Trump Says Feds Won't Intervene in Cities Without Request; Protests Erupt Over Immigration Tactics
President Donald Trump stated on Saturday that he instructed Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem not to intervene in protests occurring in cities led by Democrats unless local authorities request federal assistance. This announcement came amid escalating criticism of the administration's immigration enforcement tactics.
Across the United States, protests took place on Saturday, January 31, as demonstrators rallied against the federal government's immigration enforcement operations. The group 50501 called on communities to "Shut ICE Out of Everywhere" in a national day of action, which included calls for boycotts against retailers and businesses perceived to be cooperating with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
The demonstrations followed the arrests of independent journalists Don Lemon, a former CNN anchor, and Georgia Fort, a Minnesota reporter, while they were covering an anti-ICE protest at a church in Minnesota. Both Lemon and Fort were released from federal custody on Friday, January 30, after human rights advocates and journalism organizations voiced concerns over their arrests. A federal grand jury in Minnesota indicted Fort and Lemon on charges related to the incident. Despite their arrests, Lemon and Fort vowed to continue reporting.
The protests in Minneapolis, where federal agents killed two protesters in January, were particularly intense. Pete Davidson parodied the situation on "Saturday Night Live," portraying border czar Tom Homan training ICE agents on how to avoid being filmed while breaking the law.
Meanwhile, unrelated to the protests, files released by the Justice Department on Friday revealed email correspondence between Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Jeffrey Epstein. The emails, sent in 2012 and 2013, showed Musk expressing interest in visiting Epstein's Caribbean island. Musk acknowledged the emails were genuine but denied any close connection to Epstein, stating on X that he pushed for the release of the Epstein files.
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