Memo to Minneapolis from California: Please don’t take the bait

Dear Minneapolis:

We are sorry for what you are experiencing. We understand.

One day you live in a vibrant, multicultural city that, yes, has its problems but is also pretty awesome. The next day, the president calls you terrorists and insurrectionists and threatens to turn the U.S. military against you and your children.

I went there.

First of all, thank you for defending Lady Liberty. The old girl had a rough year in 2025, and 2026 doesn’t promise to be better. She needs all the friends she can make, and the people of the Twin Cities are the blues. And I don’t mean Democrat or Republican, because we’re past that.

It’s about deciding what kind of American you are. Those who believe in the Constitution, the rule of law, and due process, or those who believe in strongmen, rule by the rich, and armed authorities who will make you disappear if you drive them crazy, citizen or not.

Minneapolisans have proven they are on the right side of that divide.

But here’s the thing: you have to keep these protests peaceful. Being the entertainment capital of the world, we won’t deny that it’s fascinating to watch video after video of ICE officers sliding around on ice like a goofy Keystone Kops short film. And the passion with which protesters are showing up, risking their own safety to protect strangers, is inspiring.

But don’t take the bait. Don’t cross the line. Don’t use physical violence, whether it’s throwing a water bottle or something else. President Trump threatened Thursday to invoke the Insurrection Act, as he did in Los Angeles, before sending in the National Guard with lesser authority. Even that proved legally problematic, but he did it anyway.

“Minnesota’s insurrection is the direct result of a FAILED governor and a TERRIBLE mayor encouraging violence against law enforcement,” the assistant district attorney said. Gen. Todd Blanche wrote on social media after Trump’s message. “This is disgusting. Walz and Frey – I am working to stop YOU from your terrorism by any means necessary. This is not a threat. It is a promise.”

Whatever the means necessary.

This administration is salivating at the thought of invoking martial law. They talk about it every chance they get. Although the Insurrection Act has been used before – by President George HW Bush in Los Angeles in 1992 after the beating of Rodney King – this is different.

Too many other safeguards of democracy have been torn down. Too much power has already been consolidated in the hands of one man.

If this happens, if the military turns against the citizens, a border will be broken and cannot be easily restored. We will probably then have soldiers on the streets of several American cities before the November elections, which can only make this fragile electoral turning point even more precarious.

Los Angeles in 2025 was a test of how far Trump could go, and it appears it wasn’t far enough. Much like in Minneapolis, some resorted to violence, even though the vast majority of protesters were peaceful. Because Los Angeles is and always has been a city of activists – like Minneapolis – many leaders were willing and able to come forward and ensure that the protesters held their own.

The result of this restraint was that, ultimately, even the so-called “journalists” of the right-wing propaganda machine couldn’t produce enough shocking videos to convince the rest of America that the place was out of control.

Now the Trump machine is trying with you, Minnesota. It is no coincidence that this problem has landed on your doorstep. After the murder of George Floyd, Minneapolis showed that it was not afraid to face justice. No one ever doubted – Trump especially – that sending mass immigration to your city would cause problems.

Gov. Tim Walz said so himself Thursday in his own social media post.

“We can – we must – speak out loud and clear, urgently, but also peacefully. We cannot fan the flames of chaos. That is what he wants,” he wrote.

But also, please keep filming, please keep fighting. Thursday was also Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday. In 1959, King made a little-known appearance on Minneapolis TV.

“I am of the opinion that it is possible to firmly and courageously oppose a perverse system, without resorting to violence to oppose it,” he declared at the time.

“It is possible to love the person who commits a bad action while hating the action they commit. »

The other day, someone described Minneapolis as having the inclusiveness and quirkiness of San Francisco, but with the attitude of the Bronx – a formidable combination.

Don’t let Trump exploit it.

In solidarity,
California