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Minneapolis Montage: Interviews from the Filter Blockades and More
150 Plays21 hours ago
In this episode we talk to a variety of people on the ground in Minneapolis about their thoughts on the filter blockades and other things happening there currently relating to anti ICE resistance. These reportbacks and recordings were done between January 24 through February 5th.
For more info on filter blockades, check out this great recent piece by Crimethinc
https://crimethinc.com/2026/02/06/filter-blockades-a-tactic-from-the-twin-cities-to-fight-ice-and-defend-your-neighborhood#a-step-by-step-guide
This is part of an ongoing series on ICE/DHS activity, the ways it varies in local conditions, and how that interplays with local histories and dynamics of resistance.
Music in this episode:
Texture Freq - So What? It’s the Future
https://texturefreq.bandcamp.com
YP Engineering - Tim Walz
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_lqrqct0mGTAPc0IrRx7G6AcKtrkgzhyg8&si=Z7p7PrquBdTkVNb-
Carsie Blanton - Come Out Ye Cowards ICE
https://carsieblanton.bandcamp.com
Intro music by Breakaway and Seaside Tryst
Recommended
Transcript
The Beautiful Idea Podcast Introduction
00:00:09
Speaker
Hello. You're listening to The Beautiful Idea, a podcast from a collective of several anarchist and autonomous media producers scattered around the world. We're bringing you interviews and stories from the front lines of autonomous social movements and struggles, as well as original commentary and analysis.
00:00:25
Speaker
Follow us on Mastodon and at thebeautifulidea.show. Thanks for listening.
00:00:46
Speaker
Ice! Ice! Ice! Ice Ice! Ice Ice Ice
00:00:56
Speaker
This episode is going to be a montage of different voices contributing their thoughts in a variety of ways. Apologies in advance for any rough audio. It was mostly all done on phones and on the fly.
Fieldwork and Interviews in Minneapolis
00:01:07
Speaker
We were on the ground in Minneapolis from January 24th through February 5th, and we were able to talk to many people about their experiences and feelings about what's been happening there.
00:01:19
Speaker
We're so grateful for the variety of friends, family, and strangers who welcomed us, housed and fed us, and told us their stories. This first interview was done by sending some questions to a person we met who responded over voice memos recorded on their phone.
00:01:33
Speaker
So you'll hear a back and forth of our messages.
Local Activism Against ICE
00:01:40
Speaker
So how long have you been in Minnesota, and what is your connection to this fight against ICE? So I've been living in Twin Cities for five years. I moved here in the middle of 2021, and i have been involved in the movement against ICE since the very start on December 1st. Actually, before that, since ah the the clashes on the east side of St. Paul on November 25th, after they raided the Brotex paper factory, and then they went and raided a Hmong neighborhood called Frogtown in East St. Paul.
00:02:11
Speaker
So there's been a lot of talk about filter blockades recently, and we'd love to hear your thoughts on these blockades in general and any thoughts on tactics being used, any that are new or if any of them are maybe tied to the past.
00:02:24
Speaker
What I'd really like to say about the filter blockades is that through this whole experience of this federal occupation over the last 62 days, we keep seeing little echoes of what happened five years ago in the George Floyd uprising. And in A neighborhood very close to where the ah the blockades were at Cedar and 32nd yesterday. There was a neighborhood group called the Rocksteady Alliance in 2020 that did exactly the same thing, not to keep ice out of their neighborhoods, but to keep MPD out. They set up checkpoints with barricade materials and dumpsters and pallets, and they put hoses, garden hoses, filled with nails out on the streets so that anybody driving over it would have their tires popped. And the community did this. To keep MPD out in 2020, which is the same MPD that we saw collaborating with ICE and coming out to do ICE's dirty work and clear the people's security checkpoints out of the street. I think it's a good tactic. It's an innovative tactic. It should keep going. And it draws on like a long, unbroken chain of resistance here in the Twin Cities.
Community Self-Defense and Rapid Response
00:03:30
Speaker
What's something you couldn't imagine yourself or your neighbors and friends doing three months ago that you feel good about doing together now? Street protests and street confrontations aren't new to me. Like, that's kind of activity I've been in before. What's new to me that I kind of couldn't imagine myself doing before is ah just sort of the daily grind of patrolling my neighborhood, taking pictures of license plates at the Whipple building, and just kind of ah pulling guard duty, you know, and like driving around the block ready to chase them off when they're here, you know. And I mean, it's become like a part-time job or a full-time job for everybody who does it. And I i think there's the seeds of ah something really important being born here. I hope these rapid response networks continue in some form long after we've driven ICE out of the streets. I think ah it's, you know, like this is this is kind of the heart of my anarchist politics is the community protecting each other and doing community self-defense.
00:04:32
Speaker
Could you tell us about the pattern of targeted violence and repression against rapid responders and how people are dealing with this? So the most heavy-handed treatment I've personally received from the feds is when I got shot in the face point blank with some kind of projectile from Border Patrol. it left me with a fracture on my cheek, and there was a really nasty chemical irritant that caused my face to swell up. That's like the worst thing that's happened to me, but I've had other friends who have been arrested and taken by like six or eight agents at once.
00:05:07
Speaker
I knew somebody whose whose leg was injured when they like, you know, piled onto him and drove their knee into his back. I've i've had friends who have had their windows smashed, like their driver's side windows smashed when they were patrolling behind an ICE car and have been pulled out of their, you know, their own still running vehicle, which is just left abandoned in the middle of the street while they're taking the Whipple.
00:05:28
Speaker
Also on the topic of heavy-handed tactics, we've seen them use against us. I've had a few friends who, uh, they spray pepper spray at the outside of your car, like, both to mark the car as, like, a movement person, and also because it, it like, gets sucked in through the air vents of your car and makes it impossible to breathe in there. So I've seen that happen to some people.
00:05:49
Speaker
We're starting to see serious charges too. a lawyer friend of mine heard from a prosecutor that they're combing over every single arrest that ICE and CBP has made in the last two months and beginning to charge people, which I think sort of explains why we hadn't seen too many charges of people that were not immigrants before.
00:06:09
Speaker
And we saw the the beginnings of that new wave of legal repression the other day when Pam Bondi charged 22 people with assaulting a federal officer. who have been involved in patrolling and we expect more charges like that.
Youth Perspective on Blockades
00:06:24
Speaker
The next person we talked to was 15 years old from an immigrant family who lives in Minneapolis. Some of the audio was lost, but we caught up with her again and she sent us some voice messages to fill in our conversation from earlier.
00:06:37
Speaker
Here is our conversation that we had over voice message. This includes one part at the end where we are talking with her actually at one of the filter blockades. So here was our first question.
00:06:50
Speaker
How do you feel about the filter blockades that have been popping up in South Minneapolis? Would love to hear any thoughts you have about them. Yeah, about the blockades that have been popping out around San Minneapolis, it's really nice to see. It's like amazing seeing how like people are just like helping out here. And if we need help, then like they're there with us. And it's really just an amazing thing to see.
00:07:15
Speaker
I also wanted to ask, how does your family feel about the blockades? Do you know if they feel any safer having people out on the corners looking out for ice? Yeah. Yeah, my family does feel more safer for you guys being here and just taking care of us like at the corner of the street and feeling that we can like at least take the snow out and not just be in the in-house like doing nothing. So yeah, it's like really amazing to like see that you like guys are here with us and that well, you guys can help us. So yeah.
00:07:51
Speaker
Do you know how many days this one has been going? Is it just today or has it been here for for a few days? Yeah, it's just been right now. They just put it today in the morning, which it was pretty awesome to see, like starting by little bit and then growing a bigger community. It's awesome. Yeah. Yeah. Have you have you been to any of the other blockades? oh No, not right now. just went to this one and then the other one over there and then that's it. Like I've been taking pictures and everything. Nice.
00:08:18
Speaker
Cool. Yeah. All right. Well, thanks for talking to us. Thank you.
00:08:22
Speaker
One evening, we talked to a person at one of the filter blockades. So what you'll hear is us talking while in an intersection with a fire going nearby, music in the background, and occasional cars driving by honking in support. There was lots of food, benches, and chairs to sit on, all just a really warm and inviting atmosphere, all while people were keeping an eye on cars coming through.
00:08:43
Speaker
Earlier in the evening, a dad and his kid, who was maybe 10 years old, came over with signs to hold, and at some point, the dad asked if we could all do a cheer for his daughter's first protest. Of course we all did, and the kid looked ecstatic.
00:08:56
Speaker
A Mexican flag hung on one of the constructed wooden barricades and lots of anti-ice posters and graffiti on the structures. After we talked, a Somali family dropped off warm sambusas and a big container of hot tea.
00:09:10
Speaker
Okay, so yeah, i was just kind of curious how it's going down here and how are people receiving what's happening? yeah any thoughts you have? I mean, the the general community has honestly, they've been very positively receiving our presence. We've had dozens of people stop by with warm food and, you know, lots of love to give and just, you know, looking out for us as much as we're trying to look out for the community.
00:09:33
Speaker
I think this spot on Cedar is especially important because, you know, this is where a huge, huge portion of our marginalized communities live. You know, you you have Little Earth, you have all of the ah Hispanic community and the diverse cultures that are on East Lake, all of these very vulnerable individuals.
00:09:50
Speaker
And the fact that there isn't any higher stature system to protect us... it really has to fall into the community's hands.
Community Protection and Unity
00:10:00
Speaker
And I think that this is this is the beginning of what that looks like. yeah And I think that the more and more people get on board and the more and more people that decide to stick up for the communities that they love and want to thrive in, that's that's how we melt ice. That's how we get rid of this shit. We've got to commit.
00:10:16
Speaker
Yeah, I also was going to ask just logistically, are you noticing, are people stopping cars? Are people just mostly looking at plates and logging them? right How is that working? I'm not sure that I feel comfortable divulging exactly how that chain of communication happens, but we definitely have a system in place that we are employing to both kind of feel out potential threats to our community as well as known known threats. So that can look like identifying cars. Mm-hmm. Or potentially just like checking up on a vehicle. in
00:10:53
Speaker
You know, most of the time and they roll their window down. They're like, what's up? you You want a coffee? Like, thanks for being out here. But, you know, occasionally you do run into some people that seem to have a little more malicious malicious intent. so But largely today it's been great.
00:11:09
Speaker
It's just a ah few little heebie-jeebie moments. But largely it's just people throwing love our way. and Yeah. I don't know, like emboldening the community in a sense. I think that's really what the primary goal is right now. Yeah.
00:11:23
Speaker
I was noticing that there's some other blockades, kind of one block and one direction, a couple blocks in another direction. have you been to any of the other the other blockades? I'm going to be honest. This is my first yeah kind of filter I've been engaged in. yeah I just, I heard about it through word of mouth and live two minutes from a Home Depot. So i was like, well, let's pick up some lumber. Let's pick up the drill and some screws and see if we can make some magic happen. I haven't seen what's going on. We we had a few kind of heads that were staying organized with walkie talkies and, you know, kind using that to relay important info.
00:12:00
Speaker
It looks like things have shut down. this direction we had that block yeah kind of taken over and then I think we have something over on 34th two blocks down. yeahp So it's kind of a we're in our own little world here yeah have a little bit of contact but we're all just kind of individually trying to maintain these blocks as much as possible and this roundabout idea configured in a way to allow us to really filter that
Collective Resistance to ICE
00:12:25
Speaker
traffic. yeah make sure that some less favorable individuals aren't making their way in yeah that makes sense cool thank you so much is there anything else that you want to say about it or cover your thoughts if you don't think this is impacting you it is impacting you so like it's now or never time to stand up hell yeah thank you
00:13:24
Speaker
The next day, on Monday, February 2nd, we talked to a Somali woman and her 13-year-old son right after the Minneapolis Police Department had come in with a very dramatic response with around 10 police cars, trucks, and vans to sweep the blockades and throw everything they could get their hands on into a garbage truck.
00:13:43
Speaker
Here is our conversation that we had on a street corner. You know, everyone outside of Minnesota is so curious about what is happening here and how people feel about it. yeah, so yeah I would love to know, how how are you feeling being here?
00:13:57
Speaker
We're afraid scary things happen, you know? But people in minnesota Minnesota, it's nice people. And we get gathering, you know, it's a lot of happening for our eyes or...
00:14:11
Speaker
So I hope everybody's safe and be strong each other. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. yeah and I know you've been around a bit in the last couple of days and seen the blockade on the on the corner here. how How do you feel about people being here in your neighborhood, being in the intersections like this?
00:14:28
Speaker
Yeah, I like the way they make these things, supporting our people. And then I didn't like the way they did did today, but the bullies come and they throw everything, you know, take the trash can, the whole thing. So I hope so they make better.
00:14:47
Speaker
Yeah, and yeah the the police just came in and took took everything away. everything away. yeah Like everything yesterday, you build garbage. That's not nice. No. It's a rude thing. It is a rude thing. Do you want to anything? Yeah, what do you think about it? About having people in the neighborhood organizing and trying to protect each other from from ice? how How do you feel? think that's great.
00:15:13
Speaker
Yeah. That's really beautiful. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you all for talking to us. And it's been... Yeah, thank you for being nice to meet you. Yeah. You come all the way. Yeah. From from a little ways away. Yeah. Yeah. yeah Thank you for your support.
00:15:29
Speaker
You help me full. Thank you for being here. When see people like that, my heart is like... I feel like hurtful. Yeah. Yeah. Heart is full. Yeah, me too. Yeah, it's been really nice being here with you. Yeah, nice to meet you. Yeah, you too. And thank you for your support. Yeah. Minnesota. Nice people. They support each other. like the way.
00:15:53
Speaker
Thank you so much. Yeah, yeah. We hope you and your family and everyone you know stays safe. Yeah, thank you. And I hope ICE leaves Minnesota. Yeah. Yeah. sort go Yeah, go back home. Yeah, me too. And don't go any other place either. Yeah, yeah. Leave us alone. Yeah. Leave all 50 states, 10 people. You know? Yep.
00:16:16
Speaker
Treat people how you want to be treated. Yeah, that's
Supporters from Outside Minnesota
00:16:20
Speaker
that's my son. We're not supposed to get treated by culture, religion, or race. Say that again? We're not supposed to get treated by culture, religion, or race.
00:16:27
Speaker
Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. We also talked to the person who came in from outside of Minnesota to support. And with all that was going on, it was easiest for us to ask them some questions and have them respond over voice message.
00:16:42
Speaker
In their recordings, you'll notice some background noise that is snow crunching under their feet as they walk. We found it to be a delightful and appropriate sound, kind of like some winter ASMR for you.
00:16:55
Speaker
Hopefully it doesn't bother anyone too much. So here's our conversation. If you feel comfortable saying, i would love to know what compelled you to be here now.
00:17:05
Speaker
And if there's anything else you would like to share about your time here so far. So in times of unrest, or whatever you want to call it, there's this debate, right, and this, like, division that's also fomented by the state of people who are somehow connected to a place by living there full-time, or, like, being rooted there, and then people who are not, and... Also, like a lot of people who are connected to a space often raise like very valid critiques of how people who are ah coming into that space act.
00:17:43
Speaker
And sometimes there's unwanted repercussions or there's just like social dynamics, people not being thoughtful, which can manifest in so many ways. So that is also here in Minneapolis. There's a lot of Minnesota pride. And then there's also a lot of people who are here from outside of Minnesota who who do have ties to Minnesota, who also are affected by ice and also want to stop the invasion and growth of the Gestapo.
00:18:13
Speaker
So people who are not geographically rooted in Minneapolis or Minnesota Those people, everyone is still affected by how the state, especially this state, is growing its military and doing lots of test runs of how they will be permitted to act by the people who live here. So even though people are not living in Minneapolis, everyone is still affected by how the state tests what it's up to.
00:18:47
Speaker
And i mean, one of the most basic concepts of direct action is not letting them do that. So i think there's certainly consideration that's important to make about how people who are from out of town, who are engaging in this particular fight, in this particular space, there are certainly things to be aware of.
Effectiveness of Blockades
00:19:10
Speaker
And also, we're not totally unrooted. We have friends. We're not totally totally unrooted in the place, but it's like everyone's impacted by the situation and
00:19:20
Speaker
We're all connected to the problem that's happening and we're all connected to this place. I think the state and many locals as well have a sentiment of not wanting quote unquote out of towners to be here at all or to only be deferential, which i just don't agree with politically.
00:19:40
Speaker
think that we're all autonomous and we also get to pick our friends and we also get to pick our tactics. And basically I'm just saying that it's like a gray area and should be- we should be thoughtful about it, but also we do get to disagree with the locals. Some of them. Cuz there's a lot of locals who do agree with us and do support us. So I will talk more about them. So my friends who are here are plugged in in this amazing organizing that is block by block. All the stuff you've heard on the other like liberal media.
00:20:12
Speaker
And my friends who live in Minneapolis are so saturated dealing with this crisis that it's extremely helpful to them to have people who are around who they trust and also have a lot of tactical agreement with. It's really helpful to them to have people to support the projects that they can only hold so much in. And also to do the regular Ice Watch stuff because my friends, I've been doing it for a long time now, so they're holding a lot more responsibility and experience in stuff like Ice Watch. So having more people around who they trust and love and are nourished by to help with the tasks that are easy for people to plug into without a lot of experience, of course, that helps out my friends in many ways. And they're really excited to have people from out of town here.
00:21:04
Speaker
And people from out of town also are able to work on certain tactics that my local friends are excited about. So it's like the whole thing is being pushed forward by people who are connected here and not from here, coming in and helping with stuff that otherwise wouldn't be able to happen just because of the massive scale of the crisis.
00:21:28
Speaker
We were also wondering if you could tell us more about the filter blockades and how they've been going generally. Like how have people been setting them up and coordinating and running them? What are some things that worked well or didn't go so well?
00:21:42
Speaker
So, filter blockades are basically where people take over an intersection, oftentimes a stoplight, but could be a stop sign, could be a roundabout, and they're using that as a geographic place to... look at people in vehicles.
00:22:01
Speaker
That's a really big part of how people are being aware that ice is in the neighborhood is you just literally see them. And so people are able to look at every vehicle that comes by the fuck around and find out about it Side note, fuck around and find out about it, or fuck around abouts, is a term people have been using to describe the filter blockades that are in an already existing roundabout or a makeshift roundabout in an intersection.
00:22:32
Speaker
So people are able to look at every car that is coming by the intersection and then somehow that is communicated that there is ice in that vehicle. And so what is cool about the filter blockades? It's cool that depending on people's interests and risk assessments or risk modeling, they can engage IceWatch in many different ways.
00:22:57
Speaker
But something about the filter blockades that's really cool. Well, okay, so something that's really helpful tactically is to be able to look into the cars that are driving around to see if it's agents in tactical gear. And they use a lot of camouflage, not like camo camouflage, but they use a lot of civilian camouflage like air fresheners and a bunch of crap on the dashboard. Things that make it look like they're just driving around as residents or neighbors. And they don't just drive huge tinted SUVs. They're driving dirty Subarus. They're driving little pickup trucks. So it's really helpful to be able to look in the vehicle. So that doesn't have to be done at a filter blockade. That could be done and a foot patrol or just posting up somewhere at an intersection. But the filter blockade really helps slow the ICE vehicles down. And the filter blockades are different than foot patrol or being at an intersection and watching cars go by because they can also rapidly turn into a blockade that stops the traffic. Which is good because you can then potentially confirm that it is ice in the car because of a lot of times they maybe are driving around and meeting up with each other but not driving around in their tactical gear. But if you can slow them down from even meeting up with each other, can That adds up and it allows for the potential of taking a stronger stance against ice, being able to move through the neighborhood. And it also has potential for people who are newer to taking those kinds of strong stances to practice getting stronger in that. So people who maybe haven't really blocked a vehicle before from driving, they get to practice that with people who maybe have done that a lot. So it's a really cool way to, for people to, i don't know, get more militant or build their skills. Everyone I've talked to here fucking hates ICE.
00:25:04
Speaker
And this is probably going to sound trite and probably going to peg me as an out-of-towner for sure. But I have not been in a town before where pretty much everyone I interact with is like, i fucking hate the cops. They fucking lie. is... is horrible, they're all the same, and we're not believing them. They basically, it's so often when I'm just like chatting with new people, where I'm like, yeah, i pretty much agree, but I really wish that you were a little more hardline on this part of it, or I'm like worried maybe that they would. sell me out or I want to like hide my views from them to a certain extent but I've just been having conversation after conversation with people who I don't feel that way in the conversations. I'm just like really excited and happy to be hearing how on point people are about how fucking horrible U.S. government is. And of course not everyone is on that page. Some people are just hung up on the constitution or want ice out of Minneapolis. They just want it to go back to normal. They're not really worried about ice in general. That kind of thing definitely still I've experienced here as well. But that's something that's been really exciting. And also, yeah, I was maybe going to get into like a niche excited rant about how fun it is or like how different the block is, I guess I should say. Like driving around fully blocked up because you don't want the feds to get your pictures if you're maybe trying to follow ICE agents. But then also trying to not look like ICE agents yourselves because they drive around all blocked up. And also not feeling like you have to hide that you're really covering up from the average Joe who's just hanging out in their house looking out the window. or whatever so i don't know if that is so niche but okay so i'm walking around it's really cold and i'm seeing a big poster it's just ice and it says police ice on his vest and the kkk guy and it says same shit and this poster is huge and is not taken down yet and what else is here
00:27:13
Speaker
Okay, now there's another one. it has pictures of some ice pigs blocked up, milling about. And then the text says, this is not law enforcement. This is terrorism. the goal is to make people frightened or just shoot them. Arrest Kristi Noem as a domestic terrorist.
00:27:30
Speaker
And then... Okay, then there's another one that says, Hey, Homan, you like bribes? If we give you $50,000, will you get your pathetic goons out of here? CBP, cowards, bigots, pussies.
00:27:47
Speaker
Okay, that was a pretty funny little anecdote. Here was our next question. Would you like to say anything about what went down today at some of the blockades with them getting swept?
00:28:01
Speaker
Okay, so I guess I, before I get too cold, I want to do the eviction of the filter blockade. So i had driven by the filter blockade about a half an hour before it got evicted, and there were about six or eight people there. And then an alert went out that the Minneapolis Police Department were on site, and they were trying to take down the barricade.
00:28:23
Speaker
So a bunch of people rushed over to where the blockade had been or was getting taken down and the cops were putting it all into a trash can and there was some tug of war, maybe you could say, with some furniture because the cops were trying to say it was their furniture. But it wasn't their furniture, it belonged to people in the neighborhood, or people who had brought it there and were hanging out. And so the cops just took all the stuff.
00:28:52
Speaker
This is the Minneapolis Police Department. But so they drove around the neighborhood where there had been, on the previous day, at least four, maybe more, very well attended filter blockades. And then on this particular day, i think there had been maybe three or at least two for sure. So the cops just drove around a little bit to the different blockades and just took everything away and threw it in the trash. And also a thing people have been doing here is just slowing down ice by putting trash cans in the road and chairs in the road. Not in a mess, but just as like a way people have to ah drive a little bit of a swerve to get around it. So it slows down the pigs too. So the cops couldn't throw away those trash cans, but they did move them over to the side of the street. So they like removed this. barrier out of the street by just moving the trash cans. And then the neighbors and people who had showed up when they learned that it was being taken down or when the filter blockades were getting trashed by the pigs, then people were just milling about and hanging out. And an extremely natural thing to happen that did happen was people were like, hey, I got some firewood. Should I bring it over? And it was like, fuck yeah, you should bring it over. And people were like, well, I guess we're all just standing here, so we might as well hang out and get to know each other a little bit and talk about what happened and support each other and help process it, ah how much we fucking hate the cops. Because the MPD...
00:30:28
Speaker
People didn't just let the pigs take the stuff. Even when they were driving around, people were soft blocking the cars. And then the MPD got out of their sprinter van or whatever it is. and said that people needed to move out of the street but people were
Strategic Impact and Revolutionary Culture
00:30:48
Speaker
going slow doing that because why is MPD helping ICE to clear the paths for the ICE to drive around at whatever speed they want? They drive at 90 miles an hour. If they see anyone... sorry, I'm getting really cold.
00:31:05
Speaker
So, the MPD response to the first filter blockade that I'm aware of that went up in this neighborhood was they asked people to take it down, but the people said, fuck no, and then MPD left them alone. And that blockade was up until the people attending it decided to take it down later that day.
00:31:24
Speaker
So this was a shift that MPD was coming in to pick up the trash and to support ICE being able to drive wherever they want whenever they want. So the Minneapolis police was really obviously taking a side in that moment where they hadn't where they hadn't been doing that the past few days.
00:31:51
Speaker
I can't vote for anybody, I'm voting for me. It's war time, you gotta suit up, gotta know when it's ready to ride. Got rid of something I buy, happens if it's hard for me to decide.
00:32:02
Speaker
I just been up in my studio, I just think what's on my mind. I can give a nigga a whole story, but here go 35 years of my life.
00:32:13
Speaker
The following is a reading of an anonymously written communique that was submitted to us by someone on the ground in Minneapolis. It details the ways that filter blockades were initially set up by community members in response to ICE violently forcing its way into majority immigrant neighborhoods in the city.
00:32:29
Speaker
Side note, in this piece, the word commuting is used, and we wanted to describe that, as this is a term people in Minneapolis, and possibly elsewhere, are using to describe doing ice watch in their cars.
00:32:41
Speaker
This tactic draws on a long history of inspiration from the Black Panthers and the American Indian Movement, who historically did cop watch as a way to keep their people safe and informed.
00:32:53
Speaker
Here it is. i came to Minneapolis shortly after Alex Preddy was killed by ICE agents. I'd been in touch with comrades on the ground after Renee Good was killed and thought about coming, but seeing a rapid responder disarmed and executed solidified my plans to come out and join the struggle on the ground.
00:33:12
Speaker
I wanted to bring back the strategic and tactical innovations happening here to my home context and in whatever small way strengthen the resistance in the city and break the back of Operation Metro Surge.
00:33:23
Speaker
If we do not plant the seeds of insurgency, decisively root out ice, and stoke the flames into an uprising, they will continue to surge into other cities, emboldened and expanding the scope and brutality of their operations.
00:33:38
Speaker
Over the past week, there's been bold experimentation with filter blockades. What started as bonfires in city-built neighborhood roundabouts became bonfires on quiet neighborhood intersections.
00:33:49
Speaker
where neighbors can meet face to face, share food, and feel a little bit safer that there's a basic deterrence in having observers on the block. Over the past three days, there have been filter blockade roundabouts constructed on Cedar Avenue, a major north-south street in south Minneapolis.
00:34:04
Speaker
At first, it seemed like ice would probably route around the blockade, but on the second day, they started driving through, So community members began placing debris in the road when approached by vehicles with out-of-state plates, no plates, or heavily tinted windows.
00:34:20
Speaker
On Monday, February 2nd at 32nd and Cedar, for the first time that I'm aware of, a filter blockade was able to intercept and block multiple confirmed ICE vehicles. The first two ICE vehicles that were turned around approached, and when a shopping cart full of high-vis traffic cones was pushed into the road, they made a slow three-point turn in the middle of the block.
00:34:43
Speaker
The next ICE vehicle made it through the roundabout but was hit by a number of projectiles and a steel folding chair after the plate was confirmed. Morale was high at the filter blockade and many different neighbors stopped by to bring coffee, snacks, firewood, hand warmers.
00:34:58
Speaker
The blockade was being held by close to a dozen people at this point, almost all of them wearing keffias, palaclavas, and having generally a more militant appearance, which did not seem to faze the overwhelmingly supportive locals, despite their being slightly inconvenienced by slower traffic.
00:35:15
Speaker
Later that morning, further down Cedar Avenue, blockaders heard whistling and honking coming from the neighborhood side streets, so half a dozen blockaders ran down the street to 31st and Cedar.
00:35:25
Speaker
Suddenly, two ICE vehicles turned into Cedar heading toward the filter blockade, followed closely by the commuters honking and blowing whistles. Realizing where they were, they tried another three-point turn.
00:35:37
Speaker
Neighbors all over the block began coming outside, blowing whistles, hurling insults. An elderly man appeared with a bullhorn, screaming, Get the fuck out of our neighborhood, just as masked blockaders encircled the turning ICE agents.
00:35:50
Speaker
Tires were punctured, coffee mugs and glass candles shattered against doors and windows, and those who got close saw the trapped, fearful eyes of the cowardly kidnappers. There was an air of revelry as the agents sped off, still pursued by steadfast commuters.
00:36:06
Speaker
A young couple cheered and held a raised fist out of their second-story bedroom. Neighbors laughed, doing a call-in-response of fuck ice as the blockaders reunited with those who had held down the filter blockade.
00:36:19
Speaker
After those clashes, ice did not come back through and probably had to take slower routes through side streets. Community support was consistent, and crews from other neighborhoods showed up to talk about the anatomy of the blockade so they could start one in their own neighborhoods.
00:36:33
Speaker
Several hours later, after numbers began to wane, local law enforcement showed up in numbers with a garbage truck to clear the intersection, making no arrests. The blockade serves many purposes.
00:36:45
Speaker
A place of encounter for neighbors. It boosts morale for the many people outraged by the state campaign of kidnapping and murder. and when integrated into the signal chats or calls used by rapid response, it can act as an observation point for ICE vehicles that have managed to shake off any observers following them.
00:37:01
Speaker
As block-wide support is built, the blockades can be points of friction and conflict if there are enough blockaders with a high capacity for risk. Not every filter blockade will have the capacity for clashes with ICE agents, but the difference between which blockades do and don't have that capacity is opaque.
00:37:18
Speaker
Even if only a fraction of them do, ICE operatives will have to change how they calculate risk and vulnerability in their operations. At filter blockades with greater capacity for risk, comrades need to focus on inflicting damage to ICE vehicles, like windows or tires, which would require agents to return to base to get replacements.
00:37:37
Speaker
If ICE agents can be made to abandon their vehicles, there's the possibility of acquiring documents and intelligence from them, and creating a space of rupture, where the community is able to witness the complicity of local law enforcement and politicians with the kidnapping and murder of their neighbors.
00:37:53
Speaker
This disarms the liberal counterinsurgency being carried out by the governor and city government. Certainly, these comrades need to prepare for and understand that ICE agents will be more dangerous when cornered or on foot, and that a blockade of this nature requires PPE, personal protective equipment, and ideally the capacity for gunshot wound first aid.
00:38:14
Speaker
Also, using hard material, instead of our bodies, in front of their vehicles, is essential. There is a tremendous feeling of unified resistance in the city and what feels like the sprouts of a revolutionary culture found in the social centers, mutual aid supply hubs, and cafes in South Minneapolis.
00:38:33
Speaker
There's a feeling that if you were fleeing from clashes, you could knock on any door with a reasonable hope that they would aid someone in distress that is fighting a federal operation. On one of the nights before a filter blockade, we were gathering traffic cones off the street, and a middle-aged woman walking on foot started chatting with us, trying to get her cigarette lit.
00:38:52
Speaker
She smiled mischievously, recognizing us as out-of-towners, and said, "'Oh, y'all are here for the war, huh?'
00:39:01
Speaker
All around the city, posters of Renee Good and Alex Preddy adorned walls and have taken over billboards. All those comrades who came before us, who have given their lives to the struggle, and all those that will come after, they are our guiding stars.
00:39:16
Speaker
All of them have laid their footprints on the loving earth. We're grateful to walk alongside them.
00:39:23
Speaker
I was born on a Patawhon street where the ice recruitments beat with a signing bonus, $50,000. When we saw them stupid goons steal our neighbors from their rooms, we went out into the streets and we all had a hard way.
00:39:43
Speaker
Come on, you cowardice. Come and find me, pay the price. Tell your wife how you've been simping for the fed. How the MRA made you run like hell away from the white snowy streets of Minneapolis Won't you tell her how you stood in the way of Renee Good How she tried to leave but you were too afraid of her How she did just what you said so you shot her in
00:40:23
Speaker
Come on, you cowardice Come and finally pay the price Tell your wife how you've been sipping for the fashions
00:40:51
Speaker
Thanks for listening to today's episode of The Beautiful Idea. News and analysis from the front lines of anarchist and autonomous struggles everywhere. Catch you next time.