Free Republic

Minnesota’s standoff with the Trump administration amid its immigration crackdown in the state has made a political tinderbox of the Twin Cities, as devolving clashes between protesters and federal agents stoke fears of a bigger brewing conflict. Local officials have deemed the surge of immigration enforcement officers a “federal invasion,” doubling down in the courts and in public remarks as federal confrontations with Minnesota residents turned violent, then deadly. The fatal shooting of 37-year-old intensive care nurse Alex Pretti brought the standoff to a cliff edge — and both President Trump and the state seem to have changed course.But as...

U.S. Sen. Susan Collins said early Thursday that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has ended its enhanced immigration operation in the state of Maine. The Republican senator said she had several “direct conversations” with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem since the agency launched its operation over a week ago, which comes after she’d received no information from the agency at the start of its heightened presence. While not saying when the operation ended, Collins said in a statement, “There are currently no ongoing or planned large-scale ICE operations here.” It is unclear how U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity...

@Holden_Culotta Thomas Massie just exposed that Trump is threatening to “ruin” his supporters’ businesses if they fund his campaign. “I’m not talking about IRS audits.” “It’s bigger than that.” “Here’s what happens behind the scenes … ” First, Trump allies are coercing Massie’s consultants into quitting his re-election campaign: “Three of my consultants have quit on my campaign, all three for the same reason.” “They were told: your other 30 clients will fire you if you keep working for Massie.” “They make it hard to hire people.” “I really love the consultants I got now, because they’re the ones who...

The National Rifle Association (NRA) criticized comments by a senior federal prosecutor warning that approaching law enforcement with a gun could justify a fatal police response, saying such statements risk "demonizing law‑abiding citizens" as the nation reels from the killing of a man in Minneapolis by a U.S. border agent.

The value of the U.S. dollar plunged Tuesday, after President Donald Trump said he was not concerned about the currency's recent drop. "I think it’s great," Trump said, speaking to reporters in Iowa, when asked if the dollar's value had declined too much. “The dollar’s doing great.” Before Trump's comments, the benchmark ICE U.S. Dollar Index was already on pace to record its worst three-day drop since Trump's April 2025 "Liberation Day" tariff rollout. After Trump’s comments, the value of the dollar as measured by the index sharply extended its slide to as much as 1.5%, putting it on track...

Around here I don't need to explain the dynamics of a huge confrontation between globalists-Democrats-leftists and the president and his team and support base. It is the extension of the confrontations of the past three elections. I've been uneasy with Trump's performance and behavior, I think some people want a Pinochet type leader which might in itself be incompatible with the fundamentals of a constitutional republic, but in fact, the president seems a little closer to Mussolini in style than to Pinochet. I think some of his moves on the world stage have been clumsy and ill-advised. And this is...

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump shifted toward a more conciliatory approach with Democratic leaders in Minnesota on Monday, a sudden change in tack following an outcry over the second fatal shooting by federal agents in the state this month during the administration's nationwide crackdown on undocumented immigrants. The about-face comes after Saturday’s shooting death of Alex Pretti by federal agents raised doubts — including from some Republicans — over how the Trump administration has gone about aggressively deporting migrants and confronting protesters opposed to the policy.

U.S. Sen Ted Cruz is urging the Trump administration to rethink its handling of the recent shooting of protestors by Immigration and Customers Enforcement officers in Minnesota. While Cruz praised the administration's crackdown on illegal immigration, he is taking issue with labelling victims Renee Good and Alex Pretti as domestic terrorists. "What I think the administration could do better is, is the tone with which they're describing this," he said on his podcast Verdict Monday. "We took out a violent terrorist, hurray. And the problem is, particularly for someone not paying attention, if you're being told this is a mom...

A key House Republican called on President Trump Sunday to begin yanking ICE agents out of Minneapolis — warning the chaos will only “get worse” after protester Alex Pretti was fatally shot by a federal agent a day earlier. *** James Comer (R-Ky.) suggested a de-escalation was needed after the 37-year-old ICU nurse was gunned down — especially if “there’s a chance of losing more … innocent lives.” “If I were President Trump, I would almost think about, OK, if the mayor and the governor are going to put our ICE officials in harm’s way and there’s a chance of...

It’s safe to say should Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) run for president in 2028 he will not exactly be welcomed with open arms by the Trump Administration.According to recordings obtained by Axios, which were leaked to the outlet by a GOP source, Cruz spoke with donors for roughly 10 minutes and delivered some pointed criticisms of both President Trump and Vice-President JD Vance. the recordings were originally made in the first six months of 2025.Axios reveals that Cruz essentially called Vance a pawn of former Fox News host Tucker Carlson in the recording. Cruz, of course, has a long-running feud...

CNN reported Monday that controversial Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino will be leaving Minneapolis, where he has been overseeing operations and vehemently defending officers following the shooting death of 37-year-old Alex Pretti. Anderson Cooper broke the news Monday afternoon, saying, “Sources tell CNN that top Border Patrol official Gregory Bovino and some of his agents are expected to leave Minneapolis tomorrow,” before tossing to reporter Priscilla Alvarez. “This really is a major shift in strategy here by the Trump administration,” Alvarez began. “Recall, Gregory Bovino has been a key player in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown and became, in many...

The saddest thing about this is that the Republicans will work with the left to ensure their victory. The United States is facing an existential threat. My guess is this summer will be the most violent, damaging domestic summer since the Civil War. And I predict the left will win and come out victorious on the other side. They will, after winning this new civil war, seek to eliminate the last vestiges of republicans. I use a small r because while some Republicans are true republicans, most are not. And when the left wins the war, those RINOs are going...

It pairs radar and electro-optical sensors with intense microwave pulses to deliver a “hard kill,” potentially engaging small, low-altitude UAVs beyond three kilometers. Designed to slot into a broader air-defense network—alongside lasers and traditional guns—the system is pitched as a low-logistics answer to cheap swarmsChina’s defense industry has disclosed new technical details and outlined some enhanced capabilities for its truck-mounted Hurricane 3000 high-power microwave (HPM) weapon, a directed-energy system designed to counter unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and drone swarms. The details were published by the South China Morning Post.China Drone Aircraft Carrier. Image Credit: X Screenshot. The Hurricane 3000, developed...

BREAKING NEWS: ICE agents have shot and killed another person in Minneapolis. I was interviewing Minnesota AG Keith Ellison when it happened and he explains why it has become an absolute necessity for the “invasion of the Twin Cities by federal agents” to come to a stop.

A gun rights advocate says he has major concerns about the legality of the shooting Minneapolis protester Alex Pretti after watching footage of his killing. Rob Doar, senior vice president of the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus, analyzed one of the several videos taken of the shooting of Pretti on Saturday and shared his damming opinion that the killing was unwarranted on social media. Pretti, who was a US and an intensive care nurse who treated critically ill military veterans, was killed shortly after 9am on January 24, after an altercation involving multiple federal officers. Video footage showed he was wrestled...

President Trump appeared on Saturday to walk back comments he made earlier in the week, suggesting non-U.S. troops in NATO avoided the front lines in Afghanistan, following widespread anger from British political leaders and military families. “The GREAT and very BRAVE soldiers of the United Kingdom will always be with the United States of America! In Afghanistan, 457 died, many were badly injured, and they were among the greatest of all warriors. It’s a bond too strong to ever be broken. The U.K. Military, with tremendous Heart and Soul, is second to none (except for the U.S.A.!). We love you...

We should partition Greenland into Arctic Greenland, to be owned by the United States, and Sub-Arctic Greenland owned by Denmark. Most of Greenland’s rare Earth minerals have been found south of the Arctic Circle, and the United States should share in this natural wealth. There simply is no question that the United States, as the world’s superpower and primary defender of Western Civilization, must own and fully control Arctic Greenland

Donald Trump has sparked fresh outrage in the UK after saying Nato troops stayed "a little off the front lines" during the war in Afghanistan. Labour MP Emily Thornberry, the chair of the foreign affairs committee, called it an "absolute insult" to the 457 British service personnel killed in the conflict, while Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said: "How dare he question their sacrifice?" Conservative MP Ben Obese-Jecty, who served in Afghanistan, said it was "sad to see our nation's sacrifice, and that of our Nato partners, held so cheaply". The UK was among several allies to join the...

CAIRO (AP) — Desperate Palestinians at a garbage dump in a Gaza neighborhood dug with their bare hands for plastic items to burn to keep warm in the cold and damp winter in the enclave, battered by two years of the Israel-Hamas war. The scene in the Muwasi area of the city of Khan Younis contrasted starkly with the vision of the territory projected by world leaders gathered in Davos, Switzerland, where they inaugurated U.S. President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace that will oversee Gaza. At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Trump claimed that “record levels” of humanitarian aid...

President Donald Trump declared that The New York Times must “pay a price” on Thursday after the Gray Lady and Siena University released a new poll suggesting that just 40% of registered voters approve of him. In a write-up about the survey, the Times’ chief political analyst Nate Cohn observed that “The major demographic shifts of the last election have snapped back. In today’s poll, Mr. Trump’s approval rating by demographic group looks almost exactly as it did in Times/Siena polling in the run-up to his defeat in the 2020 presidential election. If anything, young and nonwhite voters are even...