“The Nation” Nominates Minneapolis for the Nobel Peace Prize

The editors of The nation The magazine is in the process of officially nominating the city of Minneapolis and its residents for the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize. The following nomination statement, addressed to the Norwegian Nobel Committee, the five-member body charged by the Norwegian Parliament with selecting the recipient of the Peace Prize, was prepared for submission on Friday.

HAS: The distinguished the members of the NNorwegian Nobelisk Ccommittee

As longtime observers of the struggles to establish peace and justice in the United States and around the world, and as editors of a magazine proud to have included several Nobel laureates on our editorial board and column, including the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., we are honored to nominate the city of Minneapolis and its residents for the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize.

Although individuals and organizations have received this award since its inception in 1901, no municipality has ever been recognized. But, in these unprecedented times, we firmly believe it is possible to demonstrate that Minneapolis, Minnesota’s largest city, has met and exceeded the committee’s standards for promoting “democracy and human rights, and work to create a more organized and peaceful world.”

In December 2025, President Donald Trump and his administration deployed thousands of armed, masked U.S. Immigration, Customs and Border Patrol agents to Minneapolis, a beautiful, multiracial, multiethnic city of nearly 430,000 people. These agents targeted the city’s diverse immigrant communities and sowed fear among all its residents. As Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said in late January, the campaign was “more about tragically terrorizing people than protecting their safety” and was guilty of “discrimination based solely on race.”

Minneapolis residents have suffered countless abuses, including harassment, detention, eviction, and injury. And, in incidents that shocked the world, federal agents killed several residents, including poet and mother of three Renee Nicole Good and intensive care nurse Alex Jeffrey Pretti.

In response to these horrific developments, elected officials, clergy and union leaders in Minneapolis and Minnesota have called for nonviolent protests, consistent with the U.S. Constitution’s promise that Americans have the right to assemble and petition for redress of grievances. Residents of Minneapolis and neighboring communities responded to that call with peaceful mass protests that drew tens of thousands of demonstrators to the streets in frigid weather. They paired their call for federal agents to withdraw from Minneapolis with chants that declared: “No hate, no fear… immigrants are welcome here!” »

Minneapolis residents also engaged in mutual support and caring for their neighbors who were targeted because of the color of their skin or the language they speak. They have delivered groceries to residents afraid to leave their homes and provided financial support to neighbors who have been unable to travel to their workplaces due to the federal attack on their rights and humanity.