As the Trump administration steps up enforcement against illegal immigration and cracks down on welfare fraud, the radical left is escalating its tactics in a calculated attempt to create martyrs.
We’ve seen this before, but the current ideological fervor, backed by deep-pocketed donors and foreign influence, makes it much more dangerous. From blocking ICE operations to protecting massive fraud schemes in states like Minnesota, Illinois, California, and New York, the left isn’t just resisting—they’re preparing for a fight with the intent to cause widespread unrest.
The signs are everywhere. In recent days, we have witnessed nullificationist governors and mayors openly defying federal authority and fanning violent rhetoric in the wake of the shooting of Rachel Good in Minneapolis after she allegedly attempted to arrest a federal law enforcement agent. This incitement by elected officials inevitably increases the threat of violence against ICE agents. This is a calculated strategy.
Like the New York Post reportedGood was a so-called “ICE Watch” activist, who a friend called a “warrior.” This means Good was there to disrupt the federal law enforcement operation and—with any luck—be filmed in the process.
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A person is detained as federal agents and police clash with protesters outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis, Minnesota on Thursday, January 8, 2026. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP)
But Trump and federal law enforcement should not back down; they must outsmart the professional agitators with deft tactics.
Elected officials on the left are stoking hysteria not just to raise funds and fend off primary challenges from their even more extreme flanks, but to provoke confrontations that could produce martyrs. Martyrs, as history shows, are powerful accelerators of political violence, as the 2020 death of George Floyd in Minneapolis demonstrated. They are rallying the base and demonizing opponents – with their two main strategic objectives being to pressure governments to withdraw, while costing Republicans in the 2026 midterm elections and the 2028 presidential contest.
Take the ongoing fight against social fraud. In Minnesota, the Feeding Our Future scandal has exposed as much as $250 million in stolen federal funds intended for child nutrition during the pandemic. Somali immigrants, some with ties to questionable nonprofits, were funneling money abroad, including, apparently, to potential terrorist groups. But when federal investigators dig deeper, left-wing activists and politicians cry foul and frame it as racial persecution. This is not isolated.
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In Illinois, audits reveal billions in improper Medicaid payments, often tied to uncontrolled immigration. California’s Medi-Cal program is a black hole of fraud, estimated at more than $20 billion annually, exacerbated by sanctuary policies that protect illegal immigrants. New York’s welfare system is faring no better, with massive overpayments and little oversight.
The left wants these investigations stopped – not because they are unfounded, but because exposing the rot undermines their narrative of open borders and endless rights.
But why the urge for martyrs? It comes from a deep understanding of revolutionary psychology. Today’s agitators are not the opportunistic plunderers of past riots; they are ideologically driven, often professional organizers funded by left-wing billionaires and foreign sources, including China. Beijing has a vested interest in sowing chaos here – weakening America from within while furthering its global ambitions. These groups know that additional high-profile deaths in clashes with ICE could spark national outrage, amplified by a sympathetic media.
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This brings me to a personal reflection on my time in uniform. In 1992, as a young Army intelligence officer, I was deployed to the California National Guard to quell the riots in Los Angeles following the Rodney King verdict. For days, gangs and criminals became more and more brutal, night after night. False rumors spread like wildfire: that we Guardsmen had no ammunition or that we were forbidden to use our weapons. It encouraged the criminal gangs. Left-wing agitators were there too, distributing flyers and organizing in an attempt to spark a full-blown revolution. But their raw material was scarce: mostly opportunistic criminals who were not interested in dying for a cause.
Then came a turning point. One night a man tried to run into a security guard checkpoint. In self-defense, soldiers opened fire and killed him. The next day the streets changed. Gangs and criminals were suddenly on their best behavior. The rumors turned out to be false.
Compare that to today. In 1992, the agitators failed because the rioters were not ideological fanatics willing to become martyrs. Now the motivation is different.
Protests against President Donald Trump and ICE are orchestrated by groups like Antifa and pro-Palestinian networks, steeped in Marxist ideology and lavishly funded. They yearn for a martyr to fuel their narrative of ‘fascist’ oppression.
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Just look at historical precedents. During the secession crisis of 1860–1861, after Virginia seceded, federal troops occupied Alexandria. Colonel Elmer Ellsworth, a friend of President Abraham Lincoln, was shot and killed while removing a Confederate flag from a hotel. The hotel owner, James Jackson, was killed seconds later. Overnight, the Union and the Confederacy had their first martyrs, sparking a conflict that claimed more than 620,000 lives in four years of bloody conflict.
We cannot let history repeat itself. The left’s strategy relies on predictable enforcement that gives agitators time to mobilize, film confrontations and escalate. Trump and ICE must adapt to prevent new shootings. They can do this by quickly relocating their operations, using intelligence to prevent gatherings, and using non-lethal means where possible. They must deploy resources in fraud hotspots like Minnesota’s Somali communities or California’s sanctuary cities, but do so in unpredictable ways. They must work with willing state officials to circumvent the nullificationists. And they must uncover the funding trails – tracing the money from billionaire foundations and China-linked entities fueling the unrest.
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Withdrawing would give the left a victory, further embolden the resistance and erode the rule of law. Instead, smart enforcement will drain the swamp of fraud, secure our borders, and deny radicals their prized martyrs. America has faced worse threats. Resolve wins the day.
Trump must move forward – decisively, but wisely – for the sake of America’s future.
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