Bulwark Takes - Sarah, Tim and JVL Went to See Minneapolis for Themselves

Episode Date: March 4, 2026

Sarah Longwell, Tim Miller and JVL traveled to Minneapolis to see what’s happening outside the Whipple detention center, where local volunteers and protesters say ICE activity hasn’t slowed despite official claims.

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BetMGM operates pursuant to an operating agreement with Eye Gaming Ontario. Hey guys, Sarah Longwell here, publisher of the bulwark. Tim, JVL and I, even our boy, Sam, we were all out in Minneapolis not that long ago. And one of the things that I wanted to say, there's a video on the back here of us hanging out with a lot of the protesters there, down at the Whipple Building. It was really important for us to go. It meant a lot to us. But one of the things we did. We did two shows.

Both of them were sold out. The first one sold out so fast that we ended up adding a second one. but you know we were able to go down there and donate all the proceeds of those two sold-out shows to second harvest, which is a food pantry that's now turned into a food delivery there in Minneapolis. And the reason that we were able to do that is because people like you subscribe to Bullwork Plus. It's the kind of thing that allows us to go on these trips, go into the community, to do these shows and give the proceeds away. So go, become a Bullwork Plus member,

subscribe, ride with us, help support the work that we're doing. We really appreciate it. And here's the video. Hey guys, we are out here in front of the Whipple building in Minneapolis. We came down to see the bird dogs and the people who've been down here all the time, like standing in the cold, I'll tell you, I cannot, it is not even that cold compared to what it has been for these people the whole time. They come out here every day and they protest, they watch,

because they're releasing people out of these buildings. without their coats, without their cell phones, they make sure they get food, water, coats. They're doing everything. It's incredible. This building is Bishop Henry Whipple Building. Whipple was a guy who actually, ironically, back in the 1800s, was very supportive of indigenous rights. So it's incredibly ironic that this building is here. This is on the site of a concentration camp. And now it's the site of the regional detention center.

So it's just layers upon layers of injustice, cruelty, and indignity. This is the major detention center for the region, not just Minnesota. When they take someone in completely lawlessly, who is a completely legal citizen, and sometimes they just take people in to intimidate them, they'll release them, and they'll purposely release them without their phone, without their jackets. We heard of some kids that they let go just last night in the snow with no winter coats, nothing. And then when people organized to be posted over here to have coats and supplies, they say, started dropping people in the woods away from anybody so that they wouldn't be able to get the assistance that they need. I mean, they do everything that they do is calculatedly cruel. Feels like the activity here hasn't really dropped as much as it seems like it has in the

news. That's what everybody's saying. Yeah, one point is everybody here has been trying to emphasize that the national news about, oh, Homan says they're pulling out and it's over. That does not fit with the reality on the ground. There's some shifting to the suburbs, exurbs, and rural areas, but the overall number of vehicles and ice vehicles coming in and out has not diminished noticeably at all. And to anybody who doesn't really understand, the best analogy that we have in America for what's going on is the Underground Railroad. And you have people organizing to help people who are in hiding from their own government, from the people who run the country from the regime, and attempts to get food to them in their homes, have doulas show up to deliver babies for women who can't leave where they are and go to a hospital

because the hospitals are being watched by the mass agents of the state. That's the America they have in Minneapolis right now. They are definitely not winding down. We've seen just this week six or seven truckloads of brand new vehicles come in. They're also changing tactics. They're putting lift and Uber stickers on their vehicles. They're putting pride stickers on their vehicles, anti-ice stickers. So just to confuse the crowds and confuse the people so they can't be observed and blend in more.

They're also wearing Minnesota gear. They're definitely not winding down. I was talking to Cindy and you said you were a Monday to Friday girly, so you've been out here for a while. I have. But the one thing that you were telling me that I just want to talk about is like you get a sense being out here for that long of like how much action is coming in and out of the Whipple building. And like you're saying to me that it hasn't really gone down that much despite them claiming that they are doing less. So what's your sense for that? I will say after Holman's announcement on that Sunday,

I thought for the first two days, I thought, again, anecdotally, I don't have any quantitative info. I thought it was slowing down, but since last Wednesday, they're here. Would you agree that it has just been about the same? Steady stream.

Steady stream, and out. It does not seem like there has been a reduction. It doesn't. And so when they're going in and out, they have people detained sometimes. Sometimes they're just meeting in there. Like, what's our sense for what's happening? Do we know? Detain.

And what did you tell them what you saw last night? Well, here's something I want that I've noticed too, because we all thought they were leaving. Yeah. They are getting more bold in their response to us. We are seeing a lot of expletive shot at us. finger. Okay, we are, yes, some of us are doing the finger. But we have a First Amendment. They're supposed to be the professional. Yeah, they work for us, actually. We can't, we can flip them off. They can't flip us off. Do you know what I'm saying, though? Yeah, I do. So I have seen a more boldness

being called the really bad R word that I don't want to say that's really out in social media. They were calling you that? Calling all of us. They were calling all of us. Yep. So they take the time to stop their car, wrote on their windows, and tell us that and that we're weirdos and that our word, where that is different. I didn't see a lot of that before. No. Yeah. So I, we, so I, we, I know we're definitely getting to them because, yeah, we can see, you know, like what she was saying, and we see a lot of them, you know, swinging them through, frustrated and stuff like that. So yeah, Yeah, definitely. So we're getting to them.

So you guys have been doing this every day for how long? Since Alex and Renee time. But there's other people that have been here way before. I'm an Alex since I've only been here for about four weeks. Yeah, about four weeks. Man, you got to be chilly. Uh-uh. No, we live here, Tim.

You're not cold? Look at us. I'm cold. Fully prepared for this. Okay, well, let me live in there. My diggies are cold. We good, we good, Tim. I'm freezing for righteousness.

You know, I'm a pastor, so, you know, that's one of the main things that empower me to come out here to, you know, standing in the gap from my neighbor number one and number two. I can identify with that as a minority in this country what it's like to be profiled. What do you feel like you've witnessed? I feel like I've witnessed grit, Minnesota showing up for each other. I feel like I've also witnessed horror and terror, me being from an area. urban area in West Baltimore, you've been from D.C., you know, in the city, Baltimore is like, just seeing it happen to people in different ways up here. It's just been horrific for me. And I just,

what I believe as a pastor, I wouldn't be able to show up on Sunday and preach it if I didn't also live it. So, yeah. We want to be filmed because we want the next generations to know that we are the people that stood up for our neighbors and said, no, this is not okay. We are not going to hide in our houses. They have both witnessed what sounds like unbelievable cruelty and some real horrible stuff out here, but they also seem like incredibly inspired by each other and committed to each other and what they're doing for each other. And, you know, obviously we came down here to do the shows and show up and feel supportive. But like, this is different than that.

This is like, this is and the emphasis on they say, you know, the protesters get sort of the media attention, But that this stuff that JVL is talking about, they all really try to emphasize how much they're doing in terms of getting food to people, getting close to people, just the way the communities are rallying around each other's incredible to watch. They also have some choice words for the ice guys that come by.

And that's nice too, I like that. That's good, they deserve it.