Even Joe Rogan Is Asking: "Are We Really Going to Be the Gestapo?"
Plus: FBI raids journalist's home. Iran preparing for mass executions. Bishop Rob Hirschfeld on ICE violence and preparing for the ultimate risk. And News That Doesn't Suck.
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Today I’m bringing you a conversation with Bishop Rob Hirschfeld of the Episcopal Church of New Hampshire. His words last week stopped me cold — and, strangely, gave me something I hadn’t expected to feel in a week like this one: reassurance.
That might sound odd, given what he’s talking about. He’s talking about martyrdom.
At a vigil for Renee Good, Hirschfeld explained that he told his clergy to get their affairs in order. To write their wills. He said statements — the carefully worded condemnations, the official expressions of concern — “haven’t moved the needle one bit.” What he said next is what struck me:
“It may be that now is no longer the time for statements, but for us with our bodies to stand between the powers of this world and the most vulnerable. We may be entering an era — a new era of martyrdom.”
I spoke with Bishop Rob Tuesday morning. I wanted to understand what he sees in this moment that compelled him to warn his clergy they may need to prepare to die. We talked about fear, about history, about what it means to resist when resistance itself has become dangerous.
To be clear: he is not calling for violence. In his words, “I’m not calling anybody to just go find a rifle to stand in front of or to go find a club to get beaten by — but to stand with their neighbor, even the neighbor they don’t like or they don’t know, knowing that’s going to be risky, but that God’s love is stronger even than death.”
We’ve read about chapters like this — in other countries, in other eras of our own history. We study these moments at a safe historical distance, as lessons about courage in someone else’s time. Hirschfeld is saying that distance has closed.
I want to be clear about something else. I don’t believe we are fated to be martyrs. There are real signs the country is turning against ICE and its tactics. Awareness is making a difference — which is why I continue to focus on Minneapolis today and share verified videos you can send to your networks. Sunlight still matters.
But it’s worth pausing to notice what we’re seeing.
Here’s our conversation:
In today’s newsletter: The DOJ declines to investigate the agent who shot Renee Good to death; they’re investigating the dead woman instead. Stephen Miller tells ICE agents they’re above the law. The FBI raided a reporter's home; what were they in search of? A White House meeting on the future of Greenland. Grok, banned in multiple countries, gets an official welcome at the Pentagon. The US orders key personnel out of middle east bases as Trump considers a strike on Iran. And News That Doesn’t Suck about a peace walk.
Here Are Your Headlines
Department of Injustice: Trump’s Justice Department says it won’t investigate Jonathan Ross, the ICE agent who killed Renee Nicole Good. Instead, it’s investigating her. The DOJ is investigating Good’s supposed ties to leftist activist groups and pushing for a criminal investigation into her widow. Six federal prosecutors have resigned in protest. Among them is Joseph H. Thompson, who oversaw the fraud investigations in Minnesota, which DHS claims is the basis for its ongoing operation in the state. “When you lose the leader responsible for making the fraud cases,” Minneapolis’ police chief noted, “it tells you this isn’t really about prosecuting fraud.”
Above the Law: DHS on Tuesday posted a “reminder” to ICE officers, asserting that they “have federal immunity” while doing their jobs. The post quotes Stephen Miller, who claims no one — including city and state officials — can prevent ICE agents from fulfilling their duties, and that anyone who “tries to obstruct [them] is committing a felony.” Legal experts disagree. For example, former ICE Director John Sandweg told News Not Noise that DHS is governed “by the same use of force standard you see across all law enforcement.” DHS rules allow only force that is “objectively reasonable in light of the facts and circumstances.” DHS policy also instructs officers to never approach a vehicle from the front or fire into a moving vehicle.
Remarkable Recovery: Federal officials claim that Jonathan Ross suffered internal bleeding in his torso when Good’s car allegedly made contact with him. One problem: Analyses of multiple videos of the incident clearly show Good’s car was turning away from Ross when he opened fire. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Ross was hospitalized after the shooting and released the same day. US Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino says Ross has been moved to “a safe location,” where he’s “recovering from those injuries.” A fundraiser supporting him has raised over $630,000; the person who created it is linked to online accounts that have posted Nazi imagery and called Good “a stupod [sic] bitch who got what she deserved.” (A fundraiser for Good raised over $1.5 million before the organizers took it offline, asking funders to give their support to other worthy causes.) So that’s two fundraisers, only one hosted by a seeming Nazi sympathizer.
Direct Retribution: Trump announced on Tuesday his administration will halt federal funding to “sanctuary cities or states having sanctuary cities.” This isn’t the first time Trump has tried to defund sanctuary cities; two previous efforts were blocked in court. The DOJ has published a list of so-called “Sanctuary Jurisdictions.” The list includes 11 states, Washington DC, three counties, and 18 cities — all of them Democratic-run. This follows the administration’s decision to withhold $2 billion in Medicaid funding earmarked for Minnesota; state officials on Tuesday warned this “punitive action” would have “catastrophic consequences” and said they will appeal.
Blow the Whistle: ICE’s violence and is generating significant pushback. Now it’s starting to alienate Trump supporters, too. Podcaster and Trump supporter Joe Rogan on Tuesday expressed concern at “militarized people in the streets just roaming around snatching people up.… Are we really going to be the Gestapo?… Is that what we’ve come to?” Maybe this is driven by the fact that social media is filled with videos clearly showing excessive force in Minneapolis over the last few days. Here are several such videos, all verified by additional reporting, showing agents: detaining US citizens at work, breaking into a house without a warrant, violently abducting a US citizen on his lunch break, piling on top of a protestor, dragging a man out of his car, pulling a woman out of her car, and more.
Democracy Dies In Darkness: FBI agents searched the home of Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson on Wednesday morning, seizing personal and work laptops, a phone, and a smartwatch. The paper’s executive editor said the agents arrived “unannounced,” and neither the paper nor the journalist were aware they were targets of a DOJ investigation. Natanson covers the federal workforce and has discussed developing sources within it. Attorney General Pam Bondi accused Natanson of “obtaining and reporting classified and illegally leaked information from a Pentagon contractor.” But the criminal complaint against that contractor, who is accused of taking home classified intelligence reports, makes no mention of him sharing that material. Agents reportedly told Natanson she hasn’t been accused of wrongdoing. Which raises the question, what were they really after?
Chilling Step: The Post condemned the raid as a “highly unusual and aggressive” act that “raises profound questions and concern around the constitutional protections for our work.” The 1980 Privacy Protection Act generally prohibits search warrants for journalists’ work materials. Search warrants like these are incredibly rare. The last such case was in 2023, when the FBI raided the home of a Florida journalist; half the charges against him have since been dismissed. In 2019, San Francisco police raided the home of a freelance journalist while investigating his confidential sources; judges later ruled the warrants to search his home, phone, and office were invalid; the city paid a six-figure settlement and called the raid a “shameful moment.” In 2017, Trump’s DOJ obtained phone records of journalists from multiple mainstream outlets. That led the Biden administration to create policies protecting journalists’ phone and email records — policies Trump’s second administration revoked, arguing it “will not tolerate unauthorized disclosures that undermine President Trump’s policies.” (Disclosures on Signal chats, though, seem to be just fine.)
Greening Out: The foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland met with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday. The Danish minister said the three parties agreed to form a “high-level working group” to “find a common way forward” — but there remains a “fundamental disagreement” over Greenland’s future. Translation: Trump isn’t giving up on taking the island (today he claimed “anything less” than US control is “unacceptable”) despite the idea being soundly rejected by Greenland, Denmark, NATO, the EU, and the majority of Americans.
Better Safe Than Sorry: US allies continue to strengthen Greenland’s defense. Germany, Sweden, and Norway on Wednesday announced they will send military personnel to the island, and Denmark is increasing its presence there due to “security tensions.”
Unilateral: A Republican lawmaker has introduced the “Greenland Annexation and Statehood Act” to make Greenland the 51st state. It authorizes Trump to take “such steps as may be necessary … to annex or otherwise acquire” the territory. Maybe Trump will simply declare it’s his and view the matter closed.
Return to Sender: The Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that political candidates may challenge rules governing how ballots are counted in their races. The Justices revived a Republican congressman’s lawsuit objecting to rules in Illinois that allow mail-in ballots to be counted up to two weeks after election day.
Tipping Point: Iran partially closed its airspace for at least two hours on Wednesday evening. The US and allies are reportedly withdrawing personnel from bases in the Middle East, the latest signs that Trump is seriously considering military action against Iran. The death toll of the regime’s brutal crackdown on protesters has reached the thousands, with some sources putting it as high as 20,000. Today the regime said it plans to punish an additional 18,000 protesters who have been detained. Many Iranian activists of all political stripes are calling on the Trump administration to strike — and administration officials say they’re waiting to see if the regime’s banking system collapses, forcing the regime’s end without military action.
Brutal Crackdown: All eyes were on Tehran for news that a planned execution of 26-year old activist Erfan Soltani had taken place. As of publication he is reportedly still alive. Speaking to reporters today Trump said he was told “on good authority” there would be no executions, though Tehran has not indicated it plans to back off fast trials and executions for protestors. Trump also did not rule out military action, saying he will “watch and see” before making his decision.
Never Quit: Republican lawmakers are moving forward with contempt-of-Congress proceedings against Bill and Hillary Clinton, after the pair refused to testify before Rep. James Comer’s (R-KY) Committee. The Committee’s aim with its Epstein investigation, in its own words, is “defeating the Democrats’ hoax.” The Clintons’ lawyers insisted they have already provided all the information they have on Epstein and dismissed the subpoenas against them as “a ploy to attempt to embarrass political rivals.” Neither has been accused of wrongdoing by survivors of Epstein’s abuse.
Keep reading for information on… Trump’s crass response to being called a “pedofile protector.” How Democrats have responded to Kristi Noem’s “reign of terror.” While the world clamps down on Grok, the Pentagon goes all-in. Why latest data undermines the economic rationale of mass deportations.
And for News That Doesn’t Suck, the “March for Peace” that’s turning heads and joining hands across the US.
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