Protesters take cover behind overturned trash containers as a line of federal agents forms a barricade in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on January 24, 2026. KEREM YUCEL / AFP
The White House was plagued by moral paralysis and intellectual insularity until it was confronted with the unyielding reality of the events in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Monday, January 26. Federal agents shot and killed two American citizens in the streets, even though neither posed any direct threat to them. On January 7, it was Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother, behind the wheel of her car at the scene of an ICE operation targeting undocumented migrants. On January 24, it was Alex Pretti, an intensive care nurse, also 37, who was filming another intervention on his phone.
Biographical details described them as two empathetic, committed and well-liked people. The federal authorities, however, did exactly the opposite of what is expected in a state governed by the rule of law. Instead of expressing emotion over a tragedy, they immediately trampled on the memory of the two victims, describing them as "domestic terrorists." Instead of promising a thorough investigation, they repeated blatant lies and preemptively excused the agents involved. Rather than taking responsibility for a crisis entirely of their own making, marked by a theatrical deployment of thousands of police officers in Minneapolis, they shifted the blame onto local Democratic elected officials, including Mayor Jacob Frey and Governor Tim Walz.
