"Of the three homicides in Minneapolis this year, two were committed by federal agents."
Adam Serwer
@adamserwer.bsky.social
One thing I found deeply moving about resistance in the Twin Cities was the universalism of loving your neighbor, the philosophy driving the opposition to the ICE/BP invasion. I couldn't help but notice the contrast with the blood and soil-ism of Miller and Vance.
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/01/the-neighbors-defending-minnesota-from-ice/685769/?gift=Je3D9AQS-C17lUTOnl2W8L893jn-xkg4gA0ahaD_Ltw
Trump-administration officials and MAGA influencers have repeatedly called these activists violent and said they are involved in riots. But the resistance in Minnesota is largely characterized by a conscious, strategic absence of physical confrontation. Activists have made the decision to emphasize protection, aid, and observation. When matters escalate, it is usually the choice of the federal agents. Of the three homicides in Minneapolis this year, two were committed by federal agents.
Theres been an incredible, incredible response from the community. Ive seen our neighbors go straight from allies to familymore than familychecking in on each other, offering food and rides for kids and all kinds of support, alerting each other if theres ICE or any kind of danger, Malika Dahir, a local activist of Somali descent, told me.
If the Minnesota resistance has an overarching ideology, you could call it neighborisma commitment to protecting the people around you, no matter who they are or where they came from. The contrast with the philosophy guiding the Trump administration couldnt be more extreme. Vice President Vance has said that it is totally reasonable and acceptable for American citizens to look at their next-door neighbors and say, I want to live next to people who I have something in common with. I dont want to live next to four families of strangers. Minnesotans are insisting that their neighbors are their neighbors whether they were born in Minneapolis or Mogadishu. That is, arguably, a deeply Christian philosophy, one apparently loathed by some of the most powerful Christians in America.
ALT
9:38 AM · Jan 27, 2026
One thing I found deeply moving about resistance in the Twin Cities was the universalism of loving your neighbor, the philosophy driving the opposition to the ICE/BP invasion. I couldn't help but notice the contrast with the blood and soil-ism of Miller and Vance. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
— Adam Serwer (@adamserwer.bsky.social) 2026-01-27T14:38:39.863Z