White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt did not mince words on Monday when she called out Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey for what she described as actively siding with the mobs that have been stalking and confronting ICE agents. Leavitt said their rhetoric and policies have encouraged left-wing agitators to record, obstruct, and even physically interfere with federal officers doing their job, creating dangerous flashpoints in our cities. Her rebuke is exactly what conservatives have been saying for months — when you reward lawlessness, you get more of it.
The chaos in Minneapolis did not arise in a vacuum; it followed a large federal immigration operation that exploded into protests after the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti and earlier violence that has inflamed local tensions. The deployment of thousands of immigration agents under the so-called surge prompted immediate pushback from residents and elected officials who claim federal overreach, and the situation has since spiraled into national controversy and legal scrutiny. Americans deserve the facts and the rule of law, not political grandstanding that fans the flames.
Mayor Frey and Governor Walz have repeatedly framed federal agents as outsiders and agitators, and their public statements have been taken by activists as permission to confront and impede enforcement operations. Local authorities even discouraged cooperation with ICE in certain cases, a reckless policy choice that left federal agents exposed and residents at greater risk. When city and state leaders abdicate basic cooperation with federal law enforcement, they invite chaos rather than contain it.
Make no mistake: this is about more than political theater. It is about whether elected leaders will stand with Americans who expect safe streets or side with mobs that think the law is optional. Conservatives understand that protecting communities means backing law enforcement and enforcing immigration laws that keep violent criminals off our streets, not signaling to the fringe that they are above consequence.
The carnage on the streets — and the reported assaults on agents and bystanders — shows the human cost of such reckless leadership, and it is patently unfair to the families who mourn and to officers trying to do a hard job under impossible circumstances. Federal resources and local cooperation are not partisan toys; they are tools to protect citizens, and abandoning them helps no one but the criminal element.
Minnesota voters should take note: Walz and Frey made choices that prioritized political virtue signaling over public safety, and that record will have consequences at the ballot box. Conservatives must press relentlessly for accountability, demand honest investigations without political cover, and push for policies that restore order and respect for the rule of law.
Now is the time for patriots to stand tall with the men and women who enforce our laws and keep our neighborhoods safe, not to cheerlead for obstruction and disorder. If Americans want a country worth passing to the next generation, we must reject leaders who reward chaos and re-elect those who will defend order, security, and common-sense enforcement of our immigration laws.
