âMy fellow Minnesotans:
âWhatâs happening in Minnesota right now defies belief.
âNews reports simply donât do justice to the level of chaos and disruption and trauma the federal government is raining down upon our communities.
âTwo to three thousand armed agents of the federal government have been deployed to Minnesota.
âArmed, masked, undertrained ICE agents are going door to door, ordering people to point out where their neighbors of color live.
âTheyâre pulling over people indiscriminately, including U.S. citizens, and demanding to see their papers.
âAnd at grocery stores, at bus stops, even at schools, theyâre breaking windows, dragging pregnant women down the street, just plain grabbing Minnesotans and shoving them into unmarked vans, kidnapping innocent people with no warning and no due process.
âLetâs be very, very clear: This long ago stopped being a matter of immigration enforcement.âŻ
âInstead, it is a campaign of organized brutality against the people of Minnesota by our own federal government.
âLast week, that campaign claimed the life of Renee Nicole Good.
âWeâve all watched the video.
âWe all have seen what happened.
âAnd yet, instead of conducting an impartial investigation so we can hold accountable the officer responsible for Reneeâs death, the Trump administration is devoting the full power of the federal government to finding an excuse to attack the victim and her family.
âJust yesterday, six federal prosecutors â including the longtime career prosecutor leading the charge to investigate and eliminate fraud in our stateâs programs â quit their jobs rather than go along with this assault on the United States Constitution.
âBut as bad as itâs been, Donald Trump intends for it to get worse.
âThis week, he went online to promise that, quote, âthe day of retribution and reckoning is coming.â
âThat is a direct threat against the people of this state, who dared to vote against him three times, and who continue to stand up for freedom with courage and empathy and profound grace.
âAll across Minnesota, people are stepping up to help neighbors who are being unjustly, and unlawfully, targeted.
âTheyâre distributing care packages and walking kids to school and raising their voices in peaceful protest even though doing so has made many of our fellow Minnesotans targets for violent retribution.
âFolks, I know this is scary.
âAnd I know itâs absurd that we all have to be defending law and order, justice, and humanity while also caring for our families and doing our jobs.
âSo, tonight, let me say, once again, to Donald Trump and Kristi Noem: End this occupation.
âYouâve done enough.
âLet me say four critical things to the people of Minnesota â four things I need you to hear as you watch the news and look out for your neighbors.
âFirst: Donald Trump wants chaos.
âHe wants confusion.
âAnd, yes, he wants more violence on our streets.
âWe cannot give him what he wants.
âWe can â we must â protest: loudly, urgently, but also peacefully.
âIndeed, as hard as we will fight in the courts and at the ballot box, we cannot, and will not, let violence prevail.
âYouâre angry.
âIâm angry.
âAngry might not be strong enough of a word.
âBut we must remain peaceful.
âSecond: You are not powerless.
âYou are not helpless.
âAnd you are not alone.
âAll across Minnesota, people are learning about opportunities not just to resist, but to help people who are in danger.
âThousands upon thousands of Minnesotans are going to be relying on mutual aid in the days and weeks to come, and they need our support.
âTonight, I want to share another way you can help: Witness.
âHelp us establish a record of exactly whatâs happening in our communities.
âYou have an absolute right to peacefully film ICE agents as they conduct their activities.
âSo carry your phone with you at all times.
âAnd if you see ICE in your neighborhood, take out that phone and hit record.
âHelp us create a database of the atrocities against Minnesotans â not just to establish a record for posterity, but to bank evidence for future prosecution.
âThatâs the third thing I want to tell you tonight: We will not have to live like this forever.
âAccountability is coming, at the voting booth and in court.
âWe will reclaim our communities from Donald Trump.
âWe will re-establish a sense of safety for our neighbors.
âWe will bring an end to this moment of chaos and confusion.âŻ
âWe will find a way to move forward â together.
âAnd we will not be alone.
âEvery day, we are working with business leaders, faith leaders, legal experts, and elected officials from all across the country.
âThey have seen what Donald Trump is trying to do to our state.
âThey know their states could be next.
âAnd that brings me to the fourth thing I want to tell you tonight. Minnesota, Iâm so proud of the way weâve risen to meet this unbearable moment.
âBut Iâm not surprised.
âBecause this â this is who we are.
âMinnesotans believe in the rule of law.
âAnd Minnesotans believe in the dignity of all people.
âWeâre a place where thereâs room for everybody, no matter who you are or who you love or where you came from.
âA place where we feed our kids, take care of our neighbors, and look out for those in the shadows of life.
âWeâre an island of decency in a country being driven towards cruelty.
âWe will remain an island of decency, of justice, of community, of peace.
âAnd, tonight, I come before you simply to ask: Do not let anyone take that away from us.
âThank you.
âProtect each other
âAnd God bless the people of Minnesota.â