In February 2024, an Antifa radical, consumed with hatred for my conservative policies and Christian faith, detonated an improvised explosive device (IED) outside my attorney general’s office in Montgomery, Ala. The IED was packed with nails and metal shrapnel, projectiles designed to tear through flesh, shatter bone and kill anyone within the blast radius. If the device had been moved just a few feet closer, or if staff had arrived for work at that time, we would have been planning funerals instead of counting blessings.
Fortunately, no one was injured that day and the perpetrator was caught, but the attack represented something bigger and more dangerous that is quickly being normalized: a culture in which political violence masquerades as legitimate political expression.
Unfortunately, citizen leaders, who are called to aspire to a higher societal standard, have implicitly condoned this new form of passionate activism. In many cases they are very happy to see it, convinced that the sincerity of their feelings justifies the actions of their allies, regardless of their legality.
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Unhindered by ethical guardrails or even common sense, these political mercenaries move on to the next melodrama, eager to jump into the fray to gain media attention for a cause they are convinced is noble and the public affirmation they are itching for attention. That means their focus in recent weeks has been entirely on Minneapolis, where federal officials are investigating a widespread network of tax fraud in a scheme carried out mainly by Somali immigrants who secured millions in government contracts to operate non-existent child care centers.
When ICE began enforcement actions related to the investigation, including a raid that resulted in the death of Renee Good when she crashed her car into a law enforcement officer, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey told ICE to “get out of Minneapolis.” And on Sunday, on ABC’s “This Week,” Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., responded to Alex Pretti’s death by proclaiming, “My message is simple: [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] doesn’t make us safer, they make us less safe, and they need to leave our state.”
The combustible rhetoric, which casts law enforcement as the enemy rather than those who break the law or interfere with its enforcement, is clearly inflaming an already tense situation.
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It’s hard to watch Democratic officials like Frey repeat the same mistakes that almost got me killed. These liberal standard-bearers establish permission structures that signal to emotionally immature activists that whatever tantrum they choose to throw is acceptable, appropriate, and justified. As someone who narrowly escaped deadly political violence, I know the consequences of such callous disregard for civility and the rule of law, and I see those same corrosive conditions taking root in Minneapolis.
As someone who narrowly escaped deadly political violence, I know the consequences of such callous disregard for civility and the rule of law, and I see those same corrosive conditions taking root in Minneapolis.
Recently, an unruly mob stormed Cities Church during worship, forcing parents to shield their wailing children as protesters swarmed the sanctuary, belligerently accusing the pastor of moonlighting as a field director for ICE. Former CNN anchor Don Lemon joined the chaos, livestreaming the harassment and lending it legitimacy. These were not protesters. By Lemon’s own admission, they conducted “Operation Pull-Up,” a deliberate tactical operation to confront Christians and disrupt religious practice.
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The response from Democratic officials was predictable. Because the mob claimed moral authority, the illegality of their terror was downplayed or ignored. The media insisted it was just a “peaceful protest” by concerned citizens. But this is exactly what the FACE Act is intended to prosecute: the use of force to injure, intimidate or hinder people “exercising their religious freedom”. The Biden administration has weaponized this very law to attack pro-life advocates who pray peacefully outside abortion clinics. What happened in Minneapolis is a textbook example of the scenario this law was actually intended to address.
I’ve seen this pattern before. It started with the demonstrations after the death of George Floyd – events that honest observers remember for what they became: excuses to riot, loot and intimidate under the guise of progressive moralism and racial justice. When politicians’ inflammatory language went unchecked in the summer of 2020, entire Minneapolis neighborhoods burned to the ground, causing millions in property damage to innocent people, many of whom were immigrants or minority business owners, while activists went wild.
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We cannot allow this mass chaos to happen again. The consequences are too real and too devastating.
President Trump was elected with a mandate to restore sanity to immigration, and a key part of fulfilling his promise is bringing to justice those who abuse our system and exploit our generosity. In the case of the Minneapolis fraud, he is doing exactly what he said he would do.
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The American people deserve leaders who will protect their rights and not neglect them when it is politically expedient to do so. Embracing radical political tactics benefits no one, especially those at the bottom of the economic ladder or those who simply want to express their opinions freely.
Having survived an attack by the same forces now mobilizing in Minneapolis, I can say with certainty: There is no right answer to extremist intimidation, but an unwavering determination – to take it seriously, to prosecute it fully when it occurs, and to take all necessary measures to protect law-abiding citizens from terror and intimidation.
As the head of law enforcement in my state, I know firsthand that violent criminals, including those motivated by political extremism, will only be deterred if they have reason to believe that legitimate consequences await them for breaking the law.
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It is incumbent on all leaders to stand up for the rule of law and reject inflammatory language before more offices are bombed, more churches are stormed, and more communities are destroyed. The temperature is rising. Those in positions of authority must decide whether to enable the chaos or oppose it.
I know which side I’m on.
