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OPINION

Minneapolis May Be the Radical 'Woke' Left's Last Gasp

city of lakes of the land of ten thousand lakes in united states gubernatorial and immigration politics

A man is detained by law enforcement, near the site of where state and local authorities say a man was shot by federal agents earlier in the morning in Minneapolis, Minnesota - Jan. 24, 2026. Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn., said that federal agents deployed in Minneapolis as part of a sweeping immigration crackdown had carried out "another horrific shooting." (Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images) 

Michael Dorstewitz By Monday, 26 January 2026 12:17 PM EST Current | Bio | Archive

As the screams from Immigration and Customs (ICE) protesters become louder and more strident, it's becoming clearer that those screams may be the movement's final death throes.

Last week after an armed rioter was shot and killed by an ICE agent, Minnesota Democratic Gov. Tim Walz responded with a phone call.

"I just spoke with the White House after another horrific shooting by federal agents this morning. Minnesota has had it. This is sickening," he said.

"The President must end this operation. Pull the thousands of violent, untrained officers out of Minnesota. Now."

That prompted author and commentator Ryan Girdusky to offer some sage advice to the governor in an open letter.

"If Walz wanted ICE out, all he has to do is offer the White House a deal that they will comply with federal immigration law and comply with ICE detainers," he wrote.

"You're a governor, not a king of a state. SCOTUS has ruled, states can't make their own rules when it comes to immigration."

Without surprise, Walz didn't take the advice. Instead, he ratcheted the heat up another notch by comparing ICE agents to Nazi stormtroopers, and children of criminal illegal aliens to Anne Frank.

On second thought, make that two notches.

"Allow our children to go back to school. We have got children in Minnesota hiding in their houses, afraid to go outside," Walz said Sunday. "Many of us grew up reading that story of Anne Frank. Somebody's going to write that children’s story about Minnesota."

But it turns out there’s nothing organic about the Minneapolis rioters.

Red State's Jennifer Van Laar reported that:

  • The groups are highly sophisticated and organized.
  • They’re heavily funded by more than 4,000 international donors.
  • State and local Democratic politicians are taking an active role in the organizational framework.
  • Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan may be a senior administrator of the movement.

This isn't a grassroots protest; it's all AstroTurf.

Other areas want no part of what's going on in Minnesota. Even Democrat Todd Gloria, the mayor of San Diego in sanctuary state California, has had enough.

He condemned the rhetoric and actions taken by anti-ICE rioters after they stormed his office and demanded a meeting with the mayor.

They got their meeting, but it wasn’t with the mayor — it was with the police who hauled them off the premises.

Mayor Gloria released a statement later that day, reading in part:

“This morning, a group of individuals arrived at my office demanding to meet with me and staged a sit-in. What transpired later went beyond peaceful protest,” the statement began.

"These individuals chose to raid the front desk to my office, bang on the doors in ways that intended to force entry, and then barricaded the doors, creating a public safety hazard," he continued, adding, "That conduct is unacceptable — full stop."

But it’s becoming patently clear to the public by now that although ICE agents are legally enforcing federal law in nearly every state of the union, violence is occurring only in those jurisdictions that actively oppose their presence.

Every other place ICE agents quietly conduct their business and move on without incident.

British political and social commentator Piers Morgan submits in a book he released two months ago that while leftists may still be kicking and screaming, in reality "Woke Is Dead" for all intents and purposes.

For a 10-year period "woke" ran riot, bringing ith it virtue signaling, diversity, equity and inclusion, and open borders, to mention but a few. And if you dared say they were wrong by pointing out the obvious, cancel culture kicked in. Your opinion no longer mattered.

This, they said, was the way of the future, from that time forward.

But then corporate America discovered something: Although the "woke" crowd may be the loudest, the most strident voices in the room, the vast majority saw through the noise and nonsense. Soon corporations found that going “woke” meant losing public trust.

Anheuser-Busch discovered that when your TV ads move from a team of Clydesdale horses kneeling in tribute to the victims of 9/11, to a biological male in women’s clothing and makeup hawking Bud Light, it’s a case of "go woke, go broke."

And in the same manner, Democrats like Gov. Walz are ruining their own brand.

Ironically, the more that left wing Democrats realize they’re becoming a thing of the past, the more outrageous their behavior becomes.

And that's fine, because the more outrageous they are, the faster the public will turn its back to them.

As a result, November midterms are looking better every day.

Michael Dorstewitz is a retired lawyer and is a frequent contributor to Newsmax. He's also a former U.S. Merchant Marine officer and a Second Amendment supporter. Read more Michael Dorstewitz's Insider articles — Click Here Now.

© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.


MichaelDorstewitz
Democrats like Gov. Walz are ruining their own brand. The more that left wing Democrats realize they’re becoming a thing of the past, the more outrageous their behavior. The more outrageous they are, the faster the public will turn its back to them.
ice, woke, flanagan
804
2026-17-26
Monday, 26 January 2026 12:17 PM
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