This past weekend I traveled to Minneapolis with some friends and veterans to stand at the site where Department of Homeland Security agents brutally murdered Alex Pretti, a nurse at the Minneapolis VA.
The site is also where people go to remember Renée Nicole Good, who had been killed in cold blood just a couple weeks earlier and a few blocks away in a more residential part of town.
Both deaths were captured on video, and any reasonable person could see that these deaths weren’t just negligent, they were murder. Both victims were members of the community who were trying to help their neighbors. And both were later branded as terrorists by Donald Trump, Stephen Miller, and Kristi Noem, whose disastrous policies caused their deaths.
The place where Alex was killed is now a memorial—something every American should experience for themselves. I say “experience,” not simply “see,” because I want to make clear that there’s something about it that pictures and videos cannot do justice.
Across the street sits the Black Forest Inn, a beloved German restaurant and beer garden in the Whittier neighborhood whose parking lot became the site of something extraordinary this weekend: a free tribute concert and community fundraiser headlined by the Dropkick Murphys.
Thousands of people showed up.
It rained through much of the day, but people came anyway. Local bands took the stage. Members of the community spoke out, sharing a message of defiance and pride in the face of a brutal occupation by their own federal government. And across the street, just yards away, the memorial for Alex Pretti stood as a quiet reminder of why everyone was there.
I spent nearly two full days at that memorial.
Every time I approached it, the atmosphere changed. It felt like stepping into another world. There was a kind of cone of silence around it, even when the punk bands were performing just yards away.
People came constantly—every minute I was there. Candles were burning even in the rain. Colleagues from the VA had left stethoscopes and nurses’ uniforms covered with handwritten messages. Handmade art. Notes of gratitude. Small objects left by people whose lives Alex touched.
Every time I walked near the memorial, I felt a pressure in my chest. My eyes teared up. A wave of emotion rocked my body, like a kick in the gut.
I live a thousand miles away from Minneapolis. I wasn’t a patient of Alex, and never would have had a reason to know him while he was alive.
But the VA hospital system he dedicated his professional life to serving saved my life. Again and again.
For nearly twenty years I’ve received care from VA doctors, nurses, and staff across multiple states and in Washington, D.C. When Alex Pretti was killed, I saw the people who have helped keep me alive for half my life reflected in him.
Standing at that memorial was overwhelming.
And yet the dominant emotion I witnessed in Minneapolis wasn’t despair. It was hope.
The concert was a celebration of life on a scale I’ve never seen before. Music filled the street. Thousands of people sang and danced in the rain. And at the same time, the memorial remained just across the street—a quiet place where people continued to mourn.
That juxtaposition said everything about Minneapolis right now.
This is a city carrying deep trauma.
But it is also a city refusing to break.
Minneapolis Is Still Under Pressure
One of the most important things people across the country need to understand is that even though Minneapolis has faded from national headlines, federal operations there have not stopped.
They’ve simply changed tactics.
Activists and advocates who have been on the ground for months told me that federal agents are increasingly moving into suburbs and rural areas where communities are less organized and less prepared. In dense cities, people can mobilize quickly. Outside the city, neighbors are more isolated—and therefore more vulnerable.
I met with veterans who have been supporting the community for months, both locals and people who have upended their lives to move to Minneapolis to provide mutual aid, confront ICE, and keep Americans’ attention on the daily kidnappings by federal agents.
I spoke with a patient of Alex Pretti at the Minneapolis VA. I met restaurant owners who opened their doors and served hot coffee and free meals to neighbors in the days following the killings. Teachers are delivering food to students because families have been afraid to leave their homes since November. Proud, self-described soccer moms are using their minivans to shuttle people to safety after ICE dumps them in the snow with no wallet, no jacket, and no phone.
Businesses have been shuttered for months because both employees and customers are scared.
Students have missed months of school.
Families worry that if they leave their homes they could be followed—or kidnapped by armed, masked thugs in unmarked rental cars.
And all of this is happening in a city where two members of the community—Renée Good and Alex Pretti—were killed on video.
Despite everything, the community continues to show up for each other.
What the People of Minneapolis Want the Rest of America to Know
Over and over again, people told me two things.
First: they still need help.
Second: what is happening to them could happen anywhere.
Minneapolis residents asked people across the country to keep talking about this. The national news cycle has moved on to other crises—and many of them matter deeply. War overseas—where troops are dying and many more are being injured than our government will admit—is real fucking urgent.
But Minneapolis is still experiencing its own kind of war right now.
Stories from this city need to be amplified.
The second thing they asked for is tangible support.
Visit the city.
Send care packages.
Support the people whose livelihoods have been shattered.
Every neighborhood I drove through had signs in windows and storefronts rejecting what was happening to their city. Minneapolis is pushing back. But communities under pressure cannot do it alone.
How the Concert and Fundraiser Came Into Being
About three weeks ago, a few friends had an idea. Dropkick Murphys, a band who has been fighting for and providing real, tangible assistance to working class people for the last thirty years was scheduled to play in St. Paul in the evening of Friday, March 6th.
Could we ask them to play a free show for the community beforehand, one that pays tribute to Renee Good and Alex Pretti, and helps to raise awareness and funds to support the communities that they died defending?
Dropkick was excited to get it done. At first, the plan was to have them pull up on a flatbed, play acoustically in a sort of guerrilla/surprise show, and drive off to make it to their sold-out show in time. But that would require a permit… and if we needed a permit anyway, why not build something bigger?
Local anti-racist activist, punk rocker, and DKM super-fan Marty O’Connor canvassed the neighborhood looking for a venue. And when Gina Christ of the Black Forest Inn heard from her mother that “some guy was talking about the Dropkick Murphys wanting to play a show, and he left a card” she sprang into action to make it happen.
The concert this weekend was organized over just a few weeks in February by local activists and organizations, including but not limited to Anna Schmitz, executive director of the Whittier Alliance, and the Minneapolis Foundation, with help from Valor Media Network, The Save America Movement , and Veterans Fighting Fascism.
Our objective was to help the community directly. To bring resources. To bring joy. And we accomplished our mission.
Thanks to thousands of people who showed up in the rain—and thousands more who watched online—we have already raised more than $46,000 as of Tuesday morning, March 10.
The fundraiser remains open at AbolishICE.live, and every dollar raised goes directly to community support efforts, including:
The Rent Fundraiser, helping hundreds of Twin Cities families stay housed
The Eat Street Fundraiser, supporting small businesses recovering from recent events
The Immigrant Law Center, which provides legal services and advocacy for immigrant families
The South Minneapolis Families Fund, assisting families facing immediate financial hardship
If you have the capacity to help, please consider contributing.
The livestream from the concert—including hours of incredible performances by the Dropkick Murphys and local bands—is also available at AbolishICE.live.
Preparing for What Comes Next
People in Minneapolis told me something else that Americans everywhere should hear.
They believe what they are experiencing now is coming to other communities next.
Congress recently provided DHS with a massive influx of funding, and agencies are rapidly expanding the number of federal personnel being trained for domestic operations. In August, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the creation of a “National Guard Response Force”, or “Quick Reaction Force”, that will be used to suppress Americans’ rights.
And they are not focusing only on major cities.
Federal tactics are increasingly targeting suburbs and smaller towns where organizing infrastructure is weaker.
That’s why preparation matters.
If you don’t know where to start, I’ve built something to help.
At veteransfightingfascism.org, my nonprofit Veterans Fighting Fascism hosts a set of guides on how to start an antifascist book club. It’s a simple model that helps people meet their neighbors, build trust, and begin organizing locally.
These groups start with conversation—but they often grow into networks capable of protecting and supporting their communities.
If you’re wondering what you can do where you live, start with the “How to Start an Antifascist Book Club” guide — it’s a good place to begin.
A Quick Programming Note for On Offense
Because we captured so much footage during this trip, the On Offense podcast will not publish a new episode on its usual Wednesday schedule this week.
Instead, over the coming weeks we will release multiple interviews recorded on the ground in Minneapolis, including conversations with:
Matt Gordon (@usmcangryvetera), a Marine veteran who has been organizing and documenting events on the ground in Minneapolis and around the country
Riveter, a local woman veteran and former patient of Alex Pretti at the Minneapolis VA who has been serving on the frontlines as a street medic
Ken Casey, frontman of the Dropkick Murphys and longtime advocate for working-class communities
Gina Christ, owner of the Black Forest Inn, whose restaurant hosted the concert and whose business and community have been deeply affected by recent events
Ian Austin, a six-times-deployed Army Ranger who was arrested alongside journalist Don Lemon for engaging in a protest against ICE
These conversations capture the voices of people living this moment in real time.
I think you’ll understand what Minneapolis is experiencing, and what other cities will be soon, much better once you hear from them directly.
Keep Minneapolis in Your Heart and Mind
What I witnessed in Minneapolis was painful, inspiring, and unforgettable.
I saw grief.
I saw courage.
And I saw thousands of people standing together in the rain to say that their community will not be intimidated.
If you want to support them, the most direct way to help right now is to visit AbolishICE.live.
Watch the concert.
Share the story.
And if you can, help keep this community standing.
