What unfolded in Minneapolis Friday night was not just another simple American protest. It was a visible clash between two competing visions for America. One side supports law enforcement, national sovereignty, and the rule of law. The other increasingly embraces chaos, intimidation, and revolutionary symbolism. Watching Kevin Posobiec’s live reporting from the streets made one thing clear. The country is moving toward a defining moment. Many Americans are starting to see the coming elections as a choice between America First populism and Marxist-style street politics.
Here is my commentary with a link to Posobiec’s livestream:
Minneapolis Protests Erupt Outside Hotels Linked to ICE
What unfolded Friday night was a large crowd gathered outside downtown Minneapolis hotels after reports circulated that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agents were staying there. Protesters flooded the area around the Canopy Hilton, shouting, drumming, and attempting to pressure the hotel. Police staged nearby as the situation remained loud, agitated, and unstable.
Earlier in the week, an ICE protestor was shot to death when she refused to exit her vehicle after leading a riotous parade of cars trailing ICE.
We covered those details here:
Adding to the escalation of violence, national controversy was already building around hotels and federal agents, with hotel chains reacting in fear, saying they would not allow ICE agents to stay at their hotels, appearing to fear domestic terrorism and making the hotels a target for antifa violence.
The Hampton Inn in Lakeville, MN refused rooms to ICE officers on January 2, citing their status in an email, amid local ICE fraud probes into Somali immigrants. Hilton severed the franchise agreement on January 6, following a video of staff still denying agents, stating the property failed to meet standards as a welcoming place for all. The General Services Administration also removed it from federal lodging programs, while a similar incident in Dallas led to a valet’s firing for warning about ICE guests on TikTok.
The Friday riots targeted a hotel even though the ICE agents were reportedly not at the riot site, the hotel took action.
Reports circulated by early Saturday morning that a Minnesota Marriott employee was terminated after allegedly posting names and photos of ICE agents online, sparking outrage online over officers being doxxed.
Earlier in the week, Vice President J D Vance had announced that the Trump administration is creating a new Assistant Attorney General position focused on nationwide fraud investigations, beginning in Minnesota. Allegations of massive fraud had already triggered the US Government to take action against the state.
We have covered the fraud allegations and government reaction:
The reaction online was immediate, with many warning that exposing agents puts targets on their backs, and escalating violence.
What Kevin Posobiec’s Livestream Revealed
Kevin Posobiec was live on the scene reporting for Human Events. Throughout the night he and Cam Higby provided continuous updates as the crowd surged and then thinned. Posobiec reported roughly seventy police officers staging nearby while protesters attempted to maintain pressure on the hotel.
One of the more telling moments was what viewers dubbed “footgate,” when Posobiec and his brother were hemmed in by the crowd near the hotel entrance. It was not violent, but it was deliberate, confrontational, and revealing of the mood. Another broadcaster on scene observed that some protesters appeared to want to get arrested, treating confrontation itself as a form of activism.
Over the course of the night, the larger crowd dispersed, leaving behind a smaller group that remained loud, hostile, and ideologically driven.
Red Flags and Revolutionary Symbolism
A man waving a solid red flag remained a constant presence behind Posobiec’s reporting. This was not incidental. A plain red flag has long symbolized revolutionary movements rooted in Marxism, communism, and anarchist traditions. From the Paris Commune to the Bolsheviks to modern Antifa-aligned groups, the red flag has represented the overthrow, class struggle, and destruction of the existing system rather than reform.
In riot settings, solid red flags typically signal escalation. They mark a shift from protest to confrontation. They are visual declarations that the goal is not policy change but power struggle.
This is where the ideological divide becomes undeniable. America First populism channels frustration into elections, policy, borders, and enforcement of law. Antifa style activism channels it into disorder, intimidation, and revolutionary imagery.
The Crossroads of the Nation
Minneapolis last night looked like a testing ground, Posobiec said again and again. How far can they push. How much disruption will be tolerated. How openly can revolutionary symbolism be displayed before the public draws a line.
These scenes are no longer isolated. They are becoming part of a national pattern that increasingly frames politics not as debate, but as conflict.
The United States is approaching a moment of definition. The choice many Americans now see coming is not merely between parties, but between national identity itself. Law, sovereignty, and ordered liberty on one side. Marxist styled street politics on the other.
The red flag flying in Minneapolis was not just cloth. It was a signal not noise.