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James O’Keefe went into downtown Minneapolis over the weekend and came back with more than footage — he came back with a warning. O’Keefe and his team say they were surrounded by a hostile, highly organized crowd while covering the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, and that members of his crew received a one-hour death threat by text before being followed back to their hotel. This isn’t small-time agitprop; this is coordinated intimidation on the streets of an American city, and the nation should pay attention.
The shooting that set off these events is itself explosive and deeply troubling: Border Patrol agents shot and killed 37-year-old Alex Pretti on January 24, 2026, during a tense encounter that has been captured on multiple videos and widely discussed nationwide. Footage reviewed by reporters appears to contradict the initial federal narrative, and local authorities have complained that federal agents interfered with the crime scene and evidence preservation. When federal law enforcement acts like an occupying force and local investigators are blocked from doing their jobs, trust in the rule of law crumbles — and the American public deserves better.
O’Keefe’s description of what he found in Minneapolis should set off alarm bells for anyone who still believes civic discourse is alive and well: he reported that his undercover journalists were embedded within the crowd, that team members were accosted, and that bottles and threats were hurled at them. He has publicly submitted a report to the FBI and promised to release full undercover footage exposing how these groups operate. Journalists who go into harm’s way to document the truth shouldn’t have to be treated like enemy combatants by mobs.
The frightening reality on the ground appears to be more than spontaneous protest — conservative reporting and on-the-ground accounts describe an organized “signal” network and spotters across neighborhoods acting like a shadow police force to coordinate resistance to federal agents. Minneapolis residents and visitors are being told, implicitly and explicitly, who to target and when, and local officials’ permissive posture has only emboldened them. This is the logical endpoint of years of progressive tolerance for lawlessness: when you defund deterrence and lionize obstruction, you create the vacuum these groups gladly fill.
Worse still, the political response from local leaders has been weak and performative where it needed to be firm. Governor Tim Walz’s anguish over the killings is understandable, but the chaos was allowed to metastasize because too many officials applauded or excused civil disobedience and declined to hold agitators accountable until violence became unavoidable. If we are going to have a functioning republic, elected leaders must stop cheering for mobs and start enforcing laws that protect citizens and the press.
This moment should wake up every American who still believes in law and order: expose the organizers, secure the streets, and defend journalists like O’Keefe who take risks to show the country what is really happening. Congress, state attorneys general, and the Department of Justice must prioritize transparent, independent investigations and move quickly to restore public safety. If conservatives want a country where free speech and peaceful assembly mean anything, we must demand accountability now — before more cities fall under the sway of well-organized radical factions.
