#minnesota-state-employees

#minnesota-state-employees

"I'm celebrating #LesbianVisibilityWeek with the love of my life - my wife Cheryl! Here's a throwback to when we first met - before we had the right to get married. To Minnesota's lesbian community: I see you, I hear you and I'll never stop fighting for our rights."

America has never seen a moment in modern history like the federal occupation of Minneapolis. Thousands of masked federal officers with uncertain authority are rampaging through the region, assaulting protesters and innocent people, abusing constitutional safeguards, staking out daycares and schools, snatching people off the streets in unmarked vans based on the color of their skin or their accent, and recklessly, relentlessly provoking violent confrontations with civilians-all against the loud, repeatedly expressed wishes of local and state officials.

"Stand up for America," Jacob Frey, the mayor of Minneapolis, implored on Saturday, after federal agents shot to death another one of his constituents. "Recognize that your children will ask you what side you were on. Your grandchildren will ask you what you did to act to prevent this from happening again-to make sure that the foundational elements of our democracy were rock solid. What did you do to protect your city? What did you do to protect your nation?"

A 2024 simulation found US civil war could be triggered by clashes between state and federal law enforcement. US federal immigration raids continue in Minnesota, and the operation has set the stage for a standoff between state officials and the federal government. Governor Tim Walz has readied Minnesota's national guard, while the Pentagon has ordered troops to be on standby. A 2024 University of Pennsylvania simulation warned that similar state-federal standoffs could escalate into broader armed conflict.

The killings in Minneapolis of Renee Good and Alex Pretti have been compared to the murder of George Floyd, because they all happened within a few miles of one another, and because of the outrage they inspired. There's an important difference, though: In 2020 the United States was in turmoil, but it was still a state of law. Floyd's death was followed by investigation, trial, and verdict-by justice. The Minneapolis Police Department was held accountable and ultimately made to reform.

Despite the stories the federal government is telling, video evidence shows neither victim was a threat to the agents at the time they were shot. Good was shot at least three times while driving away from ICE agent Jonathan Ross, and Pretti had already been beaten to the ground for helping a woman who had been shoved by an agent when he was shot 10 times. Officials claim he was holding a gun. Videos show he was not.