Minnesota Gov. Walz tells Trump, Noem to "end this occupation" in rare primetime address
In a rare primetime address Wednesday evening, Gov. Tim Walz gave a six-minute-long address to Minnesotans where he called on President Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to "end this occupation."
Walz's address came hours after Noem's department announced Operation Metro Surge has led to 2,500 arrests in Minnesota since it began last month.
"What's happening in Minnesota right now defies belief," Walz said. "News reports simply don't do justice to the level of chaos and disruption and trauma the federal government is raining down upon our communities."
On Tuesday, Homeland Security officials told CBS News there are now 800 U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents in the Minneapolis area. That's in addition to 2,000 other ICE and federal agents already in the state in what officials call the "largest DHS operation in history."
"Donald Trump intends for it to get worse. This week, he went online to promise that quote, 'the day of retribution and reckoning is coming,'" Walz said in his addresss. "That's a direct threat against the people of this state who dared to vote against him three times and who continue to stand up for freedom with courage and empathy and profound grace."
The governor went on to urge Minnesotans to "protest loudly, urgently, but also peacefully." He also called on residents to "peacefully film ICE agents."
"If you see these ICE agents in your neighborhood, take out that phone and hit record," Walz said. "Help us create a database of the atrocities against Minnesotans, not just to establish a record for posterity, but to bank evidence for future prosecution."
Walz also expressed pride for his fellow Minnesotans, calling the state "an island of decency in a country being driven towards cruelty."
"We will remain an island of decency, of justice, of community, of peace, and tonight I come before you simply to ask, don't let anyone take that away from us," he said.
Walz gives a constitutionally-required annual address before the Legislature, known as the "State of the State." But other statewide addresses that the governor has planned happen infrequently.
His staff notes that he addressed residents during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and in the aftermath of George Floyd's murder.
Lawyers representing the state of Minnesota, along with the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, were in court Wednesday morning in the hopes of getting federal Judge Kate Menendez to issue a temporary restraining order to pause ICE activities in Minnesota.
Menendez said she would not issue that restraining order until after the federal government filed its response and the state made additional filings.
The hearing is part of a larger federal lawsuit by the state and cities attempting to get the federal government to halt all law enforcement operations in Minnesota.
Below is the full transcript of Walz's address.
What's happening in Minnesota right now defies belief. News reports simply don't do justice to the level of chaos and disruption and trauma the federal government is raining down upon our communities.
Two-thousand to 3,000 armed agents of the federal government have been deployed to Minnesota. Armed, masked, undertrained ICE agents are going door to door, ordering people to point out where their neighbors of color live.
They're pulling over people indiscriminately, including U.S. citizens, and demanding to see their papers. And at grocery stores, at bus stops, even at our schools they're breaking windows, dragging pregnant women down the street, just plain grabbing Minnesotans and shoving them into unmarked vans, kidnapping innocent people with no warning and no due process.
Let's be very, very clear: this long ago stopped being a matter of immigration enforcement. Instead, it's a campaign of organized brutality against the people of Minnesota by our own federal government.
Last week, that campaign claimed the life of Renee Nicole Good. We've all watched the video. We've all seen what happened, and yet instead of conducting an impartial investigation so we can hold accountable the officer responsible for Renee's death, the Trump administration is devoting the full power of the federal government to finding an excuse to attack the victim and her family.
Just yesterday, six federal prosecutors, including the longtime career prosecutor leading the charge to investigate and eliminate fraud in our state's programs, quit their jobs rather than go along with this assault on the United States Constitution.
But as bad as it's been, Donald Trump intends for it to get worse. This week, he went online to promise that quote, the day of retribution and reckoning is coming.
That's a direct threat against the people of this state who dared to vote against him three times and who continue to stand up for freedom with courage and empathy and profound grace.
All across Minnesota people are stepping up to help their neighbors who are being unjustly and unlawfully targeted. They're distributing care packages and walking kids to school and raising their voices in peaceful protest, even though doing so has made many of our fellow Minnesotans targets for violent retribution.
Folks, I know it's scary, and I know it's absurd that we all have to defend law and order, justice and humanity while also caring for our families and trying to do our jobs.
So tonight, let me say once again to Donald Trump and Kristi Noem: End this occupation. You've done enough.
Let me say four critical things to the people of Minnesota, four things I want you to hear as you watch the news and look out for your neighbors:
First, Donald Trump wants this chaos. He wants confusion, and yes, he wants more violence on our streets. We cannot give him what he wants.
We can, we must protest loudly, urgently, but also peacefully. Indeed, as hard as we will fight in the courts and at the ballot box, we cannot and will not let violence prevail.
You're angry. I'm angry. Angry is not a strong enough word, but we must remain peaceful.
Second, you are not powerless, you are not helpless, and you are certainly not alone. All across Minnesota, people are learning about opportunities not just to resist, but to help people who are in danger.
Thousands upon thousands of our fellow Minnesotans are going to be relying on mutual aid in the days and weeks to come, and they need our support.
Tonight I wanna share another way you can help: witness. Help us establish a record of exactly what's happening in our communities.
You have an absolute right to peacefully film ICE agents as they conduct these activities, so carry your phone with you at all times, and if you see these ICE agents in your neighborhood, take out that phone and hit record.
Help us create a database of the atrocities against Minnesotans, not just to establish a record for posterity, but to bank evidence for future prosecution.
The third thing I want to say to you tonight is we will not have to live like this forever. Accountability is coming at the voting booth and in court.
We will reclaim our communities from Donald Trump. We will reestablish a sense of safety for our neighbors, and we will bring an end to this moment of chaos, confusion and trauma.
We will find a way to move forward and we'll do it together. And will not be alone. Every day we are working with business leaders, faith leaders, legal experts and elected officials from across this country. They've all seen what Donald Trump is trying to do to our state, and they know their states could be next.
And that brings me to the fourth thing I wanna say tonight Minnesota, how incredibly proud I am of the way that you've risen to meet this unbearable moment. But I'm not at all surprised because this, this is who we are.
Minnesotans believe in the rule of law, and Minnesotans believe in the dignity of all people. We're a place where there's room for everybody, no matter who you are or who you love or where you came from. A place where we feed our kids, we take care of our neighbors and we look out for those in the shadows of life.
We're an island of decency in a country being driven towards cruelty. We will remain an island of decency, of justice, of community, of peace, and tonight I come before you simply to ask, don't let anyone take that away from us.
Thank you. Protect each other, and may God bless the people of Minnesota.
This story will be updated.