Enforce the Law or We'll Recall

Minnesota has the power to stop ICE. But it's aiming at the wrong target.

Apologies for going dark yesterday—we were battening down for the winter storm. Coverage may be spotty this weekend as it passes through.

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The high in Minneapolis yesterday was negative 9 degrees. Windchill hit 35 below zero. MSNBC’s camera froze—not a technical glitch, the equipment literally stopped working because it was too cold.¹

Thousands of people took to the streets anyway.

They shut down businesses. They organized a general strike—no work, no school, no shopping. A hundred clergy members knelt in prayer at the airport, sang hymns, refused to move, and got arrested peacefully.¹ In weather that can kill you in minutes, they demanded ICE get out.

That’s extraordinary power. The kind of power that changes things. The kind of power that wins.

But power misdirected is power wasted. And right now, you’re asking people who don’t have to act—while the people who legally must act do nothing.

Aim it at the right target.

The Wrong Target

The airport protest was aimed at Delta and Signature Aviation.¹ The ask: pressure the airlines to pressure the airport to maybe stop cooperating with ICE deportation flights.

That’s three degrees of separation from anyone with actual authority. Private companies with no obligation to act. A long chain of maybes.

At the Whipple Federal Building—ICE’s Minneapolis headquarters—protesters blocked an access road.² But ICE agents aren’t going to stop because you blocked their driveway. They don’t answer to you. They answer to Washington.

Worse: the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office reported ice chunks thrown at vehicles, broken windows.² Whether true or exaggerated, it doesn’t matter—the footage is what the administration wanted. Violent agitators. Lawless protesters. That’s the narrative, and now they have B-roll.

Meanwhile, elected officials who swore oaths to uphold the law sit on their hands. Governor Walz has 13,000 National Guard troops. Mayor Frey has 600 police officers. They’re watching crimes happen and doing nothing to stop them.

So much for “law and order.”

The Crimes

Governor Walz himself described what ICE is doing in Minnesota. In his own words:

“They’re breaking windows, dragging pregnant women down the street, just plain grabbing Minnesotans and shoving them into unmarked vans, kidnapping innocent people with no warning and no due process.”³

Chongli Thao. Liam Ramos. Renee Good. A citizen dragged out in his boxers.¹ A five-year-old in a cage.¹ A woman shot dead in her car. And that’s just to name a few.

The governor calls this “a campaign of organized brutality.”³ He calls it “unlawful.” He calls it “atrocities.”³

Then he asks Minnesotans to film it and “bank evidence for future prosecution.”³

Evidence for what? Crimes. He’s describing crimes. And doing nothing to stop them.

These aren’t isolated incidents. They’re a pattern. And the pattern continues because no one is enforcing the law.

State Law Applies

Let’s be clear: ICE agents aren’t above the law. Federal authority doesn’t override state criminal law—you can’t kidnap someone just because you’re a federal agent.

“There is nothing such as absolute immunity,” Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said. “That is not a thing.”⁴

If an ICE agent violates Minnesota’s criminal laws, Moriarty has jurisdiction to charge. Even if the feds try to remove the case to federal court, state law still applies.⁴ The investigation into the agent who killed Renee Good proves it—charges are still possible.⁴

The state can enforce the law. Its leaders are choosing not to.

Nonfeasance

Governor Walz acknowledges crimes are being committed. He has 13,000 National Guard troops. He’s not deploying them.

Mayor Frey says he has 600 officers against 3,000 ICE agents. But are those 600 officers being directed to arrest federal agents who break state law? No.

Their job isn’t to order citizens to subject themselves to ongoing crimes—then ask them to document it for some future prosecution. Their job is to stop crimes while they’re happening.

The federal government is violating state sovereignty. Minnesota’s leaders are holding the door open.

Minnesota law has a name for this: nonfeasance—”intentional, repeated failure to perform required duties.”⁵

And nonfeasance is grounds for recall.

The Recall Option

We’ve read the statutes. We’ve checked every major city charter. The law is on your side:

• Governor: Nonfeasance is grounds for recall.⁵

• St. Paul mayor: 20% of voters—no specific grounds required.⁶

• Duluth mayor: 25% of voters.⁷

• Rochester mayor: Court finds nonfeasance first—but the evidence is already public.⁸

Minneapolis is the exception—voters can't recall the mayor. But the City Council can remove him with a two-thirds vote.⁹ The council has thirteen members. Nine votes. Find nine who will—and if they won't, protest them until they do.

Recall isn’t easy. But it’s possible. And that’s leverage.

The Demand

If you can organize a general strike at 35 below zero, you can collect signatures. You can show up at city council meetings. You can make it clear: act or get replaced.

Stop asking airlines to maybe do something. Stop handing ICE the propaganda they want. Start demanding that elected officials enforce the law—or face recall.

Enforce the law or we’ll recall.

Put it on signs. Chant it in the streets. You braved -35 windchill to demand action. Don't let them mistake your courage for a one-day stand. Make every mayor, every governor, every police chief understand: you're watching, you're organized, and you know how to replace them—not in some future election, now.

You already have the numbers. Now you have the knowledge and strategy. Use them.

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The Call

This isn’t an isolated incident. We track stories like this using the fascism syndrome—ten indicators that a democracy is sliding into fascism—so you don’t lose the thread in the daily chaos:

• War on reality: The governor describes kidnapping and assault. The administration calls it “immigration enforcement.”

• Erosion of due process: Citizens dragged from homes. Asylum seekers caged mid-case. No warning. No warrant. No rights.

• Normalization of political violence: Three thousand armed federal agents deployed against a civilian population. A woman shot dead in her car.

• Weaponized justice: DOJ tried to investigate Renee Good—the woman ICE shot—as the suspect. A federal magistrate rejected the warrant. An FBI supervisor resigned rather than comply.

Kidnapping. Assault. Murder. And the people with the power to stop it won’t act. That’s not law enforcement. That’s fascism enabled by cowardice.

But we’re not here just to tell you the house is on fire.

We built this publication to equip you with the tools to fight back—the frameworks, the messaging, the strategies that actually work. See the links below. But we can only keep doing this with your help. If this matters to you, please consider becoming a paid subscriber. You keep the fight alive.

• Fighting Fascism: How We Push Back and Win — The strategic playbook for reclaiming power

• The Trump Regime Messaging Guide — How to talk to people who’ve been captured by the machine

• The Freedom Illusion — How we got here, and the counter-ideology that gets us out

1. MS Now, “Americans grow more OUTRAGED as Trump’s ICE grows more outrageous“, MSNBC, January 24, 2026.

Covers Friday’s protests in Minneapolis where thousands braved -9°F highs and -35°F windchills, organizing a general strike with hundreds of businesses closed. Documents the airport protest targeting Delta and Signature Aviation, the arrest of 100 clergy members, and the MSNBC camera that literally froze. Reports on the Chongli Thao case—a US citizen dragged from his home in boxers—and the ongoing detention of five-year-old Liam Ramos in a Texas facility.

2. FOX 9, “ICE Out protests in MN: Arrests at MSP Airport, dispersal order at Whipple“, January 23, 2026.

Reports on the January 23 “ICE Out of Minnesota” day of action. Documents that protesters blocked an access road at the Whipple Federal Building and refused multiple requests to clear it. Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office reported “ice chunks thrown at multiple vehicles, breaking windows” and issued three dispersal orders for an “unlawful protest.” Provides the administration’s desired narrative of violent, lawless protesters—whether accurate or not.

3. Tim Walz (address), “Read Gov. Tim Walz’s full address on ICE actions in Minnesota“, Pioneer Press, January 14, 2026.

Full transcript of Governor Walz’s January 14 address describing ICE actions in Minnesota. Walz explicitly describes federal agents “breaking windows, dragging pregnant women down the street,” “kidnapping innocent people,” and conducting “a campaign of organized brutality.” He calls the targeting “unlawful,” refers to “atrocities against Minnesotans,” and asks citizens to document ICE activity to “bank evidence for future prosecution”—yet does not deploy the 13,000 National Guard troops at his disposal.

4. Mary Moriarty (interview), “‘State law applies’: No ‘absolute immunity’ for Trump’s ICE henchmen, prosecutor says“, MSNBC, January 24, 2026.

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty explains that federal agents have no absolute immunity from state prosecution—”that is not a thing.” Confirms her office has jurisdiction to charge if ICE agents violate Minnesota criminal laws, that state law applies even if the case is removed to federal court, and that charges in the Renee Good killing remain possible.

5. Ballotpedia, “Laws governing recall in Minnesota“, 2025.

Documents Minnesota’s recall provisions under state constitution Article VIII, Section 6 and Minnesota Statutes 211C. Governor recall requires proving malfeasance (intentional unlawful acts) or nonfeasance (intentional, repeated failure to perform required duties). Petition requires signatures equal to 25% of votes cast for governor in last election. Supreme Court reviews whether grounds are sufficient within 10 days.

6. City of St. Paul, “City Charter, Chapter 8: Initiative, Referendum, and Recall“, 2025.

St. Paul’s charter allows recall of the mayor with signatures from 20% of those who voted for mayor in the last city election. No specific grounds required—only a “brief description of the grounds for recall.” Special election held within 60 days of petition being found sufficient. No recall during first or last six months of term.

7. City of Duluth, “City Charter, Chapter VII, Section 50: Recall“, 2025.

Duluth’s charter allows recall of any elected official with signatures from 25% of total ballots cast in the last general municipal election. Petition must include statement of grounds (200 words max). Election held 40-50 days after petition found sufficient. No recall until officer has held office for six months.

8. City of Rochester, “City Charter, Section 3.07: Removal of elected officers“, 2025.

Rochester uses a court-first removal process. Fifty registered voters can file a verified complaint in Olmsted County District Court alleging malfeasance or nonfeasance. If the court finds wrongdoing, findings are published and council calls an election. Voters then decide if the acts constitute sufficient cause for removal. Higher evidentiary bar than St. Paul or Duluth, but the governor’s own public statements describing ICE crimes could serve as evidence.

9. Minneapolis Charter Commission, “Recall of Elected Officials Work Group Report“, January 27, 2023.

Documents that Minneapolis charter does not include recall provisions. City Council can remove mayor by two-thirds vote “for cause after notice and hearing” under Article VIII, Section 8.2(g)(3). Work Group unanimously recommended against adding voter recall, citing potential for “abusive process.”