Posted by Joshua Scheer
I have reported this time and time again, and it bears repeating: where are our so-called “leaders”? As democratic norms erode in real time, we are left with fewer and fewer options. What we are witnessing is not abstract—it is a direct attack on press freedom itself.
As the former president of the Minneapolis NAACP @leslieeredmond warned during a today at a press conference,
“We are under attack. It’s not a joke. It’s not a drill.”
She asked what we should ask where are Waltz and the rest of the leadership class. They watch as the machinery of democracy grinds to a halt, clinging to elections and courts that no longer protect the people in real time. Meanwhile, the rest of us are left to confront the assault on our rights—and the reality is stark: waiting for permission from the so-called leadership class is no longer an option.
"We are under attack. It's not a joke, it's not a drill."
— BreakThrough News (@BTnewsroom) January 30, 2026
Former President of the Minneapolis NAACP @leslieeredmond has a warning for the rest of the world in the wake of the arrests of Don Lemon and Georgia Fort. The journalists were arrested Thursday night and Friday morning,… pic.twitter.com/k2rgPW0c8h
That warning followed the arrests of journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort, who were detained Thursday night and Friday morning by federal agents. Both were covering an anti-ICE church protest in Minnesota that had taken place weeks earlier. Their arrests raise profound questions about the criminalization of journalism and the use of federal power to intimidate those documenting dissent.
As Leslie Redmond made clear, this is not just a local issue. It is a warning to the rest of the country—and the world.
She urged people not to retreat into despair: “Don’t complain—activate.” As she put it, you can lock up a revolutionary, but you cannot lock up a revolution.
Theres are plenty of great speakers to listen to in the video below
Footage and full remarks from the press conference, as well as the livestream, are available via BreakThrough News’ YouTube channel.
For more of our reporting on immigration here:
-
Why Power Analysis Is Key To Fighting ICE
-
More Details Emerge of Trump’s Secret Use of ICE to Spy on Critics
-
Hundreds of Incarcerated Migrants Go on Hunger Strike in Remote Michigan Prison
-
Fear and Opportunity: Immigration Scams Surged as Trump’s Sweeps Lured Desperate People to Eager Defrauders
-
New Mexico Becomes the Latest State to End Cooperation With ICE Under New Law
-
Free Yousof Azizi!
-
Caught in the Crackdown: As Arrests at Anti-ICE Protests Piled Up, Prosecutions Crumbled
-
Ice’s Israeli Spyware Expansion Signals A New Era Of Domestic Surveillance
-
Nurses Forge Alliances to Protect Patients From Trump’s Immigration Crackdown
-
“ICE Wants Unpaid Volunteers—The U.S. Military is at a Breaking Point”
-
The Theft of Bodily Autonomy Is Central to the Authoritarian Playbook, and Texas Has Been Its Proving Ground
-
People Die While Companies Profit
-
ICE Raids and Medicaid Cuts Put Both Caregivers and Their Patients at Risk
-
Afghanistan War Veteran Dies in ICE Custody One Day After Arrest
-
Freedom for Immigrants Launches Interactive Map to Track U.S. Detention Centers and Connect Families to Resources
Editor’s Note: At a moment when the once vaunted model of responsible journalism is overwhelmingly the play thing of self-serving billionaires and their corporate scribes, alternatives of integrity are desperately needed, and ScheerPost is one of them. Please support our independent journalism by contributing to our online donation platform, Network for Good, or send a check to our new PO Box. We can’t thank you enough, and promise to keep bringing you this kind of vital news.
You can also make a donation to our PayPal or subscribe to our Patreon.