Seattle 2020 all over again.
And Minneapolis police just let it happen.
But Minneapolis cops stood down when rioters torched this hotel and it's worse than you think.
Minneapolis cops let rioters control entire city blocks
Local and state police in Minneapolis watched as anti-ICE rioters blocked roads, smashed windows, and vandalized a hotel for hours without lifting a finger to stop them.
The Daily Caller News Foundation witnessed protesters barricade an intersection Saturday night using trash cans, dumpsters, chairs, and debris — creating a law-enforcement-free zone that looked exactly like Seattle's infamous Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone from 2020.
On Sunday, rioters surrounded a hotel where federal agents were staying and attacked it for over two hours while blocking the road.
Only one local police officer showed up.
"Where is the local PD?" a bleeding federal agent shouted while guarding the Minneapolis hotel with blood running down his face and hands.
The Minnesota State Patrol arrested just four people total during the weekend riots.
Three protesters got citations Friday for obstruction and unlawful assembly.
One rioter caught a riot charge Saturday.
That's it.
Seattle's CHAZ nightmare is back in Minneapolis
Remember Seattle 2020?
Mayor Jenny Durkan ordered Seattle police to abandon their East Precinct building on June 8, 2020, handing six city blocks to protesters who declared it the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone.
Police helped protesters barricade the roads.
CHAZ lasted 23 days before Seattle finally shut it down after four shootings left two teenagers dead — including a 16-year-old special-needs kid shot in cold blood.
Seattle paid millions settling lawsuits from residents and businesses who couldn't access their own property while the city actively enabled the occupation.
Now Minneapolis is running the exact same playbook.
The Minnesota Department of Public Safety admitted state patrol and DNR officers were "about to encircle the group for arrests" Sunday when federal agents showed up and cleared the rioters with chemical irritants.
Translation: local authorities sat around watching chaos for hours until the feds finally did their job for them.
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The "defund" movement destroyed Minneapolis policing
Minneapolis police leadership is politicized.
What’s more, the department is down to 560 officers — that's one-third smaller than the 900-officer force they had in 2019.
This is what happens when a city council literally stands on a stage with giant "DEFUND POLICE" letters and promises a "police-free future."
The 2020 George Floyd riots triggered a mass exodus as officers retired early or quit rather than work for politicians who called them terrorists.
Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino called out Minneapolis Police Department's pathetic response during a press conference.
"Minneapolis Police Department's been called on several situations that they have not responded," Bovino told reporters.
The MPD later claimed they had no record of federal requests for help.
Nobody believes that excuse.
President Trump deployed ICE to Minneapolis as part of Operation Metro Surge targeting illegal aliens.
Local protesters have been tailing federal agents and physically obstructing their operations.
Two activists who tried blocking ICE were fatally shot — one on January 7, another on Saturday — after reportedly impeding federal officers.
Trump threatened the Insurrection Act and Democrats panicked
Trump made it crystal clear he's done playing games with Minnesota's Democrat politicians.
"If the corrupt politicians of Minnesota don't obey the law and stop the professional agitators and insurrectionists from attacking the Patriots of I.C.E., who are only trying to do their job, I will institute the INSURRECTION ACT," Trump posted on Truth Social January 15th.
That's the same threat Trump made during the 2020 Black Lives Matter riots.
This time he's not bluffing.
Governor Tim Walz — who spent months dodging responsibility while Minneapolis burned in 2020 — put the Minnesota National Guard on standby.
The Pentagon readied 1,500 active-duty soldiers from the Army's 11th Airborne Division for possible deployment.
Trump and Walz had a phone call Monday where Trump said they're now on a "similar wavelength" about federal operations.
Which means Walz finally figured out Trump will send in federal troops if local Democrats keep enabling violent mobs to attack ICE agents.
Minneapolis tried the CHAZ experiment.
Seattle paid tens of millions in settlements and became a national embarrassment.
Now Minneapolis is repeating the same disaster because Democrats never learn.
Sources:
- Hudson Crozier and Jorge Ventura, "Minnesota Cops Surrender Entire City Blocks To Lawless Rioters," Daily Caller News Foundation, January 26, 2026.
- Pacific Legal Foundation, "Seattle pays the price for CHAZ," The Hill, March 20, 2023.
- "Capitol Hill Occupied Protest," Wikipedia, accessed January 2026.
- "Minneapolis Police Department sees first staffing increase since 2019," Police1, May 23, 2025.
- "Tensions escalate as Trump threatens Insurrection Act," ABC News, January 16, 2026.
- "Trump threatens to use Insurrection Act in Minnesota," Al Jazeera, January 16, 2026.
- "Walz says President Trump agreed to consider reducing federal agents in the state," WCNC, January 27, 2026.
