Could this finally be the tipping point?

“Get the f*ck out of Minneapolis.”

That was Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey’s message to ICE today. His words came after 37-year-old Renee Good was shot and killed by an ICE agent during a federal immigration enforcement operation in the city, with blood-curdling screams in the background. Renee, an American citizen who described herself as a “poet and writer and wife and mom and shitty guitar strummer from Colorado”. What unfolded has shaken an already exhausted public, reigniting longstanding questions about why heavily armed federal agents with little to no oversight are allowed to operate freely in American cities, with no transparency, accountability, or accountability for the destruction they bring to communities they overtake like military units. Mayor Frey didn’t just say what we are all thinking; he challenged the narrative. He flat-out rejected it, stating that the footage he reviewed does not match what DHS has claimed, and made it clear that ICE is not welcome in his city.

Within hours, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem stepped in to deliver her own version of events. Standing before cameras, she told the country that what took place in Minneapolis was, in her words, “an act of domestic terrorism”, not by ICE, but by the victim. She described a scene in which ICE officers became stuck in the snow while carrying out an enforcement action, only to be attacked by a woman who, according to her, attempted to run them over. She said the officer who fired did so quickly, defensively, and justifiably. And with that statement, she attempted to pass propaganda as if it were fact. And the people who were screaming in horror as this woman was executed? They were cast as accomplices. It was a strategic reframing, not an objective assessment. Noem didn’t describe what happened. She told a story to support the administration’s preferred outcome and preempt public calls for scrutiny.

I’ve now watched the video myself, multiple times, and while we don’t yet have every angle or every detail, the footage that has circulated publicly paints a picture that stands in stark contrast to the claims being made by the federal government. From what I could see, the woman in the car was not attempting to run anyone over. Her actions didn’t suggest rage or aggression. They suggested fear, confusion, and an attempt to get out of a situation where she herself felt she was in danger, of exactly what ended up happening. The window of her car was down, and masked men approached, reached inside, and attempted to open her door. She pulled forward, not suddenly, but in a way that looked like she was trying to follow the order to leave while also escaping a volatile situation. There was no visible sign of an officer being struck, let alone injured. That is not to say that didn’t happen, but certainly not in the ways we are being led to believe. What I did see was a man who, once her car passed next to him, lifted his weapon and opened fire at point-blank range, shooting her multiple times through the window and into her face. This all happened in a matter of seconds. And then she was gone.

As her car slowly collided with another parked vehicle and came to a stop, a bystander began running toward her. You can hear screaming. You can hear someone shouting something like, “You killed her!” And what’s most haunting in that moment is how human it all sounds. Not organized protest. Not chaos. Just the horror of someone watching a person they likely knew take their final breaths because someone in a vest and badge decided she didn’t deserve to live. Meanwhile, the agents who caused it stood meandering nearby. No rush to administer aid. After the video cuts off, reports have come in saying agents began touching the vehicle, interacting with the scene in ways that no trained investigator would condone. No gloves or medical triage. No sign of anyone trying to preserve the integrity of the crime scene. That’s damage control.

Donald Trump released his own statement, claiming that he too had seen the video and describing it as “a horrible thing to watch.” And for a moment, it seemed like maybe, just maybe, he might acknowledge the tragedy of it. But then, predictably, he pivoted. He falsely claimed that the woman screaming at the scene was “obviously a professional agitator,” reducing a person witnessing such horrors to a political actor. He claimed the driver was “disorderly” and “vicious,” and that she “ran over” an ICE officer. These words don’t match what can be seen in the video. There’s no evidence of her hitting anyone. There is evidence that she was trying to leave. And there is very clear evidence that the officer who shot her had plenty of room and time to move, and did not appear to be in imminent danger at the moment he fired his weapon. Trump goes on to claim the officer is lucky to be alive, saying it’s “hard to believe he survived.” Yet we don’t see anyone other than the woman shot, unable to walk away.

And as always, Trump uses the moment not to unify, but to blame his political enemies. He says these incidents happen because of the “Radical Left,” because they’re targeting and threatening law enforcement. But that’s projection. The only coordinated violence against law enforcement that we’ve seen in recent memory came on January 6, 2021, when hundreds of rioters attacked police officers at the Capitol, and many of those same individuals were later pardoned by Trump himself. He doesn’t support law enforcement. He uses them. When they serve his purposes, he defends them. When they don’t, he discards them.

And while the outrage from this shooting was still building, Trump released another statement, this one announcing that the military budget for 2027 should be increased from $1 trillion to $1.5 trillion. He said it followed “long and difficult negotiations” with Congress, which no one can verify and which almost certainly didn’t happen. This wasn’t a negotiated agreement. This was a unilateral declaration, framed as though it had been thoroughly vetted. He said this increase was necessary for “the good of our country,” citing “troubled and dangerous times,” which is ironic, coming from the person actively making things more troubled and more dangerous by the day. He says this new “dream military” is what will keep us safe. Safe from who, exactly? Safe from ICE agents shooting mothers in their cars? Safe from journalists? Safe from citizens documenting what they see on their phones?

He claims we can afford this massive expansion because of tariffs, money he says is pouring in from other countries. That is a lie. Tariffs are paid by Americans. They raise prices for American families. And legal analysts already expect the Supreme Court to block them. But this isn’t about economics. This is about power. He wants a military big enough to threaten foreign countries into submission and domestic critics into silence. He wants the capacity to respond not just to outside threats, but to internal resistance: from protestors, from voters, from people like you and me.

At the end of his statement, he made one of the most absurd promises I’ve seen yet. He said that not only will this military expansion pay for itself, but that he will also use the extra money to pay down the national debt and issue what he calls a “substantial dividend” to moderate-income Americans. That’s fantasy. This will never happen. He’s making false promises to the people who still have just enough left to be nervous about losing it. This is how authoritarian leaders manipulate people into compliance, by dangling money and safety in front of them while dismantling everything that protects them from tyranny.

And while I was reading all of this and watching these videos and trying to piece together what was happening, more information came out about the woman who was killed. She was already the sole surviving parent to a six-year-old child. The child’s father died in 2023. And now, because of what happened today, that child has no parents.

Even if she had panicked, even if she didn’t handle the moment perfectly, even if she misunderstood the instructions. None of that justifies a death sentence. Her punishment should not have been death. Her punishment should not have been to bleed out in front of her partner and their dog, who was reportedly in the vehicle with her. And yet, that’s what happened. There are even reports now that a physician on the scene offered to check vitals and render aid and was not allowed to. A trained medical professional was right there, ready to help, and was blocked by federal agents. That tells you everything you need to know about how seriously they took her life.

This was another pivotal day in American history. What happened in Minneapolis, the violence, the cover-up, the coordinated effort to control the narrative, will go down as one of those moments when everything became a little clearer.

But I want to end by saying: we are not powerless. In fact, we are growing more powerful by the day.

I started writing this hours ago, and I’ve had to stop over and over again because the horrors just kept coming. But tonight, something feels different. I’ve been telling you how I’m feeling about this country, and I want to say it clearly now: this feels like a pivotal day. I know we’ve had others. I know it’s hard to trust that things are shifting when everything still feels like it’s breaking. But if you step back and look at the larger picture, if you zoom out just a little, you’ll see that we’re leveling up. Slowly. Unevenly. But we are. And while it might not feel like enough yet, we are seeing change. Donald Trump is not popular. In fact, even within his own base, his support is slipping.

And what I saw tonight is why I believe something has shifted. Because ICE didn’t just commit a fatal act of violence. They made a fatal error in their movement. They killed a 37-year-old mother in broad daylight, on camera, and then tried to spin it as justified. But the video is clear. And fewer people are willing to look away now. There are direct parallels to the Gestapo. To the SS. To regimes in history that we all swore we’d never repeat. And the difference now is that this moment was documented immediately for all to see. And people are responding.

I’m watching protests unfold all over the country right now. I’m watching people show up from every background, every generation, every walk of life. Teenagers. College students. Middle-aged parents. Elders who marched against the Vietnam War. People in wheelchairs. People with signs. It’s all of us. And I truly believe this might be the moment the Trump regime crossed a line they can’t walk back from. This wasn’t just a moral mistake, though that’s undeniable. It was strategic failure. And it might just be the one that ignites something bigger than they’re prepared for.

Because if every person who feels that knot in their stomach right now, if every person who cried watching that video or shouted at their screen, “This can’t keep happening,” if even a fraction of us speak out, they won’t be able to contain it. They can’t arrest us all. And we’re not trying to do anything illegal. And it has to stay that way. Because what Trump wants more than anything is mass violence. He’s waiting for it. He’s hoping for it. Because the moment things turn violent, he has his excuse: to declare martial law, to send in the military, to do what authoritarian leaders have always done when they need to consolidate power. Legal or not, he’ll do it. And we cannot give him that opening. We’re saying clearly, “Not today. Not again. Not on our watch.” We know what this is. We’ve seen how this plays out in history. And that’s why I’m asking older Americans, those who’ve seen dark days before, to speak up. Tell us what worked. Tell us what failed. We need the kind of wisdom that gets passed down, not erased. And to young people: bring everything you’ve got. Bring your fire, your numbers, your instinct to question everything. Show up for each other. Call your friends. Invite them in. Remind them that they matter.

And tonight, maybe that is why there is still real hope for America. Because even at its worst, people are still showing up for each other, and we are just getting started. The truth hasn’t been silenced, and our voices haven’t gone quiet. And the love we carry, for each other, for justice, for what this country could still become, is stronger than their hate. We hold space for our heartbreak. But we do not back down. Not now. Not ever. We knew it would get worse before it got better. And still, we’re here.

I’ll see you tomorrow,
Heather

P.S. If you’ve made it this far, chances are we see things the same way. You can make a difference right now by subscribing to my Substack. There is a free option and the option to help me reach a wider audience with a $5/month paid subscription. Your support allows me to cover more ground and keep telling the truth about the lies and destruction unfolding in our country.