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:
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‘Malicious Abuse of Power’: Trump Slammed for New Arrest of Ábrego García and Deportation Threat
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On Day of His Release, Trump Administration Threatens to Deport Ábrego García to Uganda
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Border Patrol Begs Retired Agents to Rejoin the Agency
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Don’t Let ICE’s Legal Abuses Stop You From Asserting Your Rights, Advocates Say
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Community Organizer Slams “Fascist ICE Agents” After Arrest of U.S. Citizen Documenting Raids
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Bush Lawyers’ Legal Arguments for Guantánamo Bay Paved the Way for CECOT
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Border Patrol and ICE Agents Are Arresting U.S. Citizens in Immigration Raids
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Keep Immigration Raids Out of Schools
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Bloodied Faces, Sobbing Children: Immigration Officers Smash Car Windows to Speed Up Arrests
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‘You Feel Like Your Life Is Over’: HRW Report Exposes Abuses in Trump’s Immigration Jails in Florida
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By Refusing to Show Faces or Badges, ICE Opens Door to Vigilante Impersonators
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Medicaid Is Giving ICE Access to Data of 79M Enrollees, Including Ethnicity
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‘This Is an Internment Camp’: Lawmakers Horrified by Inhumane Conditions in ‘Alligator Alcatraz’
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On CNN, LA’s ICE Protesters Were Seen and Not Heard
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Federal Agents Spray Tear Gas at Protesters, Children During ICE Raids at California Farms
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