Public protest forced federal retreat, exposed deadly overreach, and proved Americans still hold power when institutions fail, cameras roll, and communities refuse silence in plain sight.
I'm furious that Renee Good and Alex Pretti are DEAD, and Tom Homan, the architect of family separation, the man who said fear was the point, gets to walk back into power.
I'm also devastated that it took two bodies and thousands in the streets to get a policy "shift" that isn't even a real shift, just DHS agreeing not to shoot people in Democrat cities unless "federal property is threatened", as if that's the new bar for not killing Americans.
Michael's right, the most dangerous thing for authoritarians IS proof that protest works. But God, it shouldn't take bodies to prove it.
You are right and we should be be deeply concerned about such an incident triggering an Schreckensherrschaft event, in English, a reign of terror. Anyone who gives a sideways glance will be executed, people stay home, nobody openly resists at that point. Journalist are arrested, Americans shot and labeled domestic terrorists, speaking out is dangerous right now, but soeak we must. Once it crosses into people using weapons against ICE we'll see radicalized repression.
Fantastic piece this morning Michael. One of your best. Alex Pretti and Renee Good were murdered. Two people doing the right thing, overseeing injustice to peaceful protests, filming and watching the wrongdoings. You are right THE PEOPLE HAVE THE POWER! Let's keep up the great work and get these thugs out of power. Thank you Michael!
Michael, I felt a little hope after reading your article this morning. Even if this is a small crack in the armor of dictatorship, we needed to see some movement. So many are protesting in the freezing cold just to help Americans stay alive. Can we believe this is our country? What this administration has put us through already is cruel and outrageous but we rise again. Keep telling the story!
Tom Homan is not the answer we need. I’ve heard him speak. He is just put into place to whitewash what has already been a devastating force from the DHS. To agree not to shoot Americans should bow everybody’s mind. To target Democratic cities is absurd. Renee Good and Alex Pretti are dead just because ICE thinks they can just walk the streets and open fire on anyone they choose to do so without consequences. We cannot just sit still while this happens. We the people have power if we the people can simply look at one another as a community and put our party line aside. Yes we protest. Yes we film. Yes we follow, but we do this peacefully. Thank you Michael for all the work and research. For me, you are an inspiration to keep doing better to get the people to realize how important our vote and our voices are.
As a Minnesotan, every single word of this is true. Minnesota will go down in history as a city who protested peacefully and won. ICE🤢is still here and have hotels until June(!!!), but Minnesota will continue to show up. For. A. Fact. ICE and this regime administration will f up again because they’re inept. And evil. Eventually, evil loses. Peace wins.
For eleven years, I've been grappling with the fact that there are human beings, in America, who will do the unthinkable. I know this shouldn't be so unbelievable, since there are so many examples of it throughout history, but In my mind, those events were more like TV shows that come to an end, and I turn off the TV, and everything is OK. Now, that TV show has become our reality, and the script writers can, and are free to make the story as horrific as their imaginations can dream up. I keep thinking it will end, but every day, it doesn't. It just gets worse.
Your message today has exposed my worst fears about the path we're on, but it's made me realize there is a different path ahead, that splits off into the unknown. We must take that path, and we must be prepared for man eating beasts to come at us from every direction. Many of us will fall, but we must stay on the path. And when we reach the zoo where the beasts are gathered, we must be willing to make the ultimate sacrifice to capture it, because these beasts can never be tamed. They must be caught and caged, for all to see and remember. Only then will we be able to remake our nation into the land of the free, and the home of the brave.
Thanks Michael: Yes "WE THE PEOPLE" Just watching the masses of decent good caring compassionate American citizen of all stripes march and protesting against this Nazi administration lit my heart up. American will not be ruled by despots. the ICE gestapo despot Bovino will be swept into the dust bin of history. SS Homan will be sent back to panhandle with his cava lunch bag. The sad and tragic death of a true patriot Alex Pretti assisting a young lady while six or seven gestapo agents through him down in a prone position and shot him approx ten times in the back tell the world not just the murder but the grit , determination and will of the average American citizen. The way the average citizen is assisting the folks to scared to surface, doing their shopping, assisting the children to school tells the world so much. The way the administration are getting to each other with their circular firing squad is a blessing. SS Stephen Miller and Kristi Noem are jabbing at each other is a blessing. It not the feckless GOP house and senate member who are going to end this nightmare , it the average decent caring compassion American citizen. God Speed.
ACTION 1: JUSTICE FOR THE VICTIMS (Target: Judiciary Committee)
The Context: Attorney General Bondi redacted the names of "John Doe 174" (Trump) and Prince Andrew to protect their careers, while leaving the survivors’ names and details exposed. This is obstruction of justice. The Script:
"I am calling to demand an immediate subpoena for the unredacted Epstein files. By protecting the powerful while exposing the survivors, the Attorney General is obstructing justice. We demand the full list. No one is above the law."
ACTION 2: IMPEACH THE ARCHITECTS (Target: Judiciary Committee)
The Context: AG Pam Bondi (extortion of voter rolls) and Secretary Kristi Noem (deployment of lethal force) have violated their oaths. The Script:
"I demand Articles of Impeachment be filed against AG Pam Bondi and Secretary Kristi Noem. Bondi’s obstruction of justice and Noem’s reckless use of force resulting in the death of Alex Pretti constitute willful negligence. Remove them."
ACTION 3: STOP THE $10B HEIST (Target: Ways & Means)
The Context: The President is suing the Treasury (which he controls) for $10 Billion. He has appointed the officials who will decide whether to "settle" the case, effectively handing himself taxpayer money. The Script:
"I demand an emergency hearing on the President's $10 Billion lawsuit against the Treasury. He is suing the agency he controls to pay himself with tax dollars. This is embezzlement. Block the payment."
ACTION 4: INVESTIGATE THE DOGE DATA BREACH (Target: Oversight)
The Context: Court filings confirm that Elon Musk’s DOGE illegally moved 300 million Social Security records to private servers to share with the group "True the Vote." The Script:
"I demand a criminal probe into the Department of Government Efficiency. Moving 300 million SSA records to private servers is a massive privacy breach. Subpoena Elon Musk and secure our data."
ACTION 5: SUPPORT STATE SOVEREIGNTY (Target: State AGs)
The Context: AG Bondi is demanding voter rolls in exchange for "peace." We must support State AGs who are refusing this blackmail. The Script:
"I support your refusal to hand over our voter rolls to Attorney General Bondi. Do not give in to the 'Bondi Ransom.' Our private data is not a bargaining chip."
ACTION 6: FREE THE PRESS (Target: Reps / DOJ)
The Context: Journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort were arrested for filming protests. This is a weaponization of the FACE Act. The Script:
"I protest the arrests of Don Lemon and Georgia Fort. Using the FACE Act to arrest journalists is the tactic of a police state. Pass the PRESS Act and demand their release."
ACTION 7: NO KINGS (Target: House Leadership)
The Context: The Administration is claiming "Unitary Executive" immunity to justify these actions. Congress must reassert that the President is not a monarch. The Script:
"I demand you co-sponsor the 'No Kings Act'. The President is not a King, and the Executive Branch cannot be weaponized against political enemies."
ACTION 8: DEFUND THE OCCUPATION (Target: Appropriations Committee)
The Context: "Operation Metro Surge" is using federal funds to occupy American cities. Congress controls the purse. The Script:
"I demand you cut all funding for 'Operation Metro Surge.' Federal agents are being used to terrorize American cities, not protect them. If they abuse the badge, cut the check."
ACTION 9: PROTECT THE STRIKE (Target: Labor Committee)
The Context: Nurses and dockworkers are striking against ICE raids in their workplaces ("ICE Out"). The Script:
"I call on you to publicly protect the workers participating in the 'ICE Out' labor actions. Refusing to comply with workplace raids is a protected right. Do not let the administration criminalize the strike."
ACTION 10: BAN THE ALGORITHMIC PURGE (Target: Science & Tech Committee)
The Context: The Administration is using Palantir's "ImmigrationOS" to flag voters for purging. The Script:
"I demand an investigation into the use of Palantir’s algorithms to purge voter rolls. An AI cannot be allowed to strip Americans of their citizenship rights without due process. Ban the 'Purge Database.'"
The ballot is stronger than the bullet. They have the force, but we have the numbers. 🛡️🔥
“The struggle of today, is not altogether for today—it is for a vast future also.” — Abraham Lincoln
Keith Porter, Jr. and several other brown people need to be mentioned consistently along with Pretti and Good. The Proud Boys are white nationalists dressed up as ICE. We can’t let that part be small. Thank you.
If you ask yourself why Trump is doing this, it's simple, he wants unrest. He wants Anarchy. He wants to create so much chaos that he can point to it and say "The country is too unstable for elections." His goal isn't to lead a democracy, it's to stop it. He and his allies want to use disorder as the excuse to hold onto power.
Hello. I must ask, what is your motive to comment in every post? To shame Michael? To change truth? To feel better about yourself by defaming others? Insult him? Prove your belief in your superiority? His paid subscriber Q&A today had the same number of participants as usual. It’s too bad you aren’t a paid member. He explained the Jane Doe case with specificity. Details. Facts. Not innuendo. The beauty of knowing you is when these facts prove the false narrative wrong, will you disappear or apologize directly to him? Oh, subscriber growth mostly matters to the instigator who is in debt and still hasn’t paid remuneration from his fraud convictions.
Hey. Paid subscriber even better. Did you hear the details of Jane doe? They seemed compelling.
I do watch and listen. I’m not sure of your relationship with cohen but it must be significant if three months ago he asked a favor. That sounds like an interesting tid bit to the narrative.
Skip, yes I heard Michael's details. And then I heard what several others reported.
Just a Paid Subscriber that Michael reached out for a favor. No different than you.
For now, I won't generally release my screen shots. Others have seen them. For me, his Character and Honesty is in question. But there are many others that feel the same for their own reasons. Actually many and more as the days go forward. I am watching his story develop. It will continue. And my interaction becomes less important.
Thank you for your comment Dawn. Yes, Michael does have an engaging personality, as many lawyers do. Lev Parnas is a shameless self promoter who has wandered into territory he is not qualified to comment on,
Dawn, do you have nothing better to do with your time than harass Michael Cohen? You can surely make better use of the time by doing something helpful and constructive for the current state of your country. Peace.
This is still America and you have a right to speak your opinion.
As to Michael, he knows why. I am a Paid Subscriber. I am in a unique position to question his character because about 3 months ago he asked me to do a favor for him.
Further, it makes no sense that Michael worked for Trump as his "#1 and Fixer" and can't offer any more details. Why do you think all the Commentators he worked with in the past have walked away from him?
To you I would say, don't be so sure you know Michael Cohen. Watch and Listen and Question.
Michael-
I'm furious that Renee Good and Alex Pretti are DEAD, and Tom Homan, the architect of family separation, the man who said fear was the point, gets to walk back into power.
I'm also devastated that it took two bodies and thousands in the streets to get a policy "shift" that isn't even a real shift, just DHS agreeing not to shoot people in Democrat cities unless "federal property is threatened", as if that's the new bar for not killing Americans.
Michael's right, the most dangerous thing for authoritarians IS proof that protest works. But God, it shouldn't take bodies to prove it.
Mika-
Bringing Homan in is Trump doubling down, not improving or de-escalating. Michael is so right.
Soon enough, someone who has had it with ICE and who happens to be a good sniper, is going to do something bad. If this continues.
You are right and we should be be deeply concerned about such an incident triggering an Schreckensherrschaft event, in English, a reign of terror. Anyone who gives a sideways glance will be executed, people stay home, nobody openly resists at that point. Journalist are arrested, Americans shot and labeled domestic terrorists, speaking out is dangerous right now, but soeak we must. Once it crosses into people using weapons against ICE we'll see radicalized repression.
Fantastic piece this morning Michael. One of your best. Alex Pretti and Renee Good were murdered. Two people doing the right thing, overseeing injustice to peaceful protests, filming and watching the wrongdoings. You are right THE PEOPLE HAVE THE POWER! Let's keep up the great work and get these thugs out of power. Thank you Michael!
Surely sitting on the shoulders of Noem and Homan is Stephen Goebbles-Miller.
Nothing to do with immigration just Trump bully boys trying to manufacture an insurrection.
Trump’s most desired outcome, he has to stop those elections somehow.
Michael, I felt a little hope after reading your article this morning. Even if this is a small crack in the armor of dictatorship, we needed to see some movement. So many are protesting in the freezing cold just to help Americans stay alive. Can we believe this is our country? What this administration has put us through already is cruel and outrageous but we rise again. Keep telling the story!
Tom Homan is not the answer we need. I’ve heard him speak. He is just put into place to whitewash what has already been a devastating force from the DHS. To agree not to shoot Americans should bow everybody’s mind. To target Democratic cities is absurd. Renee Good and Alex Pretti are dead just because ICE thinks they can just walk the streets and open fire on anyone they choose to do so without consequences. We cannot just sit still while this happens. We the people have power if we the people can simply look at one another as a community and put our party line aside. Yes we protest. Yes we film. Yes we follow, but we do this peacefully. Thank you Michael for all the work and research. For me, you are an inspiration to keep doing better to get the people to realize how important our vote and our voices are.
I'm still waiting for Homan to return our taxpayer $50K that he accepted as a bribe.
Beautifully written.
As a Minnesotan, every single word of this is true. Minnesota will go down in history as a city who protested peacefully and won. ICE🤢is still here and have hotels until June(!!!), but Minnesota will continue to show up. For. A. Fact. ICE and this regime administration will f up again because they’re inept. And evil. Eventually, evil loses. Peace wins.
For eleven years, I've been grappling with the fact that there are human beings, in America, who will do the unthinkable. I know this shouldn't be so unbelievable, since there are so many examples of it throughout history, but In my mind, those events were more like TV shows that come to an end, and I turn off the TV, and everything is OK. Now, that TV show has become our reality, and the script writers can, and are free to make the story as horrific as their imaginations can dream up. I keep thinking it will end, but every day, it doesn't. It just gets worse.
Your message today has exposed my worst fears about the path we're on, but it's made me realize there is a different path ahead, that splits off into the unknown. We must take that path, and we must be prepared for man eating beasts to come at us from every direction. Many of us will fall, but we must stay on the path. And when we reach the zoo where the beasts are gathered, we must be willing to make the ultimate sacrifice to capture it, because these beasts can never be tamed. They must be caught and caged, for all to see and remember. Only then will we be able to remake our nation into the land of the free, and the home of the brave.
Zen saying: Leap, and the net will appear.
Humans dislike uncertainty. But we must forge ahead despite not knowing what the end will be.
Signe K. I love the Zen saying.
Robert Grandy. Really insightful commentary. Thank you.
Thanks Michael: Yes "WE THE PEOPLE" Just watching the masses of decent good caring compassionate American citizen of all stripes march and protesting against this Nazi administration lit my heart up. American will not be ruled by despots. the ICE gestapo despot Bovino will be swept into the dust bin of history. SS Homan will be sent back to panhandle with his cava lunch bag. The sad and tragic death of a true patriot Alex Pretti assisting a young lady while six or seven gestapo agents through him down in a prone position and shot him approx ten times in the back tell the world not just the murder but the grit , determination and will of the average American citizen. The way the average citizen is assisting the folks to scared to surface, doing their shopping, assisting the children to school tells the world so much. The way the administration are getting to each other with their circular firing squad is a blessing. SS Stephen Miller and Kristi Noem are jabbing at each other is a blessing. It not the feckless GOP house and senate member who are going to end this nightmare , it the average decent caring compassion American citizen. God Speed.
FIREWALL DISPATCH: THE "DECATHLON" ACTION PLAN
Date: February 1, 2026 Target: Congress, State AGs & The Department of Justice Mission: 10 Steps to Stop the Seizure of the Republic
The Syndicate is betting on our exhaustion. We are betting on our numbers. Pick a script—or do all ten—and jam the lines.
Tools:
Capitol Switchboard: (202) 224-3121
DOJ Comment Line: (202) 353-1555
5Calls.org
ACTION 1: JUSTICE FOR THE VICTIMS (Target: Judiciary Committee)
The Context: Attorney General Bondi redacted the names of "John Doe 174" (Trump) and Prince Andrew to protect their careers, while leaving the survivors’ names and details exposed. This is obstruction of justice. The Script:
"I am calling to demand an immediate subpoena for the unredacted Epstein files. By protecting the powerful while exposing the survivors, the Attorney General is obstructing justice. We demand the full list. No one is above the law."
ACTION 2: IMPEACH THE ARCHITECTS (Target: Judiciary Committee)
The Context: AG Pam Bondi (extortion of voter rolls) and Secretary Kristi Noem (deployment of lethal force) have violated their oaths. The Script:
"I demand Articles of Impeachment be filed against AG Pam Bondi and Secretary Kristi Noem. Bondi’s obstruction of justice and Noem’s reckless use of force resulting in the death of Alex Pretti constitute willful negligence. Remove them."
ACTION 3: STOP THE $10B HEIST (Target: Ways & Means)
The Context: The President is suing the Treasury (which he controls) for $10 Billion. He has appointed the officials who will decide whether to "settle" the case, effectively handing himself taxpayer money. The Script:
"I demand an emergency hearing on the President's $10 Billion lawsuit against the Treasury. He is suing the agency he controls to pay himself with tax dollars. This is embezzlement. Block the payment."
ACTION 4: INVESTIGATE THE DOGE DATA BREACH (Target: Oversight)
The Context: Court filings confirm that Elon Musk’s DOGE illegally moved 300 million Social Security records to private servers to share with the group "True the Vote." The Script:
"I demand a criminal probe into the Department of Government Efficiency. Moving 300 million SSA records to private servers is a massive privacy breach. Subpoena Elon Musk and secure our data."
ACTION 5: SUPPORT STATE SOVEREIGNTY (Target: State AGs)
The Context: AG Bondi is demanding voter rolls in exchange for "peace." We must support State AGs who are refusing this blackmail. The Script:
"I support your refusal to hand over our voter rolls to Attorney General Bondi. Do not give in to the 'Bondi Ransom.' Our private data is not a bargaining chip."
ACTION 6: FREE THE PRESS (Target: Reps / DOJ)
The Context: Journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort were arrested for filming protests. This is a weaponization of the FACE Act. The Script:
"I protest the arrests of Don Lemon and Georgia Fort. Using the FACE Act to arrest journalists is the tactic of a police state. Pass the PRESS Act and demand their release."
ACTION 7: NO KINGS (Target: House Leadership)
The Context: The Administration is claiming "Unitary Executive" immunity to justify these actions. Congress must reassert that the President is not a monarch. The Script:
"I demand you co-sponsor the 'No Kings Act'. The President is not a King, and the Executive Branch cannot be weaponized against political enemies."
ACTION 8: DEFUND THE OCCUPATION (Target: Appropriations Committee)
The Context: "Operation Metro Surge" is using federal funds to occupy American cities. Congress controls the purse. The Script:
"I demand you cut all funding for 'Operation Metro Surge.' Federal agents are being used to terrorize American cities, not protect them. If they abuse the badge, cut the check."
ACTION 9: PROTECT THE STRIKE (Target: Labor Committee)
The Context: Nurses and dockworkers are striking against ICE raids in their workplaces ("ICE Out"). The Script:
"I call on you to publicly protect the workers participating in the 'ICE Out' labor actions. Refusing to comply with workplace raids is a protected right. Do not let the administration criminalize the strike."
ACTION 10: BAN THE ALGORITHMIC PURGE (Target: Science & Tech Committee)
The Context: The Administration is using Palantir's "ImmigrationOS" to flag voters for purging. The Script:
"I demand an investigation into the use of Palantir’s algorithms to purge voter rolls. An AI cannot be allowed to strip Americans of their citizenship rights without due process. Ban the 'Purge Database.'"
The ballot is stronger than the bullet. They have the force, but we have the numbers. 🛡️🔥
“The struggle of today, is not altogether for today—it is for a vast future also.” — Abraham Lincoln
Ginny 75,
Well said. Now if America could get rid of their ear buds so they can hear the truth!
We are easily addicted to “ugly”.
Let’s get addicted to Goodness, empathy, truth…., and then as you offer: get busy to end this rape of all our rights.
This is not a TV movie. This is your children’s terror!
Thanks for the department of injustice line. 🌊
Keith Porter, Jr. and several other brown people need to be mentioned consistently along with Pretti and Good. The Proud Boys are white nationalists dressed up as ICE. We can’t let that part be small. Thank you.
Bruce Springsteen said it better than any novice writer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDaPdpwA4Iw
Thank you Michael!
If you ask yourself why Trump is doing this, it's simple, he wants unrest. He wants Anarchy. He wants to create so much chaos that he can point to it and say "The country is too unstable for elections." His goal isn't to lead a democracy, it's to stop it. He and his allies want to use disorder as the excuse to hold onto power.
Adding my voice in thanking you for continuing to write these eloquent and knowledgeable posts daily.
Watching your Subscribers go down and down.
Too many questions continue about your lack of transparency and involvement.
"Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented." Elie Wiesel
"In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."
Martin Luther King
Americans deserve better.
Hello. I must ask, what is your motive to comment in every post? To shame Michael? To change truth? To feel better about yourself by defaming others? Insult him? Prove your belief in your superiority? His paid subscriber Q&A today had the same number of participants as usual. It’s too bad you aren’t a paid member. He explained the Jane Doe case with specificity. Details. Facts. Not innuendo. The beauty of knowing you is when these facts prove the false narrative wrong, will you disappear or apologize directly to him? Oh, subscriber growth mostly matters to the instigator who is in debt and still hasn’t paid remuneration from his fraud convictions.
Skip, Simple.
Watch and listen and question.
The signs and red flags were up for years and still too many people voted Trump into office.
I am sure everyone has had someone they supported and later found out they weren't who they said they were.
And to you Skip, do you really know right now what the truth is?
BTW, I am a Paid Subscriber locked into a year subscription that can't be refunded.
Wrong Assumption on your part.
Americans deserve better.
Hey. Paid subscriber even better. Did you hear the details of Jane doe? They seemed compelling.
I do watch and listen. I’m not sure of your relationship with cohen but it must be significant if three months ago he asked a favor. That sounds like an interesting tid bit to the narrative.
Skip, yes I heard Michael's details. And then I heard what several others reported.
Just a Paid Subscriber that Michael reached out for a favor. No different than you.
For now, I won't generally release my screen shots. Others have seen them. For me, his Character and Honesty is in question. But there are many others that feel the same for their own reasons. Actually many and more as the days go forward. I am watching his story develop. It will continue. And my interaction becomes less important.
Americans deserve better.
Sounds significant. If you ever feel compelled please dm me.
Skip, Thanks. I have no doubt there will be more coming out.
Americans deserve better.
Could have a secret crush on Michael 😏Certainly obsessed with someone she claims not to like.
Ruth,
There is no doubt that Michael has an engaging personality and flair for writing.
Question, Watch and Listen.
Americans deserve better.
Thank you for your comment Dawn. Yes, Michael does have an engaging personality, as many lawyers do. Lev Parnas is a shameless self promoter who has wandered into territory he is not qualified to comment on,
Ruth,
Don't understand your comment on Lev Parnas?
Many that had associated with Michael Cohen do not any longer.
Yes, Lev Parnas is one that no longer associates.
That should raise red flags.
I listen/read to many on Independent and Corporate Media.
Americans deserve better.
Dawn, do you have nothing better to do with your time than harass Michael Cohen? You can surely make better use of the time by doing something helpful and constructive for the current state of your country. Peace.
Jennifer,
This is still America and you have a right to speak your opinion.
As to Michael, he knows why. I am a Paid Subscriber. I am in a unique position to question his character because about 3 months ago he asked me to do a favor for him.
Further, it makes no sense that Michael worked for Trump as his "#1 and Fixer" and can't offer any more details. Why do you think all the Commentators he worked with in the past have walked away from him?
To you I would say, don't be so sure you know Michael Cohen. Watch and Listen and Question.
Have a good nite.
Americans deserve better.
"Mildred326264" is either a fan or a bot. I never saw her name before on this page. She was quickly blocked. No time for ass holes.
Dianne K, why are you so negative on an opinion that is different?
This is what we are facing with the Trump Regime. Bad path to go down.
If it is a bot, so be it. Doesn't mean you have to agree. Or disagree.
Sometimes it is important just to Listen and Watch.
Americans deserve better.
This is getting to be like farcebook. I’m only replying to Michael when I make a post. She didn’t have an opinion, she made an accusation.