Walz Tells Minnesotans to Film ICE, Claims State Is Under Federal ‘Occupation’
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz delivered a prime-time address Wednesday night that veered into conspiracy and hysteria, telling residents they were living under a “federal occupation” and calling on them to film federal immigration agents to build a “database of atrocities.”
“What’s happening in Minnesota right now defies belief,” Walz declared. He described U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents as “masked, under-trained,” and claimed they were “going door to door, ordering people to point out where their neighbors of color live.” He also accused them of pulling over random citizens to demand papers and “kidnapping innocent people into unmarked vans with no warning.”
According to Walz, the Trump administration has weaponized the federal government against Minnesota in retaliation for its political views. He tied the allegations to the death of activist Renee Nicole Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE agent after attempting to hit him with her vehicle. Walz accused the Trump administration of devoting “the full power of the federal government to finding an excuse to attack the victim and her family.”
The governor claimed six federal prosecutors had resigned over the case, calling the broader immigration operation “a campaign of organized brutality.” He went further, accusing Trump of threatening the state directly. “This isn’t just policy,” he said. “This is retribution and reckoning.”
Despite the apocalyptic tone, Walz urged protesters to remain peaceful — while also telling them to keep their phones handy to record ICE agents “at all times.”
“You have an absolute right to peacefully film ICE agents,” Walz said. “So carry your phone with you. Hit record. Document everything. Bank the evidence for future prosecution.”
He closed by calling on Minnesotans to make their state “an island of decency in a country being driven toward cruelty.”
The White House responded with scorn. Its Rapid Response account on Truth Social mocked the governor’s address as “glitch-ridden,” calling Walz a “loser” and a “buffoon,” and demanding he “resign in disgrace.”
Walz’s comments are likely to further inflame tensions in a state already roiled by weeks of protests and unrest following multiple federal enforcement actions and ICE-related shootings in Minneapolis.