In a bizarre, overheated primetime address that sounded less like a governor briefing his state and more like a dystopian audiobook audition, Minnesota Democratic Governor Tim Walz told Minnesotans that they are living under something resembling a federal occupation.
“What’s happening in Minnesota right now defies belief,” Walz began ominously, insisting that “two to three thousand armed agents of the federal government” — whom he described as “masked, under-trained ICE agents” — are roaming the state committing acts more commonly associated with banana republics than immigration enforcement. According to Walz, these agents are “going door to door, ordering people to point out where their neighbors of color live,” pulling over Americans “indiscriminately” demanding “to see their papers,” and abducting people into “unmarked vans” in what he explicitly labeled “kidnapping innocent people with no warning, and no due process.”
Walz claimed this was no longer about enforcing immigration law. “This long ago stopped being a matter of immigration enforcement,” he declared. “Instead, it’s a campaign of organized brutality against the people of Minnesota by our own federal government.”
He tied the alleged abuses to the shooting death of Renee Nicole Good, accusing the Trump administration of refusing to investigate fairly and instead “devoting the full power of the federal government to finding an excuse to attack the victim and her family.” Walz also claimed that six federal prosecutors resigned rather than participate in what he called “this assault on the United States Constitution.”
The Democratic governor then escalated further, warning that President Donald Trump had promised “retribution and reckoning,” which Walz labeled “a direct threat against the people of this state” for the crime of voting against Trump. Nevertheless, Walz urged Minnesotans to protest “loudly, urgently, but also peacefully,” cautioning that Trump “wants this chaos” and “wants more violence on our streets.”
Then came perhaps the most remarkable moment of the speech. Walz encouraged citizens to act as civilian documentarians of federal law enforcement. “You have an absolute right to peacefully film ICE agents,” he said. “So carry your phone with you at all times … hit record.” The purpose? To “create a database of the atrocities against Minnesotans” and “bank evidence for future prosecution.”
Walz promised that “accountability is coming” and assured viewers Minnesota would remain “an island of decency in a country being driven toward cruelty.”
The White House was unimpressed. Its Rapid Response account mocked the glitch-ridden address, calling Walz a “loser” and a “buffoon,” and urging him to “resign in disgrace.”
Tampon is currently attempting to do a live, highly produced statewide address to condemn the enforcement of our immigration laws in Minnesota… but it’s not going so well 🤣
You’re a loser, @GovTimWalz — and you always will be.
Just resign in disgrace, you buffoon. pic.twitter.com/pYhKNyZ8ra
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) January 15, 2026
