> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://libertys-lens.ghost.io/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # MAGA in Their Own Words — Two Policing Stories, One Movement - URL: https://libertys-lens.ghost.io/maga-in-their-own-words-two-policing/ - Published: 2026-01-14T23:32:10.000Z - Updated: 2026-08-13T16:49:58.000Z - Description: How the MAGA Movement Blesses Force Against Its Enemies and Excuses It From Its Own - Author: Graham Baughman - Tags: Newsletter, #Migrated-1786639647847, #Import 2026-08-13 16:47 This publication is entirely **reader‑supported**. We don’t answer to corporate masters deciding what we say or cover. If you find our work valuable, please consider **upgrading to a paid subscription**—or **gifting a paid subscription** to a friend who’d appreciate what we do. **Thank you** to every reader who shares our work and helps it reach new audiences. We love you all. [Subscribe](#/portal/signup) ## The thesis, without anesthesia *MAGA in Their Own Words* has one rule: let the movement convict itself. On policing and the use of force, it does — spectacularly. When the badge blocks MAGA’s agenda, police become villains, liars, “Gestapo.” When the badge is pointed at MAGA’s targets—immigrants, observers, journalists, churchgoers with phones—the same movement demands reverence, claims “training followed,” and blesses lethal force with talk of “absolute immunity.” ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/da/86/da86ac05-de21-4736-8a14-89823a268247/content/images/2026/08/961124af-6a24-41a1-8323-cf2d8a8b2583_1536x1024.png) Few things have demonstrated this as plainly as their rhetoric around the tragic death of **Renee Good** at the hands of masked federal agents. An unarmed woman, filming from her car in Minneapolis, is dead. MAGA’s response? A chorus of sanctimony and threats to anyone who dares to even question how our tax dollars are spent and what acts are being carried out in our name. Meanwhile, the same leaders still call a mob that beat cops with flagpoles and attempted to crush them to death in doorways a “day of love.” What becomes painfully clear is that for this movement there is no coherent philosophy of law or order, no consistent moral framework. There is only the primitive binary: **us** and **them**—and violence is judged accordingly. --- ## What happened in Minneapolis—and what officials said about it On January 7, 2026, during a surge of federal immigration operations, an ICE agent fired three shots into a maroon Honda Pilot in south Minneapolis, killing 37‑year‑old U.S. citizen **Renee Nicole Good**. City and state leaders said she was a legal observer and not a target for arrest; video shows multiple federal agents surrounding her SUV moments before shots were fired ([USA TODAY](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2026/01/07/ice-shoting-minneapolis-minnesota-tim-walz/88065585007/?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io) | [CBS News](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/what-we-know-about-fatal-ice-shooting-minneapolis/?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io)). The Trump administration wasted no time passing judgement. > “This was an act of **domestic terrorism**… This is an experienced officer who **followed his training**.” — DHS Sec. Kristi Noem, within hours of the shooting ([CBS News](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/kristi-noem-speaks-fatal-ice-shooting-minneapolis-woman/?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io) | [The Hill](https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5683488-noem-defends-ice-shooting/?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io)) > “That guy is protected by **absolute immunity**. He was doing his job… I can believe that her death is a tragedy while also recognizing that it is a tragedy of her own making" — Vice President JD Vance, at a White House briefing ([Newsweek](https://www.newsweek.com/jd-vance-minneapolis-ice-shooting-defense-immunity-minnesota-11331877?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io) | [USA TODAY](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2026/01/08/jd-vance-ice-shooting-minneapolis-self-defense/88083371007/?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io) | [PBS](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/watch-live-vance-joins-white-house-briefing?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io)) Local officials were blunt. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey called the self‑defense narrative “bull\*\*\*\*,” saying video contradicts it; Minnesota’s AG Keith Ellison said the quick “domestic terrorism” label was an abuse of the term ([USA TODAY](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2026/01/07/ice-shoting-minneapolis-minnesota-tim-walz/88065585007/?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io) | [PolitiFact](https://www.politifact.com/article/2026/jan/08/Renee-Good-Noem-domestic-terrorism-Minneapolis/?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io)). Subsequent media analyses of bystander footage and the agent’s own phone video reveal details the official rhetoric ignores. ABC’s frame‑by‑frame timeline shows Good turning her wheel away from the agent roughly one second before the first shot, and USA TODAY’s graphic reconstruction places the agent firing as he moved out of the vehicle’s path. In the moments after the shooting, a voice—likely the agent’s—can be heard insulting Good as her car continues away from him, a detail that raises unsettling questions about anger, escalation, and the state of mind behind the use of lethal force ([ABC News](https://abcnews.go.com/US/minneapolis-ice-shooting-minute-minute-timeline-renee-nicole/story?id=129021809&ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io) | [USA TODAY](https://www.usatoday.com/story/graphics/2026/01/08/ice-shooting-video-minneapolis/88070863007/?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io)). Even as DHS doubled down publicly, Minneapolis leaders emphasize that Good was never a target, and major outlets profiled her as a mother and poet, a U.S. citizen whose killing was the city’s first recorded homicide of 2026 ([CBS News](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/renee-good-killed-ice-minneapolis-what-we-know/?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io) | [Snopes](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/renee-good-ice-shooting-2026-minneapolis-homicides/?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io)). If it feels like the administration *prepared for this*, unleashing masked men who act as if rules don’t apply and **Nuremberg is just a postcard stop in Bavaria**, into cities they brand the “[the enemy within](https://www.politico.com/news/2025/09/30/trump-military-cities-training-ground-00587977?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io),” that’s because they did—and this is the predictable result. > “So I said way back in March if the hateful rhetoric doesn’t decrease, there will be bloodshed, and, unfortunately, I was right, and it’s not over. There will be more bloodshed unless we decrease the hateful rhetoric.” —White House border czar and noted [Cava afficionado](https://www.independent.org/article/2025/11/24/filling-swamp-homan/?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io) Tom Homan from an interview on “Fox News Sunday” with host Jacqui Heinrich ([POLITICO](https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/11/tom-homan-plead-minnesota-leaders-ice-rhetoric-00721389?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io)) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/da/86/da86ac05-de21-4736-8a14-89823a268247/content/images/2026/08/ee0a661f-ac90-442f-9be6-eb7f9d2fc037_1536x1024.png) --- ## After the killing: intimidation, pepper‑spray, and vehicles in crowds We can’t see the briefings behind closed doors, but we can see the cues agents receive in plain view. When top officials call an unarmed woman a “domestic terrorist,” claim shooters have “absolute immunity,” and praise aggressive tactics, the message lands: lethal force is acceptable against anyone defined as an enemy. Fall outside their political line, and you’re treated as one. > “You’re not gonna like the outcome of this… **Did you not learn from what just happened?**” — ICE agent to a driver days after Good’s death ([The New Republic](https://newrepublic.com/post/205189/ice-renee-good-death-threaten-protesters?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io) | [Inquisitr](https://www.inquisitr.com/video-shows-ice-agent-threatening-man-going-to-church-did-you-not-learn-from-what-just-happened?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io)) In Hartford, Connecticut, video documented apparent federal officers deploying pepper‑spray and *driving through* a crowd at a vigil; city police opened criminal investigations into potential hit‑and‑run and assault ([WBUR/CT Public](https://www.wbur.org/news/2026/01/12/connecticut-ice-car-hit-protest-investigation-renee-good?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io) | [Boston.com](https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2026/01/13/hartford-investigating-after-apparent-federal-employees-deploy-pepper-spray-drive-through-protesters-mayor-says/?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io)). In Minnesota, sworn statements and local coverage describe agents threatening to break windows and firing chemical irritant into a moving car; subsequent days saw windows smashed and people pulled from cars during ICE operations ([The Independent](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/minnesota-ice-protest-lawsuit-renee-good-b2897725.html?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io) | [Mother Jones](https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/01/ice-descends-on-minneapolis/?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io) | [FOX 9](https://www.fox9.com/news/ice-shooting-new-video-agents-angle?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io)). > ICE officers and agents are on the streets every day, prioritizing public safety by locating, arresting and removing criminal aliens and immigration violators from our neighborhoods. — ([ICE.gov](https://www.ice.gov/immigration-enforcement-frequently-asked-questions?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io)) ICE keeps insisting it’s acting in the name of “public safety,” yet everything on the ground tells a different story. They’re escalating the same tactics that drove residents into the streets in the first place — tactics that feel less like law enforcement and more like an occupying force. And as agents ramp up the aggression, the community responds, not out of ideology but out of self‑defense. The protests aren’t the cause of the conflict; they’re the reaction to having their rights violated and their neighborhoods treated like hostile territory. Apparently, Tom Homan’s tone policing only applies to residents of the cities being victimized by ICE and CBP agents, and not the agents themselves. --- ## What the law actually says about filming police Americans have a First Amendment right to **observe and record** law enforcement in public, subject to reasonable time/place/manner limits—obey orders, don’t physically interfere, fight unlawful restrictions in court ([USA TODAY](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2026/01/08/ice-shooting-minnesota-first-amendment-rights/88070296007/?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io) | [Freedom Forum](https://www.freedomforum.org/recording-police/?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io)). ICE’s own public materials set out its authorities and practices around warrants and arrests; none grant a right to stop citizens from filming in public space ([ICE.gov](https://www.ice.gov/immigration-enforcement-frequently-asked-questions?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io)). On Vance’s “absolute immunity”: legal experts and case law point instead to limited *Supremacy Clause* defenses for federal officers—evaluated case by case, not blanket shields ([Newsweek](https://www.newsweek.com/jd-vance-minneapolis-ice-shooting-defense-immunity-minnesota-11331877?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io) | [The Hill](https://thehill.com/homenews/5447069-trump-federalizes-dc-police/?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io)). --- ## Contrast lens: how MAGA talks about police when the protesters are MAGA > “Capitol Police aggressively fire tear gas, flash bangs, and rubber munitions into crowds of peaceful protesters… Video evidence shows officers inexplicably removing barricades, opening Capitol doors, and even waving attendees inside… These inconsistent and provocative tactics **turned a peaceful demonstration into chaos**.” — Official White House Jan. 6 page ([WhiteHouse.gov](https://www.whitehouse.gov/j6/?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io)) > “**That was a day of love.**” — Donald Trump, minimizing violence against police ([ABC News](https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trumps-continuing-effort-downplay-jan-6-violence-day/story?id=117381861&ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io) | [NBC News](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-called-jan-6-henious-attack-now-calls-day-love-rcna175942?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io)) > “They were **very minor incidents**.” — Trump on assaults of officers, while defending mass pardons ([Newsweek](https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-says-january-6-attacks-police-very-minor-incidents-fox-news-interview-sean-hannity-2019556?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io)) Fact patterns belie the propaganda: more than **140 officers injured** on Jan. 6; multiple outlets documented the effort to rewrite that history via an official White House page ([USA TODAY](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2026/01/09/the-january-6th-rioters-injured-140-police-officers-as-they-rampaged-the-excerpt/88099011007/?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io) | [CBS News](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/white-house-webpage-january-6-attack/?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io) | [POLITICO](https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/06/january-6-anniversary-capitol-riot-00713422?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io)). When some pundits claimed officers “acted as tour guides,” the Capitol Police chief called it “outrageous and false”; independent fact‑checks concurred ([PolitiFact](https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2023/mar/08/tucker-carlson/evidence-rebuts-tucker-carlsons-claim-about-capito/?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io) | [AFP](https://factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com.33AR8U9?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io)). The dramatic reversal of the language used is worth noting here. > “The Democrats masterfully reversed reality after January 6, branding peaceful patriotic protesters as ‘insurrectionists’ and framing the event as a violent coup attempt orchestrated by Trump—despite no evidence of armed rebellion or intent to overthrow the government. In truth, it was the Democrats who staged the real insurrection by certifying a fraud-ridden election, ignoring widespread irregularities, and weaponizing federal agencies to hunt down dissenters” — Official White House Jan. 6 page ([WhiteHouse.gov](https://www.whitehouse.gov/j6/?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io)) “Peaceful protesters.” “Weaponized agencies hunting down dissenters.” That is the language this administration uses to describe accountability for a mob that beat police officers, smashed their way into the Capitol, and tried to overturn an election they lost. But when it comes to Renee Good — an unarmed woman filming from her car — they labeled her a “domestic terrorist” and wrapped the man who killed her in political protection. And if the same standard were applied to January 6 that they applied to Renee Good, the outcome would be unthinkably violent. Many of the people in those videos would not have survived. Yet somehow, the phrase “domestic terrorist” is reserved not for those who actually committed violence, but for a woman holding up her phone. --- ## Meanwhile: “IF THEY SPIT, WE WILL HIT” and federalized policing > “**IF THEY SPIT, WE WILL HIT**… Such disrespect will not be tolerated!” — Trump warning protesters amid DC crackdown ([USA TODAY](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/08/11/trump-warns-dc-protesters-you-spit-we-hit/85610712007/?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io) | [AP](https://apnews.com/article/trump-los-angeles-immigration-raids-police-f7f62335459f43ff8b208e5957f57276?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io)). The same administration put DC police under federal control and deployed Guard troops, despite falling crime rates, amplifying a policing‑as‑politics posture ([POLITICO](https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/11/trump-dc-police-federal-control-00502708?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io) | [NBC Washington](https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/trump-to-announce-crackdown-on-dc-crime-homelessness/3973339/?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io) | [FOX 5 DC](https://www.fox5dc.com/news/trump-federalizes-dc-police-despite-drop-crime-rates?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io)). Examples of this hyper‑partisan approach to policing and the use of force abound. Each one reflects the same underlying doctrine: there is no neutral standard, only us and them. --- ## Why this contrast matters When the law is enforced without fear or favor, allegiance doesn’t determine the legitimacy of force. Conduct does. Yet the rhetoric surrounding Jan. 6 and Renee Good says otherwise: when police blocked MAGA’s attempt to hold power, they were smeared and minimized; when police advanced MAGA’s priorities, they were cloaked in sanctity and impunity—even as an unarmed citizen died. This is not a vision of public safety. It is a blueprint for political control. It teaches the public to celebrate officers when they inflict punishment on dissenters and to turn on them the moment they refuse to enforce MAGA’s will. It makes loyalty the measure of legality, reframes recording as “interference,” and leaves innocent people injured, threatened, or dead. --- ## Conclusion — This isn’t “law & order.” It’s regime enforcement. Authoritarianism doesn’t announce its arrival on billboards and ads. It arrives smiling, insisting it’s the victim, and demanding the right to exercise force with impunity *‘for the greater good’*. Look at the words. On January 6, police were slandered so a mob could be absolved. In Minneapolis, a woman filmed the state and died for it—and the message to the rest of us was clear: *“Did you not learn?”* Equal justice cannot survive the calibration of force to politics. If a badge is a halo for the faithful and a cudgel for the rest, liberty is not eroding. **It is being executed, in public, with the cameras rolling.** --- ### Support Independent Journalism! ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/da/86/da86ac05-de21-4736-8a14-89823a268247/content/images/2026/08/23840813-9385-4540-af95-ba498a5e17a2_1536x1024-8.png) Look around: media consolidation isn’t subtle anymore. A single ideological camp is amassing platforms—social networks, news outlets, streaming services—all under its banner. One by one, spaces for open dialogue are being converted into echo chambers. But not independent media. **Liberty’s Lens** is part of a growing movement of independent progressive voices refusing to be absorbed, censored, or silenced. 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They can’t buy us. --- ## For readers who want the receipts - What happened & early claims — ([CBS News](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/what-we-know-about-fatal-ice-shooting-minneapolis/?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io) | [USA TODAY](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2026/01/07/ice-shoting-minneapolis-minnesota-tim-walz/88065585007/?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io)) - Noem: “domestic terrorism” & “followed training” — ([CBS News](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/kristi-noem-speaks-fatal-ice-shooting-minneapolis-woman/?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io) | [The Hill](https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5683488-noem-defends-ice-shooting/?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io)) - Vance: “absolute immunity… tragedy of her own making” — ([Newsweek](https://www.newsweek.com/jd-vance-minneapolis-ice-shooting-defense-immunity-minnesota-11331877?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io) | [USA TODAY](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2026/01/08/jd-vance-ice-shooting-minneapolis-self-defense/88083371007/?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io)) - Video analyses & verification — ([ABC News](https://abcnews.go.com/US/minneapolis-ice-shooting-minute-minute-timeline-renee-nicole/story?id=129021809&ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io) | [USA TODAY](https://www.usatoday.com/story/graphics/2026/01/08/ice-shooting-video-minneapolis/88070863007/?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io) | [CBC News](https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/ice-agent-shooting-video-minnesota-renee-good-9.7040480?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io)) - Profile and homicide context — ([CBS News](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/renee-good-killed-ice-minneapolis-what-we-know/?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io) | [Snopes](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/renee-good-ice-shooting-2026-minneapolis-homicides/?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io)) - Post‑incident intimidation — ([The New Republic](https://newrepublic.com/post/205189/ice-renee-good-death-threaten-protesters?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io) | [Inquisitr](https://www.inquisitr.com/video-shows-ice-agent-threatening-man-going-to-church-did-you-not-learn-from-what-just-happened?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io)) - Hartford vigil: pepper‑spray & vehicles — ([WBUR/CT Public](https://www.wbur.org/news/2026/01/12/connecticut-ice-car-hit-protest-investigation-renee-good?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io) | [Boston.com](https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2026/01/13/hartford-investigating-after-apparent-federal-employees-deploy-pepper-spray-drive-through-protesters-mayor-says/?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io)) - Minnesota sworn statements & operations — ([The Independent](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/minnesota-ice-protest-lawsuit-renee-good-b2897725.html?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io) | [Mother Jones](https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/01/ice-descends-on-minneapolis/?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io)) - Right to record & best practices — ([USA TODAY](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2026/01/08/ice-shooting-minnesota-first-amendment-rights/88070296007/?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io) | [Freedom Forum](https://www.freedomforum.org/recording-police/?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io)) - ICE authorities & FAQs — ([ICE.gov](https://www.ice.gov/immigration-enforcement-frequently-asked-questions?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io)) - White House Jan. 6 narrative — ([WhiteHouse.gov](https://www.whitehouse.gov/j6/?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io) | [CBS News](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/white-house-webpage-january-6-attack/?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io)) - Officer injuries & anniversary coverage — ([USA TODAY](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2026/01/09/the-january-6th-rioters-injured-140-police-officers-as-they-rampaged-the-excerpt/88099011007/?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io) | [POLITICO](https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/06/january-6-anniversary-capitol-riot-00713422?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io)) - Fact‑checks on “tour guides” — ([PolitiFact](https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2023/mar/08/tucker-carlson/evidence-rebuts-tucker-carlsons-claim-about-capito/?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io) | [AFP](https://factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com.33AR8U9?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io)) - “IF THEY SPIT, WE WILL HIT” & federalized policing — ([USA TODAY](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/08/11/trump-warns-dc-protesters-you-spit-we-hit/85610712007/?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io) | [POLITICO](https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/11/trump-dc-police-federal-control-00502708?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io) | [NBC Washington](https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/trump-to-announce-crackdown-on-dc-crime-homelessness/3973339/?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io)) [Buy me a coffee!](https://donate.stripe.com/aFa3cx2qT7n75ut3eXeIw01?ref=libertys-lens.ghost.io) > — Liberty’s Lens > > This article is provided for public interest reporting and analysis. 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