Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem stood firm this week when she called the deadly Minneapolis encounter an act of “domestic terrorism,” and patriotic Americans should applaud clarity from leaders who refuse to mince words when our officers are under attack. Noem’s public defense of ICE agents and her insistence that federal officers were targeted came amid chaotic scenes in the Twin Cities, and she made her position known on national television and in official statements.
The incident itself is tragic and messy — an ICE operation in Minneapolis ended with an officer firing and a woman dead, sparking protests and fevered partisan coverage that predictably ran to the left’s playbook of immediate condemnation of law enforcement. Local officials have questioned the federal response, while footage and eyewitness accounts continue to be parsed by journalists and investigators; the point is not to sensationalize but to defend the men and women who put themselves between the public and lawless violence.
On Fox & Friends First, Mike Howell of the Oversight Project cut through the noise and backed the administration’s decision to call out violent attacks on federal agents, arguing that protecting officers and preserving the rule of law must be the first priority of any functioning government. Conservatives should take note: when Washington sends agents into hostile jurisdictions to enforce the law, they deserve unequivocal support, not political theater from coastal elites.
Meanwhile, Rep. Ilhan Omar rushed to criticize the federal probe into alleged fraud in Minnesota, offering evasive answers when pressed on how the problems there spiraled out of control. It’s instructive that those who too often excuse lawlessness are the same voices quick to complain when consequences come — Minnesotans deserve leaders who will defend the rule of law and their communities, not deflect responsibility.
Yes, some legal analysts and fact-checkers caution that labeling events “domestic terrorism” carries weight and should be used carefully, and reasonable skepticism toward rushed conclusions is understandable. But nuance must not become paralysis; law-and-order conservatives recognize the difference between measured investigation and the sloppy moral equivalence of those who would side with rioters and fraudsters over federal officers.
Hardworking Americans want safe streets and honest government, not open-season on federal agents and cover-ups in liberal strongholds. It’s time for our leaders to stop apologizing for enforcing the law, to demand full transparency from local officials who obfuscate, and to back the brave men and women who put themselves in harm’s way to keep our communities safe.
