Minneapolis, MN – The People’s Action Coalition Against Trump (PACAT) organized a massive mobilization to protest Jake Lang’s planned “Crusader March,” where he announced that he would burn a Quran on the steps of City Hall before marching into the predominantly Somali Cedar-Riverside neighborhood.

He and a handful of other racists were confronted by extreme cold weather. They were shut down and chased away by an overwhelming crowd of at least 1000, who answered PACAT’s call for a “Protest to defend our neighbors!”

Lang is a January 6 rioter pardoned by Trump; he is a reactionary provocateur making a name for himself through social media stunts targeting Muslims. Lang announced his plans to march in Minneapolis over a month ago, falsely claiming he had a permit for the City Hall rotunda.

Since that announcement, Trump unleashed Operation Metro Surge, bringing some 3000 federal agents to carry out abductions and deportations, in the name of immigration enforcement. Community anger at the operation has only grown since the murder of Renee Good by ICE agent Jonathan Ross last week.

Organizers from Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC), the US Palestinian Community Network (USPCN), Twin Cities Coalition for Justice, and the Anti-War Committee gave speeches and led chants on the mic, as Lang huddled in a city hall window recess well across the street. As the massive crowd chanted and shouted, it was impossible to hear any of the hate Lang tried to spew.

Lang was pelted with water balloons, sprayed with silly string and super soakers. As he grew increasingly frustrated, several members of the American Indian Movement appeared on the scene, and that seemed to be the last straw for Lang. Unable to be heard, or to burn any Qurans, Lang turned heel and was chased back to his hotel by a crowd that refused to tolerate his pro-ICE anti-Muslim message.

Lang has since taken to social media, claiming he was “literally lynched by an anti-white mob.” He continued, “I’m at the hospital now getting staples in my skull… Nearly ripped limb from limb in Minneapolis!!!!” He asked his racist supporters to send him money for his hospital bill and future security.

#MinneapolisMN #MN #ImmigrantRights #ICE #JakeLang #Reactionaries #Nazi #MIRAC #USPCN #PACAT #Feature

Minneapolis, MN – With wind chills bringing temperatures below zero, 15,000 Minnesotans took to the streets in Minneapolis on Saturday to demand ICE get out. The protest was organized by a large coalition of immigrant rights groups and unions in response to an upsurge in attacks by ICE in the past month in the greater Twin Cities area. Many of these attacks have focused on the Somali community after Trump’s racist call for mass deportations of Somali Minnesotans.

Community members have witnessed ICE agents drag a pregnant woman through the streets, shoot pepper balls and tear gas at responders, smash car windows and kidnap people in broad daylight. During the coldest and darkest time of the year, the people have been chasing these federal agents all over the Twin Cities, militantly fighting back, letting them know they are not welcome here.

The march was organized by a large coalition that included unions and immigrant rights group such as Minneapolis Federation of Educators Local 59, SEIU Local 26, Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC), UNIDOS, Comunidades Organizando el Poder y La Acción Latina (COPAL), Minnesota 8 (MN8), Immigrant Defense Network (IDN), Council on American-Islamic Relations, among others.

The march included three trucks with multiple speakers from different organizations and unions. The front truck included fiery chants and speakers led by MIRAC members. MIRAC speaker Myrka Zambrano said, “We march here so they know that there is resistance. Here and all across the country, we want ICE out of our cities and we will scream it as loud as we need to!”

Emcees kept the energy high for the nearly one and a half mile march, with chants uniting the crowd against ICE. Protesters marched below a freeway bridge and echoes of “Chinga la Migra” boomed as they neared a Somali mall.

Speakers highlighted support for Somali neighbors amidst racist attacks from the Trump administration. Jaylani Hussein of CAIR-MN addressed protesters, “You showed up today! You came out today knowing it was going to be cold! You showed up for your neighbors, for your friends, for your teachers, for your union brothers and sisters. You came out today to show that Minnesota will not let ICE divide us!”

Tracy Molm of the People’s Action Coalition Against Trump (PACAT) said, “In PACAT we believe our struggles and fights against the reactionary and racist policies of the second Trump administration must be met with action. While we have many different struggles, we are united in our commitment to fight back and shut it down!”

MIRAC emcees concluded the march by inviting protesters to shop at the many immigrant-owned businesses on Lake Street that have been struggling due to the recent attacks on their community. Their call to action invited the crowd to show up and take the streets with MIRAC for their 20th anniversary May 1 march in 2026.

#MinneapolisMN #MN #ImmigrantRights #MIRAC #PACAT #ICE #CAIRMN #MFE9 #SEIU #MN8 #UNIDOS #IDN #COPAL #CJC #Feature

Edina, MN – On Monday, June 23, a crowd of Minnesotans gathered to join the People’s Action Coalition Against Trump (PACAT) for a press conference and rally against right-wing violence, held in front of the Republican Party of Minnesota Office located in Edina.

In light of the targeted assassination of State Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark Hortman, and the attempted murder of Senator John Hoffman and wife, Yvette Hoffman, PACAT organized the press conference and rally to condemn the rise in violent right-wing extremism, fanned by the reactionary agenda of the Republican Party and President Donald Trump.

PACAT is a coalition composed of various grassroots organizations within the Twin Cities, working together to organize a fighting movement against Donald Trump and the reactionary rhetoric of the Republican Party.

The press conference was grounded in a tone of mourning and anger, as Olivia Crull, speaking on behalf of PACAT, said, “We offer our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Melissa and Mark Hortman, and our thoughts are with John and Yvette Hoffman in their journey to recovery. In the wake of this great loss to Minnesota’s fight for progressive change, what we will do is continue to organize in the hopes of making our communities better, safer, and free from reactionary violence.”

As more information surfaces from the tragedy on Saturday, June 14, it has become clear that both legislators, as well as the other individuals and organizations named on the shooter’s list of targets, were singled out because of their advocacy for reproductive rights and other progressive issues.

PACAT views the actions of the killer, Vance Boelter, not as an anomaly, but as part of the long history of anti-abortion violence in this country.

While addressing the crowd, Kristen Bledsoe of the Minnesota Abortion Action Committee said, “Rhetoric that propagates the idea of ‘fetal personhood’ and equates abortion with murder, that dehumanizes abortion providers and people who have had abortions, will always lead to the kind of violence that killed Melissa and Mark Hortman. As much as they want to deny responsibility, the Republican Party knows this.”

Right-wing media accounts initially promoted the theory that the shooter was an immigrant or supporter of immigrant rights, given the recent cuts to MinnesotaCare for undocumented adults by the state legislature. Once the motives of the targeted attacks were revealed, the Republican party and conservative media have attempted to distance themselves from this political violence.

Yann Chen of the Minnesota Immigrant Action Committee spoke about this anti-immigrant rhetoric, saying, “Trump’s campaign against undocumented immigrants, against Black and brown people, against trans people, against women, against working-class folks of every background are not new. These platforms of hate have been promoted and associated with the Republican party for over 60 years.”

While some have praised the police response last week, activists against police brutality have pointed out the flaws in their response that led to Boelter getting away, as well as the double standard of how law enforcement treats oppressed nationalities.

Jae Yates of the Twin Cities Coalition for Justice posed a question to Republicans, asking, “Will you racially profile white men who drive vehicles that are too similar to police cars or arrest them at nine times the rate of other racial groups? Of course not. Because none of you are willing to name the actual threat in the room, and none of you are willing to be honest about the fact that your enthusiastic embrace of white nationalism has fostered the environment for this horrific crime.”

On the day of the shootings, tens of thousands of Minnesotans protested at the Capitol as part of the national No Kings day of action. Drew Harmon of Minnesota 50501 referenced this moment, saying, “On the morning of June 14, we turned our sorrow into collective action as tens of thousands of Minnesotans came out in cities across the state, not just in Saint Paul, to highlight how sick and tired we are of this hateful rhetoric. But it will require continuous action, this is not something that can be fixed in one day. So, this is a call for everyone to continue the fight.”

#EdinaMN #MN #PeoplesStruggles #TCC4j #RightWingViolence #PACAT #MNAAC #MIRAC