Since posting this morning another unarmed observer in Minnesota was shot and killed by ICE. I have posted a new thread on Bluesky with my thoughts, which are in essence a summary of what I’ve been writing here this past week.
Morning all. Yesterday tens of thousands of Minnesotans (some estimates say 75,000) braved -10 degree temperatures for one of the largest public protests against the Trump regime we’ve seen so far. Watch the video above to see the scope and scale of the protest, and check out these photos from Minnesota Star Tribune (below). I now subscribe to the Star Tribune to support their excellent coverage of the Trump regime’s ongoing assault on Minnesota, and encourage you to join me in becoming a free or paid subscriber.
Here’s the front page of the Star Tribune this morning:
Here’s a screen shot of The Guardian’s home page right now today to get a sense of how this is all playing abroad:
Here’s another story from the Star Tribune today that is worth our attention, and outrage. As DHS/ICE cannot work with state and local law enforcement due to their lawless tactics they are having to fly people they detain in Minnesota out of state to other detention facilities. Even children separated from their parents. And some of the people being shipped to these facilities are dying. This is a story of a 34 year old father of two in Minnesota who died EIGHT DAYS after arriving Texas. Imagine the terror this is bringing to targeted communities there. They get you and you can die.
Here’s an excerpt from the story:
The family of a Minnesota man who died at a Texas facility eight days after he was detained in Minneapolis is questioning the circumstances of his death and demanding a more thorough investigation.
Victor Manuel Diaz died Jan. 14 after being found unconscious in the Camp East Montana detention center in El Paso, Texas. Four days later, ICE announced the news, saying in a statement that his death was a “presumed suicide,” though the official cause of death remains under investigation.
Diaz, a 34-year-old father of two, is the third immigrant to die at the makeshift tent facility at Fort Bliss since it opened last August, and which has been plagued by reports of substandard conditions. His death prompted advocacy groups to demand the camp be closed and is also fueling fear for the safety of other Minnesota detainees sent there in recent weeks.
The El Paso county medical examiner said the death of another detainee in early January at the camp likely will be classified as a homicide after witnesses saw him being choked to death by guards, according to the Washington Post, despite federal officials saying the detainee died after attempting to take his own life.
That case shows the need for an independent autopsy in Diaz’s case, said Randall Kallinen, a Houston attorney hired by Diaz’s family. He said after Diaz’s death, ICE decided to have their own doctor perform his autopsy.
“We want our own autopsy done just to check for signs of what really happened,” he said.
Gov. Tim Walz, Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith and other local leaders have called for a full investigation into the death, with Walz adding that it’s “deeply disturbing, especially after reports of growing concerns about the conditions at this facility.”
In December, the ACLU and other human rights groups sent a letter to ICE describing beatings and sexual abuse of immigrants by officers at the camp, among other concerns about the poor conditions and human rights violations.
The family of Renee Good released the results of an autopsy this week that confirmed that the first shots Agent Ross fired into her car at point blank range did not kill her. It was the third shot, taken after he was out of harm’s way, that did. As many prosecutors have argued the case for charging him with intentional homicide is very strong.
Yes, in their haste, bloodlust, and fanaticism they are just killing people.
In a related development on Thursday the regime dismantled a slavery exhibit in Independence National Historic Park:
The city of Philadelphia sued the Department of the Interior and the acting director of the National Park Service on Thursday over reports that slavery exhibits were being dismantled in the city’s historic district.
The suit, filed in federal court, seeks a preliminary injunction to restore the exhibits at the President’s House Site, part of Independence National Historical Park.
The lawsuit says that “the National Park Service has removed artwork and informational displays at the President’s House site referencing slavery, presumably pursuant to the mandate” of Executive Order No. 14253, which President Donald Trump signed in March.
The city said in the suit that it learned Thursday that the educational panels that referred to slavery had been removed.
“Removing the exhibits is an effort to whitewash American history,” Philadelphia City Council President Kenyatta Johnson said in a statement Thursday. “History cannot be erased simply because it is uncomfortable. Removing items from the President’s House merely changes the landscape, not the historical record.”
NBC Philadelphia aired video Thursday that shows people with crowbars taking down panels, one of which reads “The Dirty Business of Slavery.”
The suit says the city was given no notice about the change to the President’s House.
As I’ve been showing you these past few weeks the public has rejected these extreme tactics. Trump’s already low approval rating has dropped in the last 10 days. His rating on “immigration” is now sharply negative. The big NYT this week had Trump 40%-58% on immigration. Polling on ICE is even worse:
36%-63% ICE Approve/Disapprove (NYT)
37%-57% ICE Beneficial/Harmful (Emerson, in a poll 9 pts more favorable to Trump than the average rn)
As I wrote to you yesterday in my post, We Must Choose Freedom, it is time now for the free states and cities to band together with our Congressional leaders to create a unified national front against Trump’s rising authoritarianism and his dangerous, corrupt foreign policy:
In an ideal world, what we would see next week is a public statement signed by all Dem Governors, AGs, Senate and House Democrats that states clearly that
Rule of law must be re-established in America, ICE must be reined in, and Trump’s outrageous plunder and corruption must end
That he must back off his illegal and destructive territorial ambitions, end all these ridiculous tariffs, and re-commit to the Trans-Atlantic Alliance
Stake in ground. Unified voice. Muscular defense of liberty, democracy, and the American creed. Yes, it is time now for something akin to our Letter to America, and for our leaders to make clear, before it is too late, that we are willing to come together and fight for America, freedom, and democracy; and for us to start listing, clearly, his modern day “injuries,” “abuses,” and “usurpations.” That we elected an American President and not a dictator, and it is way past fucking time he start acting like one.
The people of Minnesota are showing us what must be done now. It is time for the rest of the leadership of the Democratic Party, from all across the country, to “abandon caution” and join them. There may have been a moment earlier in Trump’s return that Democrats should have been wary of engaging Trump on immigration. That moment has long passed. For history tells us that appeasement never works, and only encourages authoritarian escalation. At this moment we all need to be as brave as the people of Minnesota.
Together, we must choose freedom.
New Discussions For Weekend Viewing And Listening
On challenging Trump’s abandonment of rule of law, the lawlessness of ICE, the assault on Minnesota - Glenn Kirschner, TNR’s Greg Sargent, Minnesota Democratic Party Chair Richard Carlbom
On countering Trump’s reckless, dangerous foreign policy - Senator Chris Coons, Rep. Adam Smith, Stuart Stevens
On how Trump is leading American to economic and geopolitical ruin - Dr. Rob Shapiro
The great Anderson Clayton gave us an overview of what 2026 looks like in North Carolina, and the opportunities we have there this year
My Wednesday night talk, and a new spirited one from last night with Susan Wagner of the Grassroots Connector
Now, Let’s Get To Work People!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Winning The Midterms - Support Our Candidates
Hopium’s Winning The House Campaign (2026) - $90,000 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 - $21,000 raised, $250,000 goal - Donate | Volunteer and learn more. Amazing start everyone!
Winning Ohio - $41,000 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. Note a generous donor has sent $21,000 worth of Hopium-infused contributions directly to the candidates which are not included in this total.
Roy Cooper for NC Senate (2026) - $69k 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) - $114k 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 - $336,100 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
3 Campaigns Where We’ve Hit Our Goals, But Are Still Active - We have three campaigns where we’ve hit our goals but that folks can still participate in - Ken Martin’s New DNC, Anderson Clayton and the North Carolina Democratic Party, and the Democratic Party of Minnesota (DFL).
We got the following note from Cynthia this week. She is one of the 3,000 Hopium subscribers in Minnesota:
I am a Minnesotan and cannot adequately express the depth of my gratitude to Simon for this conversation with Richard and organizing this fundraiser and to each person that donated. My heart is full and tears are running down my face. Thank you to everyone who has supported and spoke up for Minnesota in any way and pushed back against ICE and DHS anywhere.
This is the absolutely the most unsafe I’ve ever felt where I live. It far exceeds anything I’ve experienced, and I am white. It affects my decisions every time I go outside. I continue to call my reps and work with my friends and my partner to offer mutual aid, get training, and help others. My neighborhood has been quiet and we’re looking for more ways to help others in more affected areas. We are attending the Solidarity Mobilizations this coming Tues and next: https://www.mobilize.us/surj/event/885616/
I attended an excellent online event with Indivisible this week about the caucuses, plan to attend myself, and have gotten 2 more people to go already, with more on my call list.
I went to the annual art sled rally this weekend. It is one of my favorite events of the year! So much laughter, fun, and delight. Thankfully, there wasn’t ICE presence during the event that I’m aware of. Look for the Minnesota 2026 art sled rally on YouTube if you haven’t seen it yet!
Why We Must Invest Early, Now, And Not Wait - 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:
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 new threats to seize Greenland and his new, dangerous European tariffs;
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
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 the cuts to the wealthy and corporations
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.
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
