'Like a petty child’: Minnesota AG slams Trump for threats toward protesters

We begin with a jarring split screen.

One that many activists hope they would never see in the United States of America. On one side, you have protesters filling the streets across the country, responding to the killing of two Minneapolis residents.

Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretty by federal immigration officers.

On the other, a journalist who was arrested and charged after covering that very same cause.

And yesterday, rather than attempt to diffuse public outrage surrounding the shootings,

President Trump instead threatened protesters.

In a truth social post, Trump said he had instructed federal agents to be quote, very forceful in their protection of federal property. And warned that if protesters commit acts of vandalism, they would quote, suffer an equal or more consequence.

He added, beware ICE, Border Patrol or, if necessary, our military, will be extremely powerful and tough in the protection of our federal property.

Already, the administration brought that force to Portland, Oregon, where protesters were struck with tear gas while protesting outside of an immigration detention center.

That language comes amid an already volatile situation in Minneapolis.

Where many residents fear leaving their homes for work, school or even to receive medical care.

But the latest developments in DHS's Operation Metro Surge are now playing out in the courts.

In one case, a federal judge in Texas ordered the release of five-year-old Liam Ramos and his father from a detention facility in Texas.

The judge sharply condemned the administration's deportation operations, called them incompetently implemented and bereft of human decency.

Among other choice words.

But in a separate lawsuit, a different federal judge denied Minnesota's request for a preliminary injunction, meaning that Operation Metro Surge can continue, at least for now.

But crucially, the court did not rule on the legality of the operation itself, setting the stage for the continuation of what is a long legal fight.

On that ruling, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison writes,

The case is in its infancy and there is much legal road in front of us, so we're fighting on. We will continue to protect Minnesotans. We're not letting up.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison is joining us now.

Attorney General, you've had a very busy week.

Good morning.

Good morning.

We appreciate you taking time for us.

Of course.

I think that the administration tried to at least rhetorically, cosmetically signal in some ways this week that they were going to be withdrawing from Minneapolis.

You yourself spoke with Tom Homan, you met with him, he held a press conference in which he said you two had come to some sort of agreement where if you allowed him access to the county jails and prisons, he would withdraw

the ICE agents from Operation Metro Surge.

You came out with a statement shortly thereafter that basically said that that wasn't what you had talked about.

It was a productive conversation, but you didn't come to an agreement.

In it, when you're taking stock of the salad bar of statements made by the Trump administration this week.

What should the takeaway be for the American public about the way this administration is going to continue to conduct interior immigration enforcement?

People need to continue to protest peacefully. We need to stay in the streets. We need to go more places.

We need to continue to expand into more cities. Uh, we need people like myself need to continue to litigate.

People like you all and Don Lemon and uh Georgia Fort need to keep telling the news.

And exposing what's going on.

Uh, and people who are doing mutual aid need to continue to give those rides and make those meals.

And we all need to double down our resolve to protect American democracy.

The president is openly promoting authoritarianism and tyranny.

That is what's happening in America.

Most of us thought we would never see it.

But here it is right in front of our eyes.

You put press freedom together with attacking protests together with uh denying court orders.

There was a big story in Minnesota this week about how uh the the court the district court orders have been routinely ignored.

And the the the chief judge, pretty conservative guy had to threaten

uh contempt sanctions and then they complied.

So, you know, if you won't obey the courts and you won't listen to protesters and you won't listen to election results,

what do we do other than to continue on?

He's wrong if he thinks we're going to be intimidated by his threats.

We absolutely will not be.

And um,

so that's the takeaway.

So does Tom Homan

We got to keep it up.

Does Tom Homan represent a de-escalation to you?

What here's what Tom Homan represents.

Nome never talked to us, Balvino never even tried to talk to us.

Homan is at least willing to have an adult conversation.

We may or may not agree on uh what was said in the meeting.

Uh, I think that he's looking for

you know, a way to de-escalate.

A way to do more targeted enforcement.

And then Trump undermines him just as soon as he sends him here.

Which tells us what?

There's chaos in the White House.

They don't know what they want.

They don't have any clue as to what their plan or strategy is other than brutal repression.

And with Trump's true social,

one minute he's talking about how much he uh, you know, had a great conversation with our mayor and our governor.

The next minute he's threatening us with the military.

And so it's incoherent, it makes no sense.

But the one through line is repression, tyranny and repression.

And that is the one thing that is consistent.

Attorney General, you just, you know, flicked that the fact that

Homan and the president seem to be speaking different tunes, speaking from different books.

I want to play something the president said just yesterday and get your response on the other side.

If they do anything bad to our people, they will be, they will have to suffer.

I'm sorry.

If they start uh uh spitting at people's faces, punching our people, punching our soldiers, our patriots, uh they'll they will get taken care of in at least an equal way.

You see it.

The way they treat our people.

And I said, you're allowed if if somebody does that, you can do something back.

You're not going to stand there and take it.

If they throw bricks at a car, at a, you know, one of our vehicles, at our very expensive vehicles,

uh they're going to be met with very, very serious force.

Does that sound like a man who wants to de-escalate?

That sounds like a petty child who uh will not tolerate any challenge to his massive and highly delicate ego.

As he's wearing his tuxedo, going to whatever fancy ball he's going to,

Minnesotans are standing in the nine below weather.

Fighting for our very democracy and in some case our lives.

And certainly livelihoods.

I mean, it's really,

talk about split screen.

I mean, I don't know where he was going, but it certainly was not to a protest outside the Whipple building.

trying to get a cup of coffee just to stay a little bit warm.

I mean, clearly he is imposing extreme hardship on us.

While he is rolling around in luxury, making

uh bravado threats.

By the way, the military's not the.

Nobody, nobody with a gun is a victim in this situation.

The people here are protesting, I'm urging peacefully, but they're trying to say that the way that the immigration enforces

uh forces have treated our state is completely unacceptable.

And I'll just say to everybody listening to your show,

you it's Minnesota now, but it could be anywhere else.

Uh tomorrow and before they came here, they were trying to bully LA.

Portland and Chicago.

So we were the we were the lead up to this to we were the

uh antecedent to that.

And but what's next?

We're hearing about threats all over the country.

Attorney General, the president was on his way to the Alfalfa dinner here in Washington.

I want to get your your reaction.

I want to get your reaction to um something that we were talking about on the show yesterday and it's this secret um ICE policy.

That basically says that the agents um they can search a home.

They can bust into a home without a warrant, without a judicial warrant.

One, is that legal and two, what can you do to is there anything you can do to prevent that from happening in the state of Minnesota?

Yes, no, it's not legal.

Yes, there's things we can do.

And as we're speaking, we're formulating our response.

But I that's as far as I can go in the moment, Jonathan.

But no, it's not legal and that yes, there's things we can do and we plan on doing them.

Attorney General, I'm I'm wondering if you can also lay out specifically what the next steps are when it comes to

uh Judge Menendez's ruling and also about um Todd Lion's new ICE memo.

That says that that officers are now allowed to

uh go ahead and and arrest.

arresting uh people without any warrant at all, but legally what you can do more specifically.

Well, no ICE official can rewrite the Fourth Amendment.

So we will be challenging that position.

As it relates to our lawsuit challenging Operation Metro Surge.

You know, the real problem with the case is not that the judge didn't understand the gravity.

And didn't understand the facts.

I'm sure she understands both.

The problem is there's no legal precedent for this.

We've never seen a moment in American history where through force of arms and threat of arms, a a a federal administration was trying to bully a state into submission.

And the problem with law is,

it's based on precedent.

So there's no case she could say, well,

in so and so versus so and so, we did this, therefore you can't do this.

It's just like it's sort of and so she's letting it go to trial.

My biggest hope is that we can get in front of a jury and start taking testimony because I think we have a compelling case that will allow us to prevail.