Judge Reins In ICE In MN, The Spanberger Era Begins In Richmond, Coons Delegation Expresses Solidarity With Europe/NATO In Denmark

Remarkably we already hit our $50k goal for the Minnesota DFL - thank you all!

Morning all. Last night a federal judge put restrictions of the actions of DHS/ICE in Minnesota:

More from The NYT:

A federal judge in Minnesota imposed restrictions on the actions of immigration agents toward protesters in the state on Friday, a decision that comes after weeks of mounting tension between demonstrators and federal officers.

Judge Kate M. Menendez ordered agents not to retaliate against people “engaging in peaceful and unobstructive protest activity,” and not to use pepper spray or other “crowd dispersal tools” in retaliation for protected speech. The judge also said agents could not stop or detain protesters in vehicles who were not “forcibly obstructing or interfering with” agents.

The ruling, which granted a preliminary injunction, stems from a lawsuit brought by activists who said agents had violated their rights. The suit was filed before an immigration agent shot and killed Renee Good in Minneapolis on Jan. 7.

It’s welcome news. The news, however, that the regime has launched criminal investigations into Governor Walz and Mayor Frey is not:

From The AP:

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Justice Department is investigating whether Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey have impeded federal immigration enforcement through public statements they have made, two people familiar with the matter said Friday.

The investigation, which both Walz and Frey said was a bullying tactic meant to threaten political opposition, focused on potential violation of a conspiracy statute, the people said.

The people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss a pending investigation by name.

Our battle in Minnesota rages on. Last night Minnesota State Democratic Party Chair Richard Carlbom joined us to kick off a campaign to get the MN Dem Party the resources they need to meet the moment on the ground in Minnesota. Our goal was to raise $50,000 by February 15th. Incredibly, thanks to this incredible community, we’ve already surpassed our goal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you all.

This week we need to be very, very loud. Everyone here should be calling and contacting their two Senators and demand that in the budget negotiations with Republicans that we work to restore rule of law in Minnesota, rein in ICE’s lawlessness, and roll back the funding increase the agency received in the big ugly and wildly unpopular bill. We need to do this for what ICE is doing is wrong, illiberal, dangerous, and un-American; the courts keep ruling against DHS/ICE again and again for what they are doing is so obviously illegal; and we need to do this for what is happening in Minnesota is practice for Stephen Miller, practice so he can bring these terror tactics to other states and cities in the months ahead.

The Congressional trip to Denmark Senator Coons discussed with us on Thursday has gotten a lot of very good press:

Here’s an excerpt from a Washington Post story, In Denmark, U.S. lawmakers contradict Trump on need to own Greenland:

Making a symbolic visit to Copenhagen, a bipartisan delegation of U.S. lawmakers — including senior members of the House and Senate — tried to reassure leaders of Denmark and Greenland, and their increasingly anxious citizens, that most Americans do not support President Donald Trump’s plan to annex or buy Greenland, let alone the prospect of military action against a fellow NATO ally.

The Congressional visit comes as tensions are soaring over the Trump’s threats. Thousands gathered Saturday in Denmark for “Hands-off Greenland” protests, with gatherings also planned for later in Greenland’s capital, organizers said.

“It is important to underscore that when you ask the American people whether or not they think it is a good idea for the United States to acquire Greenland, the vast majority — some 75 percent — will say we do not think that that is a good idea,” Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said Friday at a news conference after the American group met counterparts in the Danish Parliament. “This senator from Alaska does not think it is a good idea.”

“Greenland needs to be viewed as our ally, not as an asset,” Murkowski added.

Asked how Trump might be stopped in his quest to obtain Greenland, Murkowski suggested Congress would assert its authority. “You are hearing from the executive branch,” she said. “The Congress also has a role.”

But even as the delegation was in the Danish capital, to “lower the temperature” as Sen. Chris Coons (D-Delaware) phrased it, Trump on Friday threatened to impose tariffs on nations that oppose his plans.

Trump at a White House meeting said he “may put a tariff on countries if they don’t go along with Greenland,” without specifying which nations he had in mind or how he would gauge the refusal to support his demands. Trump has insisted that the U.S. must control Greenland for national security reasons. Many European leaders, including major NATO allies, have voiced dismay over Trump’s rhetoric about Greenland, which is an autonomous territory of Denmark.

Coons, at Friday’s news conference in Copenhagen, accused Trump of exaggerating the security risks posed to Greenland. “Are there real pressing threats to the security of Greenland from China and Russia,” Coons asked. “No. Not today. Are there real opportunities for us to partner through NATO to contribute to Arctic security? Yes. And if we ask respectfully and we plan together, we can achieve that goal.”

Denmark has said the huge, strategically located Arctic territory, rich in minerals but with roughly just 57,000 residents, is not for sale. European leaders have said that decisions about Greenland’s future should be made only by Denmark and Greenland.

In addition to members of Parliament, the U.S. lawmakers also met Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen and Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen.

Anders Fogh Rasmussen, a former NATO secretary general and former Danish prime minister, said in an interview with Danish television that Trump’s threats had shaken his view of the United States. “It’s a difficult development,” Rasmussen said. “I have always looked up to the U.S.A. as a champion of the free world.”

And today we take back the governor’s mansion in Virginia! Congratulations to everyone who worked on this big, important win:

Now, Let’s Get To Work People!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Winning The Midterms - Support Our Candidates

• Hopium’s Winning The House Campaign (2026) - $73,300 raised, $250,000 goal (new stretch goal) - Donate to all four endorsed House challengers with one click | Learn More | Enjoy our new conversations with Christina Bohannan (IA-01), Mayor Paige Cognetti (PA-08), Jo Mendoza (AZ-06), and Janelle Stelson (PA-10)

• Mary Peltola For Alaska Senate - $16,100 raised, $250,000 goal - Donate | Volunteer and learn more. Amazing start everyone!

• Winning Ohio - $13,200 raised, $250,000 goal - Our new campaign splits contributions evenly among Sherrod Brown, the Acton/Pepper ticket, and the Ohio Democratic Party. Donate today and help us turn this critical 2026 battleground blue! | Watch my conversation with David Pepper, who does a great overview of the opportunities we have in Ohio this year

• Roy Cooper for NC Senate (2026) - $66k raised, $250,000 goal - Donate | Learn More | Volunteer | Enjoy my conversation with Gov. Cooper and a new, terrific one with NC Dem Party Chair Anderson Clayton

• Jon Ossoff GA Senate (2026) - $112k raised, $250,000 goal - Donate | Learn More | Volunteer | Enjoy my inspiring conversation with Senator Ossoff

Expanding The Senate and Electoral College Maps, Winning In Red States and Red Places (2026-2032)

• Hopium’s Audacious Expansion Fund - $275,000 raised, $500,000 goal (new stretch goal) - Join our new campaign to expand our map by investing in the Democratic Parties of Alaska, Florida, Iowa, Maine, and Texas. Many thanks to two generous Hopium community members who have audaciously donated $10,000 to each of our five state parties

This recent post recapped our our very productive year together in 2025. In three new essays (here, here, here) I discuss how one of the ways we win the 2026 midterms is by providing early support to our candidates and parties to allow them to staff up, be loud, define the terms of the debate now, before the inevitable onslaught on AI slop, Russian disinfo, and Trumpian lies funded through bribes and corruption wash across the land.

The midterms could be won or lost in these next few months - not in the fall of 2026 - and we need be fighting now with everything we got.

Winning The Big Arguments With Trump, Defend Our Democracy - We have two recommended actions today:

1 - Call Your Senators and Member Of The House And Demand They Act Upon Our Five-Part Agenda - We need to be loud people, very, very loud and make the case for our now five part agenda:

1. Stand with Ukraine and our European allies, and far more forcefully challenge Trump’s traitorous efforts to sell out the US and the West to Russia; demand Congress rebuke/issue a no confidence vote on his current efforts to force Ukraine to surrender

2. Congress must stand forcefully for rule of law in the Caribbean and the Pacific - these illegal strikes must end; no war can be waged without Congressional approval; there must accountability for those who have broken the law, and the US must withdraw from Venezuela and cease other threats to violate the UN Charter and the sovereignty of other nations

3. Roll back Trump’s terrible, illegal tariffs that are re-igniting inflation, driving up prices, shifting the tax burden from the wealthy to working people, hurting small businesses and farmers, reviving tyrannical “taxation without representation,” and alienating governments and people throughout the world. To put America on a sounder fiscal course due to the enormous deficits brought by Trump’s 2025 tax cuts we should reverse these cuts to the wealthy and corporations

4. Defend our democracy, rule of law, and our liberties by blocking the expansion of ICE; restoring due process for immigrants across the country; vigorously defending the 1st Amendment; warring against his outrageous targeting of his domestic political opponents; ending the use of the military on our streets and the dangerous occupation of our cities; stopping the unprecedented regime corruption; and by forcing the Administration to finally comply with Congress end the rancid cover up of the Epstein crimes.

5. Fight Trump’s war on science, higher education and our public health; reverse - not delay - the cuts to the ACA, Medicaid and our clean energy investments; support and co-sponsor the Stand Up For Science/Rep. Haley Stevens effort to remove Robert Kennedy from HHS.

2 - Celebrate America, Our Constitution, Our 250th Birthday By Bringing Our Resolutions Project To Your Community - This July 4th America celebrates it’s 250th birthday. We need to make this holiday, a celebration of our Declaration Of Independence from a mad king, our day, and not allow it to become his.

One way we can do this is by bringing our Resolutions Project to your community or state. Imagine if by July 4th of next year a large number of towns, counties and states had passed formal resolutions, in the spirit of our Declaration of Independence, defending our Constitution and condemning the “injuries,” “abuses,” and “usurpations” of our mad king. For as our Founders wrote in the Declaration:

But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

So far Hopium members have introduced or passed resolutions in 85 communities in 23 states. In the coming days we will be convening to discuss how to bring this campaign to more places and start planning to Own The Fourth next year.

Finally, please self-report your activities to our daily paid subscriber chat. These reports help inspire all of us to do more and fight harder!

Keep working hard everyone, and I remain so incredibly proud to be in this righteous fight with all of you - Simon