Democracy Now! Audio - Democracy Now! 2026-01-20 Tuesday

Episode Date: January 20, 2026

Headlines for January 20, 2026; ICE vs. People of Minnesota: A Special Report on Community Resistance to Trump’s Militarized Crackdown; “Not Above the Law”: Law Prof. Michele Goodwin Decries Violent ICE Activity in Minnesota; A Distraction from Epstein Files? Trump Ramps Up Chaos in Minnesota, Greenland & Beyond; “No Going Back”: Trump Escalates Threats to Take Greenland & Tariff European Allies

New York, this is Democracy Now. Our two front windows and dragged us out, arrested us and brought us to detention. One of the agents, the one who had sprayed the pepper spray into my car, proceeded to say, you guys got to stop obstructing us. That's why that lesbian bitch is dead, referring to Renee Good. As nationwide protests continue to call for ICE, out for good, referring to the ice killing of Renee Good, Trump puts 1,500 military troops on standby to deploy to Minneapolis, to add to thousands

of ice agents already there, dwarfing the local police department. We'll get a report from the streets of Minneapolis and speak with constitutional scholar Michelle Goodwin. Meanwhile, thousands protest in Greenland and Denmark, wearing red, MAGA hats, as in make America go away. We are not interested in being Americans. We are here for show, Mr. Trump, and we will have Greenland to the Greenlandic,

and not for the United States. We'll go to Denmark to speak with the chair of a group for Greenlanders in Denmark who help organize the mass protests. All that and more coming up. Welcome to Democracy Now, Democracy Now.org, the War and Peace Report. I'm Amy Goodman. Tensions are escalating between the United States and Europe after President Trump threatened to impose tariffs on eight European allies that oppose his push to take over Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark. On Sunday, Trump sent a text message to Norway's prime minister, writing, quote, considering your country, decided not to give me the Nobel-Pel Peace Prize for having stopped eight wars plus. I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of

peace, Trump wrote. He went on, quote, the world is not secure unless we have complete and total control of Greenland, unquote. In a post overnight, Trump also criticized Britain for giving the Chegos Islands back to Mauritius after nearly six decades of British rule. Over the weekend, thousands took part in protests in Greenland and Denmark. European leaders denounced Trump's threats and are weighing, cutting off U.S. companies to the European Union market, a move known as the EU's trade bazooka. UK Foreign Secretary, Yvette Cooper, spoke Monday. As the Prime Minister said this morning, the future of Greenland is for the Greenlanders

and for the Danes alone. Greenland is a part of the kingdom of Denmark, and those principles around sovereignty are crucial. It's also why we have made very clear that the use of tariffs and threats against allies in this way is completely wrong and counterproductive. President Trump's heading to the World Economic Forum in Davos. The Washington Post reports the elite gatherings been turned into emergency diplomatic. summit this year due to Trump's threats to take over Greenland. The Pentagon's place 1,500 soldiers from the 11th Airborne Division in Alaska on standby to possibly be deployed to Minnesota, just days after President Trump threatened to invoke

the Insurrection Act to quell protests over ISIS immigration crackdown. This comes, as the Trump administration says, it's opened criminal investigations into Minnesota to Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis mayor, Jacob Fry, both of whom have sharply criticized ISIS tactics. In a statement, Governor Wall said, quote, weaponizing the justice system and threatening political opponents is a dangerous authoritarian tactic, unquote. On Friday, a federal judge ordered ICE agents to stop arresting or pepper spraying peaceful protesters in Minneapolis. On Sunday, demonstrators disrupted services at a church in St. Paul to protest one of the church's pastors, David Easterwood, who's reportedly a top ICE official in the Twin Cities. The Department of Justice is now threatening to investigate the protesters. In another development, the Trump administration's being accused of denying legal counsel to many arrested during the immigration sweeps, multiple attorneys,

have told ABC, they've been prevented from seeing clients held at the Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis. Meanwhile, ICE agents continue to carry out raids. In St. Paul, armed, masked agents battered down the door of a home and without a warrant arrested a man who was let out of his home in his underwear in sub-freezing weather. It turned out that the man, Chang Li Scott Tao, is a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Laos. He was later released and spoke to reporters. And then suddenly just like, guns pointed at us.

I thought, whoa. And then they goes, you come out of here. I go, okay. And then I came out there with my hand up. And then just put my hands on my back. So I did. And then suddenly they just handcuffed me. We'll go to the streets of Minnesota after headlines and we'll speak with constitutional lawyer Michelle Goodwin.

President Trump's openly called for regime change in Iran. In an interview with Politico, Trump said, it's time to look for new leadership in Iran, unquote. This comes as an internet blackout continues in Iran where security forces have largely crushed nationwide protests. The U.S.-based human rights activist news agency says it's verified the deaths of over 3,900 protesters, but the group says the death toll could be far higher. At least 180 security forces have also been killed. The Iranian government has blamed some of the unrest on armed agitators. Israeli forces have begun demolishing the headquarters of UNRWA,

the United Nations Relief and Works Agency and Occupied East. Jerusalem. In his statement, the UN agency said, quote, this is an unprecedented attack not only against Erdogan and its premises. It constitutes a serious violation of international law and the privileges and immunities of the United Nations, unquote. Unra was formed in 1949 to provide aid to Palestinians displaced during the Nakhba. President Trump's invited Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to join his so-called Board of Peace. Trump floated the idea of the board to oversee a ceasefire in Gaza, but it now appears Trump is envisioning a body that could rival the United Nations. Over the weekend, French President Emmanuel Macron rejected Trump's offer to join the board, warning the new board could undermine the UN.

Hungary's far-right Prime Minister, Victor Orban, has accepted. did an invitation to join the board. Trump will serve as the board's chair and have veto power over the board's decisions. Initial appointees on the board include Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, Trump envoy Steve Whitkoff, and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. In addition, Trump's asking countries to pay $1 billion for a permanent spot on the so-called Board of Peace. The United Nations Human Rights Chief Volker Turk visited Sudan for the first time since fighting erupted in April 2023 between the UAE-backed rapid support forces and the Sudanese military. Sudan's dealing with the world's largest displacement crisis and estimated 13.6 million people are displaced by the ongoing war.

According to the UN Office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs, over 30 million people out of Sudan's population of nearly 47 million are in. need of humanitarian assistance. This is Volkot Turk. A chronicle of cruelty is unfolding before our very eyes, and we must not look away. This needs to shock our collective conscience. All those who have any influence, including regional actors, and notably those who supply the arms and benefit economically from this war, need to act urgently to put an end to it. In Uganda, 81-year-old President Yuwere, M.S. Ebene, has been re-elected to a seventh term. Election observers and rights groups criticized the result, claiming the campaign was marred by a heavy crackdown on the opposition and an internet blackout. The main opposition candidate, Bobby Wein, spoke to the BBC from hiding and said he will not contest the results.

Wine told the BBC, quote, the judiciary in Uganda's captured and we encourage Ugandans to use any legal means to fight back and protect their democracy, he said. Chile has declared a state of catastrophe as wildfires have killed at least 19 people. Parts of central and southern Chile were under extreme heat warnings, with temperature set to reach 99 degrees Fahrenheit. Guatemala's declared a state of emergency after 10 police officers have been killed in a wave of coordinated attacks. The violence started over the weekend when prisoners held dozens of guards hostage at three

prisons demanding privileges for gang members and leaders. Guatemalan President Bernardo Aerevolo's state of emergency allows authorities to limit demonstrations and enables the police to arrest anyone suspected of being a gang member without an arrest warrant. Hundreds protested in Davos, Switzerland, ahead of President Trump's visit to the World Economic Forum, an annual gathering of global business elites. It comes as Oxfam released a report Monday, warning that the the collective wealth of billionaires hit a record $18.3 trillion, and that the total number of

billionaires surpassed 3,000 for the first time in history last year. Oxfam also reports highly unequal countries are seven times more likely to experience the erosion of the rule of law and the undermining of elections. This is Oxfam's Director General. Amitab Behar. story is also about how these billioners are not content enough with being super rich. Now they're buying political power. So they're buying elections, they're buying media houses, and what you're eventually seeing is rise of oligarchies. So these few billioners control politics,

policies and narratives. Justice departments considering weakening gun laws an attempt to appeal to Second Amendment supporters. According to the Washington Post, the DOJ is looking to ease rules on private gun sales, loosen requirements for shipping firearms, alter what types of guns can be imported, and even make federal gun licensing fees refundable. Officials are also looking to have applicants lists their biological sex at birth on forms required to purchase guns. DOJ officials are reportedly seeking to announce the new rules at the National Shooting Sports Foundation Gun Trade Show in Las Vegas on Wednesday. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche is scheduled to speak at the trade show.

Three top Catholic Cardinals in the United States have issued an unusual statement announcing U.S. foreign policy saying the country's, quote, moral role in confronting evil around the world is in question. The Cardinals cited the U.S. attack on Venezuela, Trump's threats against Greenland and Russia's war in Ukraine. The Cardinals wrote, quote, in 2026, the United States has entered into the most profound and searing debate about the moral foundation for America's actions in the world since the end of the Cold War, unquote. In other religious news, an Episcopal bishop in New Hampshire has urged fellow clergy to finalize their wills and profound. prepare for what he called a new era of martyrdom, unquote. Bishop Rob Hirschfeld made the comments during a vigil honoring Renee Good, shot to death by an ICE agent in Minneapolis.

The bishop said, quote, Now is no longer the time for statements, but for us with our bodies to stand between the powers of this world and the most vulnerable, unquote. On Monday, the Reverend Al Sharpton, Hilda Martin Luther, King Day rally in Harlem, he denounced the ice killing of Renee Good in Minneapolis. If she cursed him out, does that give them the right to shoot her? And they're now talking about sending in national guards, sending in more ice agents, sending 1,500. We are in a state that Dr. King would have been fighting against this country going this far.

Sharpton also criticized Trump for canceling free admission at National Parks on MLK Day yesterday and on June 10th. Instead, park entrance fees are now waived on June 14th, President Trump's birthday. And one year ago today, President Trump returned to office. A coalition of activist groups, including the Women's March, are calling for a nationwide walkout from schools, jobs, and places of commerce today. It's called the Free America Walkout. And those are some of the headlines. This is Democracy Now, Democracy Now.org, the War and Peace Report. I'm Amy Goodman in New York, joined by Democracy Now as Juan Gonzalez and Chicago.

Hi, Juan. Hi, Amy, and welcome to all of our listeners and viewers across the country and around the world. We begin today's show in Minneapolis, Minnesota, as the Pentagon's place 1,500 soldiers from the 11th Airborne Division, in Alaska to be on standby to possibly be deployed to Minnesota just days after President Trump threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act as protests continue over ISIS immigration crackdown. The Trump administration says it's open criminal investigations into Minnesota, Governor Tim Walls, and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frye, who've sharply criticized ISIS tactics. In a statement, Wall said, quote, weaponizing the justice system and threatening political

opponents is a dangerous authoritarian tactic, unquote. This comes after the FBI reportedly opened a civil rights probe and to the ICE agent who killed Renee Good, but then pivoted to focus instead on whether Good and her widow assaulted the agent. Meanwhile, on Friday, a federal judge ordered ICE agents to stop arresting or pepper spraying peaceful demonstrators in Minneapolis. On Sunday, demonstrators' disbanders. On Sunday, demonstrators disrupted Sunday services at a church in St. Paul to protest one of the church's pastors David Easterwood, who they say is a top ICE official in the Twin Cities. David Easterwood is a pastor here. He is also the director of the field office for ICE in St. Paul.

So someone who claims to worship God teaching people in this church about God, God is out there overseeing ICE agents. The Department of Justice says it's opened an investigation into the protesters. In another development, the Trump administration's being accused of denying legal counsel to many arrested during the immigration sweeps. Multiple attorneys say they've been blocked from seeing clients held at the Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis. Meanwhile, ICE agents continue to carry out raids in St. Paul Arm, massed agents, battered down the door of a home and without a warrant arrested a man led out of home in his

underwear and sub-freezing weather. It turned out the man was a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Laos. For more, we go to Minneapolis for a report from Democracy Now's John Hamilton on the ground there this weekend speaking with people about how communities are organizing against the ice raids. James Schwesneddell is a volunteer with a community rapid response group on the lookout for federal agents in his Minneapolis neighborhood. Just driving around my neighborhood, kind of picking an area to just keep an eye on looking out for any ice or customs and border patrol. Hundreds of legal observers like James now patrol the streets of the Twin Cities each day. day on the lookout for masked federal agents in unmarked vehicles.

And then I'm on a signal chat with people in my neighborhood here. And then there's people all over the neighborhood who are following that signal chat. And if they see a message that ICE is passing through their block or getting out of their cars on their block or the next block over, they're ready to run out. You know, videotape, do constitutional observing, blow whistles, let neighbors know that ice is on the block and it's not safe to come outside. Activities like these are protected by the First Amendment, but that hasn't stopped federal agents from deploying violence against people who track their movements.

Patty O'Keefe is a 36-year-old South Minneapolis resident who learned that lesson first. hand. I live about eight blocks away from where Renee Good was murdered. And last Sunday, January 11th, I was out patrolling and observing ice with my friend Brandon when we were violently arrested and detained. When we got on the scene, the ice agents were getting back into their two vehicles. There were a number of people who had showed. shown up by that point. And so they decided to leave the area. So they turned down a side street. And we proceeded to follow them on that side street and continue blowing our whistles and honking our horns. About 30, 40 seconds like into doing that, they stopped their car, got out of the car,

surrounded my vehicle, you know, screamed at us to, stopped following them, told us we were obstructing them, even though there was no one in front of their cars. We weren't out in active ice raid even, you know, they could have just kept going forward. And yeah, and then one of the agents proceeded to spray pepper spray into the front windshield vent of my vehicle. So we got pepper spray in the car, which was, you know, hurt our eyes and our mouths and our throats. And they got back in, the vehicles, kept driving. And when we didn't turn around, they stopped the car again, got out.

You can go forward. We are not obstructing. We are not obstructing. You can go forward. You can go forward. We're not obstructing. We're not obstructing. We know our rights.

They broke our two front windows and dragged us out. arrested us and brought us to detention. Yes, sir. Coming out. Get the . Shut up. Shut up. Sir, you are under a respiratory

police operation. I was in the vehicle with three ICE agents, and as soon as they all got into the vehicle and shut the doors, they just immediately started taunting me, making fun of me. One of them took a photo of me and showed it to the other agent, and, you know, they were just laughing, you know, insinuated that I was ugly. And then one of the agents, the one who had sprayed the pepper spray into my car,

proceeded to say, you guys got to stop obstructing us. That's why that lesbian bitch is dead, referring to Renee Good. Other legal observers have experienced physical abuse. A disabled U.S. Marine Corps veteran named Scott. suffered bruised arms, hands, and legs after being violently pulled from the driver's seat by federal agents. Get out of the car. Get out of the corner. Put the car and park. Get out of the corner. Put the car park. Get out of the car. You know the Marine Corps veterans. Others have had their license plates and faces scanned by ICE, with agents even following them to their homes.

is at my house. This is an intimidation tactic. Yeah. Judy and Noah Levy were at their home in St. Paul on January 6th when they got an alert. Someone from my book club sent a message on the group chat that, hey, I think ICE is staging in the parking lot of a grocery store that closed down several blocks away. So we drove over and there were about eight SUVs lined up kind of tail to tail. Some had plates, some didn't. They stopped us almost right away.

They stopped. They stopped traffic. The first car that was behind them was about to take a right-hand turn. They surrounded him. There were like five agents that we could see from several car lengths back where we were. We could hear that they were giving him a really hard time. And then the agents that weren't occupied, the employees that weren't occupied with him, started coming back and car by car, they took photographs through the windshield.

Just saying get out of the car, you know, roll down your window. And we didn't do either thing. We just said, hey, we don't want to talk to you. I do not want to talk to you. You're in our neighborhood. You're in our neighborhood. You're in our neighborhood. I have every right to be here. You are in our neighborhood. I'm driving. After the dude took our photographs through the windshield and checked the plate, he came to my passenger side window. just kind of knocked on it and said, hello, hello Judith, how are you today?

What can I do for you, Judith? Do not threaten me. Do not threaten me. As I told you, I go by Judy. Nobody calls me Judith unless they've just run my plates. Of course, the next day, they killed someone who was doing just what we were doing. You know, they killed Renee Good.

And they've escalated. You know, the violence has escalated, harassment, the abuse, the beatings, you know, the kidnappings, that every day they're wreaking havoc, they're speeding through the neighborhood, they're causing accidents, they're disappearing people before the police can't even get there. And what we did was legal. Yeah, what we did was legal. It was legal to follow them. It's legal to film them. And they were trying to chill that. And I will have to say that was incredibly intimidating. That intimidation has felt most in Minneapolis's diverse neighborhoods, like the Lake Street Corridor,

where ICE's crackdown has led many immigrant-run businesses to shut their doors. My name is Miguel Hernandez, and I'm the owner of Lido's Burritos, here on Lake and Bryant in Minneapolis, which is a Mexican-American Chicano restaurant. If there's not a significant change in what's happening here in Minneapolis, like right now, we will lose a massive amount of... the community, restaurants, people who are going to work. You can't keep open hours. You can't pay bills if you're not open,

but you're risking the safety of staff. You're risking the safety of your family if you continue to work. And those conditions are going to be stressful. It's really tough to be making tacos and burritos and wondering if someone's going to barge in and just start asking for people's statuses. It's not a sane way to live. And over and over, I'm really proud of the community for standing up and fight back any way they can.

And all they're looking for when I say fight back is accountability. Accountability, due process, and respect of human rights. My name is Yudu, I use she her pronouns. I'm a community organizer and immigrant rights activist with the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee. Folks, at all hours of the day, no matter who you are, just being on the lookout in the community. We see, you know, especially in streets that are cultural corridors that have a lot of, lot of immigrant-owned businesses, but just people of color who own their businesses. We see people standing on street corners, looking after each other.

If there's any suspicious activity or vehicles reporting it to each other and seeing if there's any license place that we can bring back that we know our confirmed ice vehicles. And, you know, if there are ICE agents who show up to immediately alert other rapid response networks, to blow their whistles, to alert the community of the ice is in the area, and ultimately just chase them out and make it known to the community of the ICE. here, not only to protect the community, but also to let ICE know they're not welcome here. As ICE agents openly use racial profiling to determine who they stop, some of Minnesota's indigenous citizens have been detained, sometimes violently.

Chase Ironeyes is a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, an attorney and executive director of the Sacred Defense Fund. I've said nobody is more American than the American Indian. Yet here ICE is executing immigration enforcement violence against the original Americans, the true Americans. And when they're capturing us and violating our rights and illegally profiling us, where are they going to deport us? Where could they possibly deport us?

So it is a legal impossibility for ICE to be doing what they're doing to Native American people right now. Get out. Just get out. Just get out, Beto. Just get out, Beto. Please, please, they're mean. There's a native woman with her nephew, another Native American, driving in Minneapolis-St. Paul area, and they're pulled over and profiled.

And probably because they look like us, we look like them. The people that ICE is trying to target one demographic are those people who are indigenous to the entire Western Hemisphere. We're citizens. Okay, then show your ID. Get your ID. We're needed.

What are you doing? They pull this family over and the auntie, the aunt is doing her best to maintain decorum under those extremely stressful circumstances. Just get the ID. Get the ID. She's complying with everything that the ICE officers are stating, and they're asking for her nephew's driver's license.

He's 20 years old. I have a son about the same age. He never takes his driver's license or his wallet anywhere. So he's having a hard time finding his license at the same time. ICE is using a facial recognition technology, and they're scanning his face, and they begin to beat him physically, attack him and assault him.

And this woman, I don't remember her name, but she's looking in to the camera, and she is calling out for help. Let him scan your face. What are there? Stop! Ah! The violent arm of the state, which is ICE at this time, is staring her down,

and they begin to beat her nephew and she begins to cry. And by the end of it, they scanned his face and found out that he is a United States citizen. I got a call from a councilman from the Oglala Sioux tribe. And he says, brother, we're in town. can we meet? So I go to meet with this certain councilman, and he's not alone. He has four other council members that are with him, and they want their tribal members back. They want their tribal members return. They want the body released. You know, that's habeas corpus. They want these tribal members who are also American citizens to be released, and

We proceeded to the detention center because they wanted to gain access to it. And ICE wasn't really, they knew nothing of these men. But we have eyewitnesses that can attest to the fact that they were apprehended by some uniformed personnel. Now, it is absolutely possible that ICE did not apprehend them, but somebody did. So we're continuing the search and we're making progress. What I can tell you right now is that ICE couldn't identify them. I shouldn't say they don't have them because we don't know their names. On Saturday, a steady stream of mourners visited the intersection of Portland Avenue and East 34th Street,

where Renee Nicole Good was fatally shot three times by ICE agent Jonathan Ross. They came with flowers and signs of protest. My name is LK. I'm a teacher from the Twin Cities. Last time I was here was last Wednesday night, the day that Renee and I Cool Good was murdered. This is unprecedented. I mean, I have kids emailing me about what's going on

and the presence in their neighborhoods and at their front doors and the very things that keep community going are trying to be torn down like schools, you know, because kids aren't able to go. They can't go and they can't learn and they can't create. And everybody is in jeopardy. It's not, you know, one type of person. It's literally everybody.

For democracy now, I'm John Hamilton in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Special thanks to John Hamilton. Next up, President Trump has put 1,500 military troops on standby to deploy to Minneapolis stat to thousands of ICE agents already there, dwarfing the local police department. On Friday, a federal judge rule peaceful protesters in those who film ICE cannot be arrested. We'll speak with constitutional scholar and professor, Michelle Goodwin. Stay with us. I'm Amy Goodman with Juan Gonzalez.

President Trump's put U.S. military troops on standby for possible deployment to Minnesota amidst ongoing peaceful demonstrations against ice raids and arrests. Thousands of ICE agents already on the ground now dwarf the local police department and have been accused of a brutal occupation. In one case, armed ICE agents with guns drawn, broke down the door of an older Minneapolis man, handcuffed him, dragged him into the snow while he was wearing only. his underwear. It turned out the man was a naturalized U.S. citizen from Laos. At least four protesters arrested by ICE agents and detained at the Whipple Federal Building during the so-called Operation Metro Surge said they were denied their right to see an attorney. The federal judge ruled Friday. Ice agents must stop arresting or pepper spraying protesters. On Sunday, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Christy Nome appeared on Face the Nation.

to defend ICE actions in Minneapolis and respond to the judge's ruling. We only use those chemical agents when there's violence happening and perpetuating, and you need to be able to establish law in order to keep people safe. That's the only situation. So that judge's order didn't change anything for how we're operating on the ground because it's basically telling us to do what we've already been doing. Some legal experts compared the conduct by immigration agents to attacks by police officers on protesters during the civil rights era.

We're joined now in Washington, D.C. by Michelle Goodwin, professor of constitutional law and global health policy at Georgetown University. Professor Goodwin, welcome back to Democracy Now. There is so much to talk about here, and we just played this incredible report from the streets of Minneapolis and the latest information that the FBI actually opened a probe in investigation to the ICE agent who killed Renee Good, but then shifted gears and decided to investigate instead the victim herself, Renee Good, and her wife. And then the news of the six attorneys in the U.S. Attorney's Office in Minneapolis, quitting over the direction of the investigation and a judge ruling that peaceful protesters

should not be pepper sprayed and arrested. Your comments overall. Overall, this is extraordinary. In fact, the judge's order emphasizes how extraordinary it is to impose this kind of order. That is to say that the conduct that's taken place in this particular surge by ICE is not something that is usual. It's not something that has been lawful. It's not something that has been constitutional. It is not to say that ice can't be present, but ICE certainly cannot do what it has been doing in Minnesota,

much of which you've covered, which is horrific and does actually have flashpoints of the American Civil Rights Movement. The only difference then is that it was the federal government looking to uphold the Constitution, looking to uphold Supreme Court decisions, and to protect citizens against unlawfulness by the state. But here you have an inverse, a reverse of that. And Michelle Goodwin, the threats of President Trump to invoke the Insurrection Act. I'm wondering your thoughts about that. I'm thinking especially, for instance, back in 1962 at the University of Mississippi, there was a mass rioting by white segregationists attacking federal marshals because they were trying to escort James Meredith into, to integrate the University of Mississippi.

There were 160 marshals injured, including 28 shot. And at that point, President Kennedy did invoke the Insurrection Act and ordered federal troops into Oxford, Mississippi. That's a very different situation from what we're seeing here in Minnesota or what we've seen in some of these other cities where Trump has also threatened with the Insurrection Act. Wondering your thoughts? It's a very different situation. Notice the year that you mentioned, we're talking about the early 1960s. It's 1954 years before that that the Supreme Court strikes down the separate, segregationist laws. It's a time in which the Supreme Court did that through a unanimous decision recognizing the harms that had been inflicted throughout the American South through that decision,

Pless E. v. Ferguson. And so the federal government coming in in order to support this Supreme Court decision, the constitutionality of equality under law, which is, by the way, something that extends back to our reconstruction amendment, back to the Supreme Court decision, the constitutionality, in the 1800s, the 1860s, the United States Constitution being revised to recognize equality among citizens, birthright citizenship, which is also something that's come up in this past year, and the federal government coming in in order to uphold constitutional law. What we see now and what we recognize from this order from the judge over the last few days is the fact that what the lawlessness that has taken place has actually been conducted by the federal government.

And the federal government is not above the law. The rule of law is to be imposed on any branch of government, any branch of law enforcement. That's whether it's state law enforcement or federal law enforcement. Simply being part of the federal government does not allow the federal government to breach the rule of law, the constitution, or legal norms and values. And I wanted to ask you about your sense of the state of the U.S. Justice Department, the one year now since President Trump has been in office, there was just his connection, an alumni group of Justice Department of prosecutors, says, tallied over 6,400 departures and over 230 firings in the past year of prosecutors and agents. We've seen the resignations of prosecutors in Minneapolis, refusing to. change the investigation from the killing of Renee Good to, from the agent, investigating the

agent to investigating the protesters. Wondering your sense of what the state of the Justice Department is right now. Sadly, it's in a disarray. And one of the troubling features of this is that important thought leadership, thought leadership that spans across Republican administrations, Democratic administrations has been lost. One of the stabilities with the United States federal government has been regardless of party affiliation being Republican, Democrat, or independent that there have been individuals who have been part of the brain trust of our federal government throughout the federal government,

throughout departments, and including in the Justice Department, these are individuals who are experts on any number of things, and they're gone. These include experts on Russia, experts on China, experts on North Korea, experts on terrorism, so much more gone from the federal government. And that's regardless of political affiliation. And that's quite dangerous, right? There shouldn't be a sense that around one political leader, at least it's been inconsistent in the United States, that around one political leader, there coheres a sense of a kind of loyalty that ignores principle, rules of law, principle constitutional values. And so you've seen people leave and leave in protest.

And you've just mentioned those in Minnesota who have left because they refuse to investigate Renee Nicole Good or Renee Nicole Good's widow. that is inconsistent with what we would perceive as the rule of law. And overall, I mean, the federal government, Trump, the Justice Department, threatening to criminally prosecute the governor walls, the mayor, Fry of Minneapolis, and then a report of a military recruiter in Minnesota pointing to fears of the ongoing ICE operations, Minneapolis, trying to get high school students to sign up for the National Guard, saying there's a program that can offer the immediate family of service members some protection against deportation.

You've got thousands of ICE agents dwarfing the local police department. What about pitting one arm of government and law enforcement against another right now and how the police in Minneapolis actually enforce the law? Well, this is why many are reflecting on, and I've been too for some time now, about this kind of reversal, if you will, from what we saw during the United States Civil Rights Movement, where it was so crucial that there would be some protection of vulnerable people, vulnerable African Americans who were seeking to exercise their constitutional rights, their civil liberties and civil rights, and urging the federal government to get involved

against the Bull Connors, the Governor Phalbuses and whatnot, those who were committed to segregationist ideas that reached back to American slavery. And what you have here is a real contestation. This is why the judge's order was so important and a very clear delineation. And if I could, I want to just make a note of what we get from that judge's order because it helps to put so much of this in context. This is a district court judge. And what the district court does is they review facts, facts on the ground. Tell us what happened. Show us. us videos. We want to have as much witness testimony as possible. And what you see from this 83-page order is just the cruelty, the unlawfulness that has been unleashed on people in Minneapolis and

St. Paul, it's really quite horrific. If you think about just this one aspect of it, people having their faces put in snow for a half an hour. Now, in order for snow to stay on the ground, it has to be freezing, cold outside. And if someone has pressure on their back, their neck, their head to keep them in snow, that can lead to hypothermia. It can lead to even death. So much of what we've not necessarily been hearing about while we've heard about Renee's horrific death, but what we haven't heard as much about are some of these instances that have been portrayed, that have been carried out in the Twin Cities that are really quite dangerous and really words are hard to describe except those that cause us deep pains such as terrorism inflicted

upon American citizens in that state. And finally, Michelle, I wanted to ask you about another topic. One month has now passed since Congress's deadline for the Justice Department to release all files on the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. But the DOJ says it's made available less than 1% of those files. And you see, many people are saying, is he going after Minneapolis saying he's going to take Greenland, you know, taking the president of Venezuela and possibly threatening to bomb Iran to take attention away? Could that be it? You see his sensitivity at the Dearborn Auto Plant when a worker yelled pedophile protector, pedophile protector, and he turned around and gave him the finger and mouthed the words, F you, but said the curse?

Well, it's certainly inconsistent with what were the campaign promises. The campaign promises to those who supported Trump and those who didn't was that the files would be released. All of the files. Now, that's not happened. So, and that's critically important. Now, you've raised, is this all a distraction so that because the files are not being released? Well, it certainly does raise those very important questions. And even more so the fact that, the fact that, that there are victims and survivors out there, and including those who've committed suicide, who are no longer with us, such as Virginia Jafree. And it's a neglect of what was promised. It raises some very serious questions about what remains in the Epstein files. And Americans want to know and deserve to know and what has been released, and some of which people have been able to undo the redactions of those is incredibly alarming. It very much is. And it's a travesty because behind it all, what it suggests is that the federal government is unwilling to do what is necessary in order to protect young people from sexual violence. And that's at the end of the day,

that's what this truly is about. Michelle Goodwin, I want to thank you for being with us, Professor of Constitutional Law and Global Health Policy at Georgetown University. Next up, thousands protest in Greenland and Denmark, many wearing red mag hats as an make America go away. Stay with us. Free by Matthew John Finch. This is Democracy Now. I'm Amy Goodman with Juan Gonzalez. Tensions are escalating between the United States and Europe after President Trump threatened to impose tariffs on eight European allies that opposes push to take over Greenland, the semi-eague. autonomous territory of Denmark. On Sunday, Trump sent a text message to Norway's prime minister writing, quote, Considering your country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped

eight wars plus, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of peace. Trump went on to write, the world's not secure unless we have complete and total control of Greenland, unquote. Earlier today, President Trump posted a mock image of himself alongside Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, planting an administration. American flag on Greenland. Over the weekend, thousands took part in protests in Greenland and Denmark, many wearing red MAGA hats, as in make America go away. European leaders denounce Trump's threats and are weighing cutting off U.S. companies to the EU market, a move known as the EU's

trade bazooka. For more, we go to Copenhagen, where we're joined by Julie Radamacher. She's the chair of an organization for Greenlanders in Denmark that was among the main organizers of the protests for unity and support for Greenland this weekend across cities in Greenland in Denmark. It's called Greenlanders. We thank you so much for being with us. Can you respond to President Trump saying he will militarily take Greenland? Well, I have a message also for the American people and for all of you in the U.S. We have for several years had a very good cooperation.

We've seen you as the protectors also in Greenland and also in Denmark. But now you are our threat. Your president is going to do something very bad for Greenlanders and are threatening us with annexing our country. So I have a very clear message for you that you are better than Donald and you also can do better than Dunrow. I think it's very important that we gain trust again, both through our political systems and diplomatic systems,

but also between the American people and the Greenlanders and Danes. Because right now, this attack on Greenland is not just about a territory. It's about sovereignty, the right for sovereign sovereignty. And it's really damaging the great, great cooperation we have had for so many years between the U.S., the Greenland and also the United. Denmark and Europe. And could you talk about your assessment of how the European Union and the other countries of Europe are responding to the threats of Donald Trump?

I can say that as a Greenlander for the last week, it's been terrorizing to hear your American president again and again threatening our countrymen, our fellow citizens in Greenland. They have anxiety attacks. They can't sleep. They have nightmares. And people they consider whether or not they should flee from Greenland. It's a very, very serious situation. Not only on a political level or military level, but on a civil level.

This is human beings being hurt. They have never done anything wrong. And right now, it's very important for us to get support from the rest of the world. So we get support from Europe and it means a lot that 56,000 people in Greenland and 17,000 Greenlanders in Denmark we don't stand alone.

We stand together with Europe in our back. It means so much for us with this support because it feels like a betrayal from the American president. We have fought shoulder to shoulder with your soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq, where we have had

Greenlandic soldiers and Danish soldiers fighting these wars for freedom and for democracy. And right now we have unwillingly become the front for the same fight, for democracy, for freedom and for human rights. We want democracy, but we are not respected. So please, Mr. President, and please all Americans, we would love you to act. We need you to act. We need you to call all your senators, all your politicians, and tell them they need to act. They need to stop your president in annexing Greenland. Because this is not only a matter of Greenland. This is the matter of the world order, as we know it. It's a matter of sovereignty and it's a matter of the borders. So please act and please speak to all you know about this. And just to make sure that you know, Greenland is protected by all European countries now, almost, and also Denmark has troops up there.

So this wouldn't be just an attack on Greenland. This would also be an attack on the NATO alliance. So wake up America. I know it's early your time. So please wake up. You need to act. And we can fight this fight together within the U.S., the Europe, and all. also for Greenland.

So please support Greenland and follow our demonstration campaign on support greenland. And could you talk also about this claim of President Trump that if he doesn't act, that the United States doesn't acquire Greenland or buy Greenland, that there are threats from China and Russia to move in? Well, this situation. is very bad. We can't go back in time, but we can wake up now. It's very important that the American people all over the U.S., they act now. Contact your politicians, contact your press, make sure that to tell them you support Greenland, not only because of Greenland, but because

Greenland is now the front for the fight for democracy. It's very important also to, to understand this is not just a political or geopolitical fight. This is a matter of trust between the people. We can trust our democracies. We had an election in Greenland last year and we had an election in Denmark this year. It's very important to understand there's a close cooperation between the Greenlandic and Danish leader. The American presidents try to split our two countries, but it only made us stand even closer together. So the leader of Greenland's message is very clear that if we had to choose, if Greenland had to choose between United States or Denmark, Greenland will choose Denmark and Europe. So it's very important that you wake up

And you see that this not only as a fight for Greenland, but also for the trust we as Greenlanders can have for the Americans and the NATO alliance. So this is not only Greenland being attacked. This is democracy, freedom and the world order, as we know it, that's being attacked. Julie Radamaker, I want to thank you so much for being with us, Chair of Wagout, an organization, national organization for Greenland, for Greenlanders in Denmark, which help organize the protest for unity and support for Greenland of thousands this weekend, both in Greenland and Denmark. And we'll cover the Davos Summit as well where President Trump and other world leaders are. Democracy Now is accepting applications for Video News Production Digital Fellowship.

Check our website at democracy now.org. I'm Mimi Goodman with Juan Gonzalez.