formed, standing guard at drop-off/pick-up, organizing 130+ weekly rides so teachers and staff aren't left vulnerable.
    • ICE’s tactics described as indiscriminate, detaining teachers with legal status out of confusion or bias; deportations happen before lawyers or families can intervene.
      Notable Quote:
      Libby: "There's restrictions on their lives at this point. They no longer get to go outside during daycare." ([09:50])
    • Emotional toll: Organizers question their ability to endure, worry about childcare shortages, teachers self-deporting, and the underlying goal of erasing non-white, multilingual communities. Notable Quote:
      Libby: "Part of the Trump Manifesto is to make America white again... What better way to do that than make it untenable for kids to learn Spanish?" ([16:58])
    • Despite the fear, Libby stresses the need for grace and unity among parents, even when tensions run high. Notable Quote:
      Libby: "The most important thing is to give everyone grace ... we're fighting a bigger fight." ([20:30])
    • On ICE agents themselves: "There's humanity in the people who are ICE agents as well. ... People do bad things sometimes, but people aren't inherently bad guys." ([21:57])

3. Faith Under Fire: The Church as Sanctuary

• [26:48–39:36] — Reverend Dan Johnson, Park Avenue United Methodist Church
  • The church, steps from the site of police killings, becomes an ad hoc trauma center—opening doors to protestors after pepper spray and flashbangs, providing emergency care with baby shampoo and water. Notable Quote:
    Rev. Johnson: "It was an intentional occupation ... intimidation of folks ... blocking off these main arteries into Minneapolis." ([27:22])
  • Ministries forced to go online or by appointment for safety; mutual aid shifts from monthly food drives to home delivery. Even citizens with no risk of deportation fear walking their dogs. Notable Quote:
    Rev. Johnson: "We can't make promises. ... We can tell them that they don't walk alone. This congregation is with them. Literally walking with them on these streets." ([35:52])
  • Church responds to trauma with therapy, meditation, and healing spaces.
  • Johnson condemns “Christian nationalism” and points out the bitter irony of federal ICE operations headquartered in a building named after a bishop who fought for the marginalized. Notable Quote:
    "Christian nationalism is doing the cause of Jesus a disservice ... [Bishop Whipple] is turning over in his grave.” ([37:46])
  • On engagement: “If you took your mask off, would you be the same person?” ([39:36])

4. The Legal and Political Fight: Interview with Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison

[43:59–84:55]

On Federal Tactics and Political Posturing

• Ellison decries the politicization by Attorney General Pam Bondi, who issues threats and subpoenas against state officials while refusing to investigate egregious cases like Renee Goode’s killing by a federal agent. Notable Quote:
  Ellison: "What [the AG] says is fundamentally and inherently political, completely untethered to justice." ([45:03])
• Ellison is “optimistic” that public outcry and political fallout may force federal de-escalation, not for justice but for optics.

On State Sovereignty and Federal Overreach

• Details a federal lawsuit asserting Minnesota’s right to reject federal paramilitary action under the 10th Amendment (“commandeering” state law enforcement). Notable Quote:
  "We're opening the door for the federal government takeover of state authority and power ... if they can't do it with legislation or executive order, they sure cannot do it at the barrel of a gun." ([50:10])

On Blackmail and Extortion

• Trump administration openly links ICE presence to demands for confidential state data—voter rolls, SNAP data, etc. Notable Quotes:
  Alex Wagner: "That’s insane. That letter was sent to your state the day Alex Preddy was killed in the street." ([54:02]) Ellison: "What they're doing is saying to any state that defies us, we will punish you for that ... by sending armed paramilitaries to stick a gun in your face." ([55:09])

On Federal Investigations: Fox Guarding the Henhouse

• ICE is investigating itself in the Preddy and Good shootings; local authorities and even the FBI have limited access. This, Ellison stresses, is a cover-up. Notable Quote:
  "It is antithetical to any system of justice for the institution that produced the person who did the wrongful, questionable act to investigate that same act." ([61:51])
  • Efforts underway to secure evidence via court order and include local/state investigative agencies.

On ICE's Culture and Dangers

• ICE agents are often poorly trained, untethered to the community, act with impunity, and will enforce Trump’s political will without question. Notable Quotes: Ellison: "We're not getting, to use Trump's phrase, we're not getting the best ... we're getting these people who couldn't hold a security job at a grocery store ... told they have absolute immunity, which they don’t." ([74:07]) "If I said, go arrest the governor, do you think ICE agents wouldn’t do it? ... They are a paramilitary Praetorian guard." ([76:27])
• Notes that ICE violence impacts all, regardless of race: "If you as a Minnesotan think, 'Well, I’m not a person of color, so they probably won't hurt me.' Oh no, they'll kill you. They have." ([76:16])

On Ilhan Omar and Stochastic Terrorism

• Trump’s rhetoric against Congresswoman Omar leads directly to her being targeted in an attack; Ellison labels this stochastic terrorism—inciting violence through persistent demonization. Notable Quote:
  "It’s just like a Mafia boss saying ... why will no one get rid of this person? ... What it means is one of y’all go kill him." ([79:03])

On Advice for Other States

• Ellison's playbook: Prepare memos challenging federal overreach, show up at protests/meetings, support protestors directly, never abandon core values even under threat. Notable Quote:
  "We're in the bullseye of Donald Trump because we have paid family leave, because we believe that our trans neighbors have every right to respect and dignity ... Never quit. If you do quit, it won't gain you anything ... Why not fight and maybe win?" ([83:34])

5. National and Legislative Context

• Senate Democrats attempt to add ICE reforms as conditions for further funding; Ellison urges them to “throw down” and use their leverage, as even some national Republicans are wavering in support of current tactics.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "Drop off and pick up. Yep." (Libby, on the daily patrols, [06:47])
• "How dare I feel sad that I have to text when my children are around? When, like, other people, moms are having to worry about if they're gonna see their children again or get to go home to their children?" (Libby, [19:23])
• “The shouts of mourning were so loud and the shouts of joy were so loud that they couldn’t distinguish between the two. And that’s a little bit of what it feels like to be a pastor in the midst of this.” (Rev. Johnson, [29:01])
• "ICE must hand over the investigation to the FBI and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension." (Ellison, [61:51])
• "If you're not willing to fight over this, how do you call yourself a public servant?" (Ellison, on ICE reforms in Congress, [57:30])
• "This is what's going on. Poorly trained, poorly recruited, misinformed people who have a complex relationship with masculinity." (Ellison, [75:39])
• "Ilhan Omar might not weigh 100 pounds soaking wet, but Ilhan Omar has the heart of a lion." (Ellison, [79:52])
• "He will quit before we do. And that's the lessons I got." (Ellison, [84:44])

Key Timestamps

• 01:02–07:55: Introduction; on-the-ground reporting from Minneapolis, background on recent ICE shootings (Preddy, Goode).
• 05:38–22:57: Interview with Libby (parent/organizer): daily life, safety measures, emotional toll, parent patrols.
• 26:48–39:36: Conversation with Rev. Dan Johnson: church’s response, faith in crisis, trauma in the community.
• 43:59–84:55: Deep-dive interview with Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison: political context, legal battles, ICE tactics, blackmail for state data, federalism, advice to other blue states.

Themes & Tone

• Urgency & Outrage: The episode is unflinching in describing the violence, fear, and systematized cruelty unleashed on Minnesota’s immigrant and non-white communities.
• Empathy: Alex Wagner foregrounds the voices and stories of ordinary people, emphasizing both their trauma and their resilience.
• Disbelief & Irony: The juxtaposition of official narratives (law and order) with on-the-ground reality yields moments of dark irony and incredulity (e.g., ICE operations in the Bishop Whipple building).
• Defiance: Despite fear and exhaustion, speakers remain committed to resistance, mutual aid, and the assertion of human dignity.

For Listeners Who Haven’t Heard the Episode

This episode immerses you in Minnesota’s daily chaos under Trump-era ICE repression—public shootings, kidnappings of legal residents, and parents mobilizing to keep children and teachers safe. The institutional church becomes a first-responder hub, while the state’s attorney general unveils the legal battle for sovereignty and accountability. The takeaway: Minnesota is the testing ground for strategies both of authoritarian overreach and grassroots resistance, with national implications for civil rights, federalism, and democracy.

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