What is happening in Minnesota should be the kind of wake-up call for Americans who still fail to recognize the truth about this administration and need to understand the grave situation we face as a nation.

We are seeing evidence that the abuse of power by Trump administration officials is far worse than we could have imagined, even for those of us who were prepared for what we experienced during the first Trump term to continue into the second. We knew it was going to be bad; therefore, we sounded the alarm because what he was planning to do was no secret. 

Trump told us. Kamala Harris told us. Now that he is back in office, Trump is emboldened by the judicial cover received from past and future Supreme Court decisions. He is no longer surrounded by the likes of Mike Pence, who, as a key member of the first Trump administration, eventually had the courage and conviction to tell the president no. 

In his second term, he has strategically put in place a vice president, DHS secretary, attorney general and FBI director who share his disdain for the Constitution, the rule of law and human dignity for those considered “others.” And yet behind the corrupt facade stands Stephen Miller. As the deputy chief of staff and homeland security adviser, Miller is truly the evil behind the maliciousness that has permeated all levels of the federal government. 

Many voters who supported Trump for president knew his future administration would conduct mass deportations. Still, they could not have known that there would be cases where ICE agents would literally murder innocent citizens in the process. 

A Border Patrol agent shot and killed Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse, during a federal immigration enforcement operation. The shooting of Pretti comes less than three weeks after Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, was shot dead by an immigration agent in the same city of Minneapolis. 

In both shootings, conflicting narratives have come from federal and state officials. In both cases, neither Alex Pretti nor Renee Good was the actual target of an ICE raid. The conflicting narratives between federal and state officials should serve as a wake-up call. 

Fortunately, we live in a time when most people have cellphones and, with them, can provide video footage in instances where ICE agents cross the line. We should be encouraged that average bystanders are giving the American public the evidence we need to expose the truth behind wrongful deaths and the methods used by Trump’s modern-day Gestapo. 

Despite the video recording seen by the public, federal agents said Pretti resisted violently, and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem has claimed that an official fired “defensive shots.” Minnesota Democratic Gov. Tim Walz, though, has said this account is “nonsense” and “lies.” We have to ask ourselves what is the true motive behind ICE’s operation in Minnesota, where this level of federal intrusion is not present in red states such as Texas and Florida, which have a larger number of migrants. 

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi sent a letter to Walz demanding the state take three specific actions before federal immigration agents would consider reducing their presence in Minneapolis, including turning over voter rolls. 

In the letter, Bondi blamed both state and local leaders for the unrest that has come in response to the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement operations. We can never expect that Trump and his allies will make idle comments that have no meaning. We must pay attention because they will eventually give away their true intentions. 

The attorney general’s request for Minnesota voter rolls raises a serious red flag because it has nothing to do with the unrest in the streets or with immigration policy. This is about election interference by way of force and threats. It shows an administration that is getting bolder and feels no need to hide the corruption. 

I agree with Sen. Chris Murphy, who wrote on X, “This has never been about safety or immigration. It’s a pretext for Trump to take over elections in swing states.” This should be a wake-up call for those who believe in authentic conservative ideology. 

This is the wake-up call for self-described conservatives who still support the Trump administration and its actions in Minnesota. You are not a conservative. You are a fascist who is supporting tyranny in America.