The MeidasTouch Podcast - All Hell Breaks Loose as ICE Goes After Meidas!!!

Episode Date: February 1, 2026

MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas reports on Donald Trump’s ICE and Border Patrol forces going after MeidasTouch for our reporting on the latest horrible incident in Minnesota and Meiselas interviews San Diego City Councilmember Marni von Wilpert about ICE and Border Patrol attacking San Diego and others cities across the country and what she would do if she were elected to Congress in the race she’s currently in for California’s 8th Congressional District.  Visit https://meidasplus.com for more! Remember to subscribe to ALL the MeidasTouch Network Podcasts: MeidasTouch: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/meidastouch-podcast Legal AF: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/legal-af MissTrial: https://meidasnews.com/tag/miss-trial The PoliticsGirl Podcast: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-politicsgirl-podcast The Influence Continuum: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-influence-continuum-with-dr-steven-hassan Mea Culpa with Michael Cohen: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/mea-culpa-with-michael-cohen The Weekend Show: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-weekend-show Burn the Boats: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/burn-the-boats Majority 54: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/majority-54 Political Beatdown: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/political-beatdown On Democracy with FP Wellman: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/on-democracy-with-fpwellman Uncovered: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/maga-uncovered Coalition of the Sane: https://meidasnews.com/tag/coalition-of-the-sane Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Go to car gurus.ca to make sure your big deal is the best deal. That's c-ar-g-G-U-R-U-S dot CA. Car gurus.com. All hell is breaking loose as Donald Trump's ICE and Border Patrol Gestapo are now going after Midas Touch. The Midas Touch Network posted a video of the ICE Border Patrol Gestapo attacking a United States citizen horrifically. It was caught on camera.

David Byer was the first to post it. It took place in Minnesota. And then the ICE and Border Patrol, Gestapo, through the Department of Homeland Security, immediately responded and went after the Midas Touch for just showing a video of the objective facts that just went down in Minnesota. we wrote on our account, watch these thugs.

This isn't law enforcement. These are criminals. And we were amplifying David Byers' post of how the Department of Homeland Security Agent, unclear if it's Border Patrol or ICE, because they all wear masks, but they're all Gestapo and SS. They're in Minnesota.

They swerved in front of an unarmed woman who was recording them. And once again, they walk in front of the car with their guns drawn, and threatened to kill the woman who was observing their conduct. That's why she was out there. She was an ICE and Border Patrol observer.

The only thing they learned from Renee Good and the Alex Preti murders is how to get away with killing people. A local cop had to intervene to stop the illegal arrest. So first let me show you this video and then I'll show you what the Department of Homeland Security said, I believe, to try to intimidate us. Here, play this clip. I think someone needs to call 911. They are seriously, like, attacking me. We'll call 911 right now. What's your location?

Call 911. I'm right at the corner of Jefferson. No. No, I will not. I will not get out of the car. No. No. I will not get out of the car.

You guys, I need CEOs here now. Get out of the car. No, I will not get out of the car. Get out of the car. Get on the fucking car. of me get your fucking hands off me get your hands off me I am not doing shit I have a

you don't arrest me I'm a you're doing that I am a video too don't you all of me so then the horrific video Then the Department of Homeland Security responded to us directly, and here's what they said to us. As the Department of Homeland Security Gov law enforcement, they were conducting a targeted operation to arrest a serial criminal illegal alien whose rap sheet includes multiple arrests for assault, domestic violence, and driving under the influence. An agitator began stalking and obstructing law enforcement. Just pause there.

a moment. This is their MO. This is what they say all the time. They're out here getting the pedos. They're out here getting the violent criminals. But then when they're actually called out, it turns out they're not doing that at all. That very small fraction of the people they go after are actually criminals. We all agree that criminals need to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, deported, prosecuted, whatever. That's not what these SS, these paramilitary border Patrol and ice thugs are doing. Then they use language like stalking, obstructing. You mean the First Amendment right to observe you? We all have that right under the Constitution. And this idea of secret police wearing masks and oh, your docks? Local law enforcement doesn't do that.

Anyway, let's go through DHS's response to Midas touch. Law enforcement officers attempted to pull her over using their emergency lights to issue her a warning, ignoring. law enforcement commands, the agitator refused to pull over and began driving recklessly, including running stop signs nearly colliding with multiple vehicles and driving directly at law enforcement and an attempt to ram their vehicle. See what they're doing right here? They're creating another pretext that she's a domestic terrorist. She's the bad guy. Don't believe your own eyes, what you saw on the video. Trust Christy Noam. Her. actions endangered law enforcement officers, the public, and allowed this violent criminal to remain

at large. Ah, so you're saying it was her fault. I got it. She did it. No, y'all are a bunch of sociopaths, and you lie the way bad second grade liars lie. Like, it's obvious. It's juvenile in nature. Then it goes on to say, our officers arrested the agitator. Obstructing law enforcement is a felony and a federal crime. Why are you getting in our messages? Why do you think you need to propagandize in replies to the Midas Touch account? We see what we see on the video.

So stop your propaganda. You are not welcome in the Midas Touch Network accounts where we're out here trying to tell the truth. Speaking of telling the truth, we're out here in Los Angeles. That's where we're base, but we have reporters across the country and shout out to her friends at Status Koo,

who are in Minneapolis still, and they're recording the peaceful protests there, and they're still documenting what's taking place. That first video wasn't from Status Koo, but that took place very recently, post-Gregg Bovino, when Donald Trump said, oh, it's a tone change,

and the media was like, they're changing tone. No, they aren't. Let me show you what just took place in El Monte, California. I want to show you Maria Sante. She's a hero. She's a well-known legal observer.

She shows up to help the migrant community. And she was targeted by the ICE and Border Patrol Gestapo who pointed weapons at her. They knocked through her window. They broke through her car simply because she was observing them. Watch what takes place here. Let's play this clip. Guys, I'm getting out. Okay.

Guys, my keys are in the car. Oh, fuck, they already broke. They broke my windows. They're breaking my window, guys. I'm a US medicine. It's insane. Same this guy's breaking my window, guys. Guys, my homes are...

And I want to show you what's happening in the rest of the country over the past day or so. So you know that, you know, even though we focused a lot on what was going down in Minneapolis or St. Paul or Chicago, ICE is involved in this conduct across the country right now. So here's a story. This right here is in Stonebridge Road and... Road and Cedar Creek Road in the North Midland neighborhood in Texas. Nine people, nine migrants who were roofers. They were working on building pretty big homes in this North Midland area.

And the ICE and Border Patrol Gestapo did an alliance with the fire department and the local sheriff's office because in Texas, in these right-wing towns and cities and state, they help ICE and Border Patrol attack their own workers. So what I want to share with you right here is you'll see the ice and firefighters going after roofers who are literally on the roof working on homes, trying to build homes right now in this country. That's who you're attacking. So Department of Homeland Security, when you get in our messages and you're like, oh, we're going after the most violent. You're going after roofers who are out there working.

and doing jobs that these construction companies aren't able to hire anybody else. These people should be applauded and be paid more, not ripped from the roofs. Here, play this clip. We are here and some people are being witnesses to what is going on. We can tell that some of them are actually concerned to their safety. As we said mentioned earlier, we spoke with some neighbors and they did say that they believed this to be a medical emergency. and then they saw HSI, they saw people with green uniforms. We do know that they were trying to pepper spray a few of them.

Like we've mentioned before, the Midland Fire Department is present. Midland County Sheriff's Office is also present. Earlier, we did see people with an HSI badge and police ice logo in the back of their jacket. There is various witnesses to this. This is happening in a neighborhood in Midland. It is in Stonebridge Drive and Porterfield Road. We have been here for what is about an hour. As we are seeing, they are trying to run and try to get them.

And then we'll go from Minneapolis, Los Angeles, L'Amante, and let's go to Utah. This is happening everywhere. Trump's goons broke into a locked auto body shop without a warrant in Utah. And then the owner of the body shops, Like, you just broke into my business. Like, this is my, what do you? You didn't show me a warrant.

And Trump's goons, his border patrol Gestapo, say, we don't need to show you anything. We don't need to do anything at all. Here, play this clip. Look at this. Look at these f***. Where's your guys' warrant? Stay back.

Where's your guys this fucking warrant? Stay back. No, where's the warrant? Where's the warrant? I don't need one. Yes, you fucking do. Where's your guy? Stay back. Stop getting closer to me. Stay back. I'm back. I'm back. I'm going to do

to you. I'm back. Wait. You guys have to leave. My lawyer is coming. You guys want to get a Fis number. Stay back. No, I want to get you guys on one. All right. Yes, you guys want to be back here. Stand back here. You can record. I'm already back here. You guys haven't shown me. You guys have an identity. I don't know who the f*** you guys are. Who the what the f*** is that? Federal agent. I need a warrant.

I need a warrant. You not need a warrant. Yes, I do. Yes, I do. You know how you guys came in? Illegally. No. You guys broke the window.

Yes, we did. Because you guys don't have a warrant. We don't need one. Yes, you do. Hey, what the fuck I ain't doing? I'm making sure he's safe. Excuse you. No, no.

Meanwhile, you had Greg Bevino partying it up in Las Vegas. Here he is in Las Vegas at the clubs while ICE and Border Patrol continued to terrorize people in this country. Also, the New York Times reporting how the Border Patrol leader Greg Bovino mock the Jewish faith of U.S. attorney in Minnesota during a call with lawyers, according to several people with knowledge of the conversation. Shout out to some of the celebrities now who are calling out ICE and Border Patrol terrorism. I showed you Bruce Springsteen before. Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine,

Becky G. with her F. Ice fingernails. You even had Garcia, the boxer, Ryan Garcia, say that he's no long. He said that he's recanting his, he said reclining, but he meant to recanting. Any support that he gave to Donald Trump after the Epstein files were released in Trump's name appeared on the Epstein files, over 5,000 times in some of the most despicable ways, along with the cabal of Trump regime officials. Howard Lutnik's name appeared, Elon Musk's name appeared, the new guy that Trump appointed, Kevin Warsh to the Federal Reserve Chairman, his name appeared.

Look, when we're talking about ICE terrorism too, I think it's important to note, as I said, this is still happening every day in cities of towns across the country. So stop with the new tone crap. So I want to bring in Marnie von Wilpert. She's a San Diego city council member because San Diego is still under attack. Every day in San Diego, ICE and Border Patrol, Gestapo are terrorizing people there. And Marnie's been fighting back with the city council.

And she's also running for Congress from California's 48th congressional district against Daryl Issa. It's a competitive primary with lots of Democratic candidates who are. running. Marnie, San Diego City Council, she believes that she'll be she flipped a red seat to become that city council member. Let's bring in Marnie. Here's the interview that I just did with Marnie. And so while Greg Bevino was leaving Minneapolis in St. Paul, he's now heading, unfortunately, to San Diego. And the San Diego community has already been terrorized by Bovino's thugs and the ICE Border Patrol Thugs and Gestapo before we've covered here. Last year, restaurants being raided and communities being terrorized. And now Bovino is back. I want to speak to a San Diego

City Council member, Marnie von Wilbert, who's also running for Congress against a MAGA Republican candidate, Darrell Issa, in the newly redrawn California's 48th district. There's an important district, redrawn after Prop 50. And this is one of the areas that Democrats need, and many people believe Democrats will get. It's unclear what ICE is going to do. He's running away from all the members of the press when they try to ask him questions on Capitol Hill.

But Marnie, let's talk first about Bovino. We'll talk about the race. But Bovino is coming into your city, you're a city council member. Previously, you were a deputy city attorney there. You were a prosecutor in the city. and before that a labor attorney as well. But talk to us.

How are you preparing for this? And what are you doing to push back? Yeah. So we have been raising all the alarms. You know, here in the city of San Diego, we do not need to see what's happening, the chaos and terror on the streets of Minneapolis. And Bobino is coming back to Southern California.

I've called on President Trump to fire Babino, not to give him a new post where he can wreak new havoc on our communities. I've also called on Donald Trump to fire Christy Knoem. She needs to go. She has failed and derelicted her duty to keep America safe. And we're preparing here in San Diego County. So I'm leading a vote on Monday at the San Diego City Council to join the lawsuit with Minneapolis against ICE and Donald Trump.

We too have seen chaotic ice raids here in San Diego where ice officers are walking into the middle of a crowded restaurant on a weekend with their full riot. gear on and of course it causes havoc and panic and just so they can arrest the kitchen staff so is that what one of the things you know we're seeing that all these it's we have to keep track of everything so you know because also you know authoritarianism spreads in silence like right now are we sick on any given weekend you know is i still going into restaurants and and and terrorizing people maybe not with the visuals we're seeing in minneapolis but is is that going on now Oh yeah, it happens all the time here in San Diego, and we are doing the best we can to fight back.

You know, we've also passed a due process ordinance requiring any federal agent to have a warrant, a judicial warrant, not one signed by their own officers to come on to any city-owned land. We have no-your-right trains going on. But, you know, I'm running for Congress because this race is about the future of our democracy. This is one of the top five seats in the nation. We have to take back to get control of the House. and we have to hold Donald Trump accountable. We have to restore Congress as a co-equal branch of government that stands up for the Constitution and the American people.

I've been a San Diego City Council member here for five years now. We're the eighth largest city in the country, so it's a big city that I govern. And just like I've been here, I've been a champion for working families. I started the first teacher down payment assistance program so that teachers, public school teachers, could afford to buy homes in the communities where they teach.

I wrote the first law on the nation requiring grocery stores to not require senior citizens to download an app and find digital coupons merely to get discounts on the food they buy. So while I'm doing everything I can to lower our cost of living, make the economy work for all of us. Donald Trump and Daryl Issa are raising all of our costs with this tariff war that's increasing the price of everything. And Daryl Issa just voted again to increase the price of health care by not joining Republicans. to restore the subsidies for the Affordable Care Act. So I'm going to get into Congress and fight back and make sure I'm a champion for working people across this country.

One of the things that's really impressive about your background among a lot of things is you flipped a very, very right-wing city council district blue that nobody thought was possible. You and I were joking before we went on. I said, so you were the city prosecutor, you were a successful labor attorney, then you decided to jump into this,

but it's important to note, you didn't just jump into any city council seat. I mean, that city council seat was kind of as right wing as it gets. And you flip that one. So talk to us about that because I think the lessons there may apply now and may apply across the country right now about how you did that and kind of push back against this disinformation mag and machine where they, you know, lie to the people all of the time and get some people to vote against their interests. Yeah, Ben, I did.

I grew up in this district. My parents still live in the house I grew up in. And I knew it was Ruby Red because my parents only have Republicans representing them my whole life. But the first time Donald Trump got elected, I quit my job in the Obama administration. And I flew home to San Diego. I was a labor lawyer enforcing workers' rights and women's rights to equal pay around this country. And I said, we can do better. Let's get more women in office.

And so I did. And I ran for the city council seat. And when I won it, people told me, you're never going to be effective. Because to stay in office in a purple district, you can't be bold. And I said, watch me. The first law I ever passed when I got elected was the first law in California, banning the sale of untraceable ghost guns and the parts of guns people were buying and making guns at home and using in crimes.

We had a horrific mass shooting in San Diego in April of 2021. And when I found out the shooter used a ghost gun, I wrote the first law in the California to ban it. Instantly, then within 10 minutes, I got sued. I was sued by the NRA. They came out of me at federal court, and I was six months into my first term in office, facing a federal lawsuit by myself.

And I honestly thought about giving up. But then I got an email from a father who wrote to me and said, Marnie, I need to tell you what happened to my son. And he sent me a selfie of him standing in front of his 12-year-old son's grave. And I could tell the grade, was fresh because the flowers were still blooming and the candles were still lit. And he said, Marty, my 12-year-old son, Max, was shot and killed by a ghost gun two weeks ago. And I'm writing to you because you're the only politician doing anything about it.

And so we did. We took Max's story in that email. I called the city attorney and said, let's go to court. And we did. And we won. We beat the NRA. The federal court upheld my law. And then San Francisco passed my ghost gun law.

LA passed the law. Oakland. The state of California has now taken action. And so I am able to move the needle on things like gun violence prevention, which has been so hard. And the way I did it, Ben, in my Purple District, is I brought people into the conversation. I had moms demand action at my press conferences.

I had high school students who are sick and tired of the active shooter drills, and I had uniform police officers, because they also don't like being shot on the street by legal guns. And so when people saw uniform cops alongside high school students in the mom's groups, they said, wait a minute, this is something we all agree on. And I did. And guess what? I won my reelection with no opponent for my second term. So that is how you lead in a purple district. You are bold. You bring solutions, but you also bring people in. I am sick and tired of Donald Trump and derelice in dividing this nation. Everybody wants their children to be

safe at school and sitting at their desks learning, not hiding under their desks from gunfire. Yeah, you know, and I think people like fighters and they want fighters right now. And sometimes people think, well, the way you deal with the Purple District is you have to compromise on things, which some compromise is needed in government, but you can't compromise on certain values and principles that I like to believe. And so when there are ICE and Border Patrol, mass Gestapo and like a paramilitary force who are rolling into cities like San Diego, Minneapolis, L.A., Portland, Chicago, and terrorizing people. I just don't think that there's, all right, here's what we're going to do to try to negotiate

with. I mean, it's get the hell out of our city right now and get rid of this leadership and get rid of them. There are to me things like that where people want to know that you're fighting for them. And I think what Trump was able to convince people with fraud was that he was going to do all of these things. I'm going to do this. I'm going to do that on day one and on day one, you're going to get this. And he did it. On Friday, a report shows that inflation core inflation surging to 3.3% above expectations, another government shut down people's health care are gone.

And people like, we want fighters. So you're going to be their fighter there. Talk to us about that as you run now for Congress. What's the fight ahead? So the fight is through this seat. You know, California did redistricting when Texas tried to change their districts to drown out Democrats' voice, California stood up and fought back. And one of the things we did was change this particular district, Congressional District 48, to make Darryl Issa, who just nominated Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize again, make him run on his heels. You know, Darrylisa has never run a tough race in his life.

He runs fleeing when he sees competition. We're calling him Dallas Darrell since he tried to run to Texas when he saw how hard it would be to run against me in this race. But I fought for my community my whole life. You know, as a deputy city attorney, I took on some of the toughest fights against big corporations who are ruining the American experience. I sued the opioid industry for the havoc and the addiction they've caused on our American communities. And I won $40 million back to San Diego to get addiction treatment into our emergency room. So if people survive that overdose and wake up in that ER bed, they have someone right next to them to hold their hand and get them into treatment.

And guess what Ben, it's working? We haven't seen a repeat overdose at the three hospitals we've piloted this program with. I also took on environmental polluters. I sued Monsanto for polluting the San Diego Bay and we won $50 million to get them to clean up our bay. I know how to take on big fights and I'll know how to hold Donald Trump accountable

when I get to Congress. But we also need to remember what makes us safe. I'm the chair of public safety and we see Darylisa and Donald Trump wreaking havoc. in chaos in Minneapolis, that's not public safety. That is not law enforcement. Our communities are safe when we live up to our shared American values

of respect for our neighbors and life and liberty and dignity and fairness under law. Our communities are safe when we respect the Constitution and due process and the rule of law. So I am running to fight back against ICE's horrific tactics and actually rein them in. I am appalled that Republicans and Congress, have rubber stamped everything Donald Trump has done, including Daryl Issa, and they won't even pass a funding bill to rein in ICE's horrible conduct right now.

We need better people in Congress. I'm going to win this race, take on Donald Trump, and get our country back. Where can people learn more about the campaign, Marnie? Go to my website. It's Marni-V-O-N-W-I-L-P-E-R-T-R-C-com. You know, my last name comes from my father. He's an immigrant to this country.

My father was not born here. And when he came, he signed up to serve our nation in the United States Army. And now that he's older, we're relying on the Veterans Administration, the VA to help care for him in his elder years. And this is what the American dream is about. You can come to this country, make an incredible life.

And then we take care of our veterans. It's just this is the core American values I want to see back in our communities. This is not the merit I grew up in. You know, I'm a young LGBTQ woman. I just got engaged Ben to my girlfriend three weeks ago. Congratulations. We should have led with that. Yeah, so we just got engaged and we're fighting to make sure that we can still get married in this country.

You know, Roe v. Wade was already turned and I've lost my right as a young woman to reproductive health care in many states in this nation. I'm terrified of losing my right to marry the woman that I love. So I'm fighting for our freedoms and fighting to make America a place where equal protection and dignity means something again. And fighting to make respect and dignity the values of our government again. Marnie von Wilpert, city council, San Diego, running for 48th Congressional District in California. Thanks for joining us. Thank you so much for having me. Everybody hit subscribe.

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