‘Eat First. Then Smash The State.’ Inside The Anti-ICE Weeklong Plan

The federal government’s presence in Minnesota may be winding down, but leftist activists are mobilizing to the Twin Cities for a week of harassing Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, calling for the abolition of prisons, and eating at Mexican restaurants. 

Documents reviewed by The Daily Wire show the detailed coordination and planning that goes into a week of anti-law enforcement protests collectively called “Bring the Heat! Melt the ICE!.” From February 25 to March 1, anti-ICE organizers are demonstrating at the state capitol, at hotels where federal agents are staying, and hosting training sessions at local churches. 

“For months now, the Twin Cities have been at the forefront of a struggle against ICE in this country,” a welcome packet for the week of protest, originally obtained by Defending Education, said. “The stakes have been high, and many strategic and tactical innovations quickly developed here. Such experiments have been promising, but there’s a long journey ahead of us on the road to abolishing ICE, and we’re just getting started.”

The activists demand the removal of ICE from Minnesota, the release of “our abducted neighbors,” and closure of “detention camps,” a statewide eviction moratorium, the dropping of charges against protesters who harassed or assaulted ICE officers, amnesty for illegal immigrants, and the abolishment of ICE, the Department of Homeland Security, and prisons. 

The protest comes after border czar Tom Homan announced a massive drawdown of federal officers in Minnesota. Homan said he had reached a deal with local officials to get more cooperation for ICE officers seeking to arrest illegal aliens. 

One of the activities being planned for the week is protesting at hotels where ICE agents are staying. 

“Grab some friends, noisemakers, and head to a hotel that houses ICE on this list,” a calendar of planned actions says. “There is no big public noise demo—these are autonomous and decentralized. Please go to the training or check out this guide if you need support hosting one with your affinity group.”

Defending Education.

Defending Education also obtained a spreadsheet showing hotels that were options for protests, which are being organized by the Sunrise Movement.

Defending Education.

Multiple anti-ICE protests are also planned at the state capitol building on Thursday and Friday, including a student walkout and sit-in organized by “Twin Cities student organizers,” according to the calendar. 

In the welcome packet, protesters are not instructed to obey the law, but just not document an illegal activity they engage in or witness. 

“In the event that somebody around you is engaging in illegal activity, do not take photos or videos of that, unless it is to record an interaction with law enforcement,” organizers said. “Don’t write in incriminating ways about illegal activity you observe or participate in.”

Defending Education.

Activists showing up for the week of action will also have the opportunity to join “school patrols” to drive around looking for ICE agents. 

“In Minneapolis, ICE incidents occurred at or within two blocks of public schools every single day for 6 weeks straight. We responded by running about 3000 patrol shifts per week, and that doesn’t even include private schools, charter schools or day cares,” the calendar says. 

The calendar and welcome documents reveal the scope of planning and professional coordination that go into these large-scale protests and the participation of churches and local teachers. 

For example, a Thursday training hosted by Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church is on creating “sanctuary schools.” The training was hosted by activist group Take Action MN. According to the group, they have a presence at “hundreds” of school districts. 

“Sanctuary school teams are a combination of educators and caregivers who do daily protective presence and rapid response around schools, coordinate mutual aid (rides, food relief, rent relief, legal support) and organize together for longer term demands like returning Sanctuary status to schools and abolishing ICE,” the calendar says. “Come learn from caregivers and organizers about how we started these teams and have grown them at hundreds of schools in districts across the state.”

The Minnesota Federation of Educators is set to host a training at the First Universalist Church focused on organizing “our schools to be bases of the working class.”

Erika Sanzi, the senior director of communications at Defending Education, told The Daily Wire that educators’ involvement in these protests reveals how leftist ideology has infiltrated the education system. 

“It’s high time that people come to terms with the fact that the call is coming from inside the house. Groups of radicals and revolutionaries that have always agitated on the fringe are now becoming embedded in the K-12 ecosystem by way of teachers’ unions, student unions and even teacher training programs,” she said.  

“The sooner the public accepts that these protests and walkouts are highly coordinated by outside actors, the sooner we can put a stop to it or at least drastically reduce it in our public schools,” she added. 

Other groups participating in the protests include Spring House Ministries, the Red Pine Revolutionary Collective, Twin Cities Democratic Socialists of America, and Indigenous Roots. 

Activists will get free food from the group Seeds of Peace. Many will stay in other people’s homes for the week of protest. 

“Eat First. Then Smash the State,” the welcome packet said, noting that Muslims participating in Ramadan will be given priority for dinner meals. 

Organizers led by the Twin Cities Democratic Socialists of America are fundraising on Democrat platform ActBlue for food, training, and lodging. 

Other tips from organizers include asking other people their pronouns, using Signal to communicate, and supporting a variety of Mexican restaurants located in St. Paul and Minneapolis. They also warn participants about “right-wing” influencers becoming embedded in their communication systems. 

“We also know that Minneapolis’s rapid response systems have already been infiltrated by right-wing influencers and government agents,” the welcome packet said. 

Activists are also encouraged to make pilgrimages to the location where convicted felon George Floyd died during an encounter with police, as well as the spot where Renée Nicole Good was shot after attempting to hit an ICE agent with her car.

“As resistance grows, so does our collective grief about those we have loved and lost in the struggle for liberation,” the welcome packet reads. “We ask that if you choose to visit these sites, please do so with respect and reverence.”