Trump’s Lawless Administration

Alex Jeffrey Pretti, the Veterans Affairs (VA) ICU nurse executed by federal agents on the street in Minneapolis on 24 January 2026. (Official portrait for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.)

The lawless and out of control Trump administration continues to destroy and abuse the bedrock principles of our country. It is difficult to keep up with all that is happening because it is continuous, unrelenting and horrific. Not to mention embarrassing. From Minneapolis Minnesota to Davos Switzerland with stops in between, Trump is ripping our country apart. Fundamentally, he has destroyed the trust necessary to protect us internationally and to govern as a functioning democracy. Without trust, there is no legitimacy. Without legitimacy, there can be no governance. Our allies and our fellow citizens never know from one day to the next as to what mood swing or perceived insult will cause Trump to lash out unpredictably. One day we are on a particular path and the next day he reverses course and then lies about all of it. Trump and his cabinet lie as easily and instinctively as they breath. All trust is gone.

For the second time in a matter of weeks, federal agents killed a peaceful protester in Minneapolis. Alex Pretti a U.S. citizen, was murdered by violent extremists, this time by Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agents. Without hesitation or investigation the senior members of the government called the innocent victim a “domestic terrorist” with the intent to “massacre law enforcement.” Most of us have seen the numerous videos capturing the horrific incident. Alex was trying to help a fellow human being at the scene of a peaceful demonstration when he was attacked by seven CBP agents, taken to the ground, beaten and then shot ten times. The federal government, our government, immediately went into reflex mode to outrageously lie about what happened and to immediately blame the victim. Don’t believe your lying eyes, only believe what we tell you. He had a gun! (He had a permit to carry a concealed weapon.) Protesters are not allowed to carry weapons! (Just like in the state house in Michigan, or the march in Charlottesville, or at the insurrection in Washington D.C. or countless other right-wing demonstrations?) After the murder, Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote to Governor Tim Walz in Minnesota to inform him that she would have the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and CBP agents withdraw if the state turned over all voter information on the citizens of the state as well as for those receiving public assistance. That data would include driver’s license numbers, social security numbers, addresses, party affiliations and other deeply personal information. It was in essence a blackmail letter as it clearly shows the real motive behind the surge of unidentified people in tactical gear and face masks roaming the streets and breaking into people’s homes.

I clearly remember right wing zealots claiming that during the presidencies of Bill Clinton, and later Barak Obama, that the federal government was going to send unidentified masked men in tactical gear to break into people’s homes, whisk them away and take away everyone’s guns. It never happened. But it is now. Where are all those people that protested what did not happen, now that it is happening?

For the record, according to court records and legal challenges our government has violated the First (Freedom of Speech), Second (Right To Bear Arms), Fourth (Unreasonable Search and Seizure), Fifth (Due Process), Tenth (State Sovereignty) and Fourteenth (Equal Protection) Amendments in the name of “safety.”

It appears that the Trump regime is going to try and pull a public relations stunt by firing the senior CBP official Greg Bovino and replacing him with the “Border Czar” Tom “CAVA Man” Homan in Minneapolis. (The same Tom Homan that was investigated for taking a $50,000 bribe in cash carried out in a CAVA bag. The Trump Department of Justice (DOJ) quietly dropped the investigation when they took over.) There is no change in policy. Mass deportations are still the goal. The administration’s white nationalist and Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller is still calling the shots. We will see if the tactics change, not just in Minnesota, but everywhere ICE and CBP agents are operating. Will they still detain five year old boys like they did Liam Ramos in Minnesota and send them to a detention center in Texas?

All of this came days after Trump tried to destroy NATO by insisting on taking over Greenland. Fortunately, his TACO instincts (Trump Always Chickens Out) kicked in, but the damage was done. In his rambling, nearly incoherent speech at the conference in Davos Switzerland, including insulting several heads of state by name, it was clear to our European allies and friends throughout the world, that Trump could not be trusted. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney gave one of the greatest speeches in recent history, and directly challenged Trump. Canada recently entered into a massive trade deal with China and pointedly rejected U.S. entreaties not to do so. The European Union and India just concluded a different trade agreement. That means two billion people are now in economic relationships that do not include the U.S. At least Trump has his Board of Peace which he alone controls. It only costs one billion dollars to join (c’mon, are you sure it isn’t Dr. Evil demanding this?). At the ceremonial signing of the treaty creating the Board were officials from the following countries: Argentina, Turkey, Hungary, Bulgaria, Bahrain, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Qatar, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Morocco, Paraguay and Pakistan. Our closest European allies have consistently rejected joining. Russia and China expressed interest in joining. Trump thinks this will be a replacement for the United Nations. To me, it looks like another of his scams to make money for himself. The fee to join, along with the oil money from Venezuela, is going into off-shore accounts controlled by Trump. Yep, everything is just normal. Nothing like giving a convicted felon, adjudicated sex offender and instigator of an insurrection a multi-billion dollar slush fund to control.

Speaking of the insurrection, former Special Counsel Jack Smith testified before the House Judiciary Committee last Thursday. He was in charge of investigating the attempt to overthrow the government and investigating the theft of highly classified documents that were stored in a bathroom at Mar-A-Lago. It was compelling. He concluded that, “Our investigation developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in criminal activity. If asked whether to prosecute a former president based on the same facts today, I would do so regardless of whether that president was a Republican or a Democrat. No one should be above the law in this country, and the law required that he be held to account. So that is what I did.”

It is exhausting. It is tempting to throw up my hands and just quit. Let it all go by and take solace that it doesn’t impact me directly. Yet. We must remain vigilant and push back hard in any way that we can. There is no over-arching entity that can save us. It’s just us. Talk to friends and family members. Contact your Representative and Senator. When possible attend peaceful demonstrations. Assist immigrants. Work in a food bank. There are lots of ways to help. To me this is not a political issue. It is a matter of humanity and morality. Heroic Minnesotans are peacefully pushing back and loudly declaring their total disgust with the way an entire city is treated. I hope they soon can get back to their normal lives, but I fear that Minneapolis is a testing ground for further violations of our Constitution. Stay tuned.