Daniel Knowles
@dlknowles.bsky.social
Midwest correspondent at The Economist, in Chicago. Before that, in London, Mumbai, Nairobi and DC.
Buy my book: http://shorturl.at/BJOUV
Buy my book: http://shorturl.at/BJOUV
Pinned
Just reposting this - my story this week is part of this week's cover package on Minneapolis and the rise of what we call "America's paramilitary peril."
www.economist.com/united-state...
www.economist.com/united-state...
This story is terrifying: www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...
Homeland Security is targeting Americans with this secretive legal weapon
Under Trump, the Department of Homeland Security has weaponized administrative subpoenas to attack free speech, according to privacy and civil rights groups.
www.washingtonpost.com
February 3, 2026 at 5:23 PM
This story is terrifying: www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...
Reposted by Daniel Knowles
“One cop we talked to—he appeared to be a lieutenant or commander—about babies being gassed said in response ‘that's too bad.’”
New — I spoke to eight people who were present at the ICE protest on Saturday in Portland, Oregon when federal agents deployed tear gas and rubber bullets into a crowd of families, children, elderly and disabled people, and their pets.
These are their stories:
These are their stories:
What it's like to see ICE tear gas kids
Attendees at a Portland, OR protest describe a vicious, unprovoked and sudden attack
www.thehandbasket.co
February 3, 2026 at 3:15 PM
“One cop we talked to—he appeared to be a lieutenant or commander—about babies being gassed said in response ‘that's too bad.’”
Reposted by Daniel Knowles
Judge Reyes starts with a comparison: George Washington versus Kristi Noem.
![[start quotation] MEMORANDUM OPINION
On December 2, 1783, then-Commander-in-Chief George Washington penned: “America is open to receive not only the Opulent & respected Stranger, but the oppressed & persecuted of
all Nations & Religions.”1
More than two centuries later, Congress reaffirmed President
Washington’s vision by establishing the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program. See 8
U.S.C. § 1254a (TPS statute). It provides humanitarian relief to foreign nationals in the United
States who come from disaster-stricken countries. It also brings in substantial revenue, with TPS
holders generating $5.2 billion in taxes annually. See Part VI.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem has a different take."[end quotation]
Underneath is a screenshot of a tweet, which reads: " Secretary Kristi Noem
@Sec_Noem
I just met with the President.
I am recommending a full travel ban on every damn country that's been flooding our nation with killers, leeches, and entitlement junkies.
Our forefathers built this nation on blood, sweat, and the unyielding love of freedom-not for foreign invaders to slaughter our heroes, suck dry our hard-earned tax dollars, or snatch the benefits owed to AMERICANS.
WE DON'T WANT THEM. NOT ONE.
6:52 PM
Dec 1, 2025
13.2M Views](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:2vtbmhmrwzbqcfv4we4uxzzt/bafkreibseafaz2alyw7z2wcopu7uht4x26giiuqqov5cznw34rhdgqub7u@jpeg)
February 3, 2026 at 12:49 AM
Judge Reyes starts with a comparison: George Washington versus Kristi Noem.
Reposted by Daniel Knowles
A fun case study since there have been 72 million articles on the cold in the east and 4 on the warmth in the west
January 2026 temperature rankings compared to all Januarys since 1895.
February 1, 2026 at 5:16 PM
A fun case study since there have been 72 million articles on the cold in the east and 4 on the warmth in the west
Reposted by Daniel Knowles
BREAKING Star Tribune:
Eight additional federal prosecutors are in the process of leaving the Minnesota U.S. Attorney's Office, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the situation.
The departures follow the mass exit of six veteran prosecutors who left the office last month.
Eight additional federal prosecutors are in the process of leaving the Minnesota U.S. Attorney's Office, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the situation.
The departures follow the mass exit of six veteran prosecutors who left the office last month.
The latest: Eight more federal prosecutors set to leave the Minnesota U.S. Attorney’s Office
The recent wave of departures follows the mass exodus of six veteran prosecutors last month who quit in protest of recent directives from the U.S. Department of Justice.
www.startribune.com
February 2, 2026 at 11:01 PM
BREAKING Star Tribune:
Eight additional federal prosecutors are in the process of leaving the Minnesota U.S. Attorney's Office, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the situation.
The departures follow the mass exit of six veteran prosecutors who left the office last month.
Eight additional federal prosecutors are in the process of leaving the Minnesota U.S. Attorney's Office, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the situation.
The departures follow the mass exit of six veteran prosecutors who left the office last month.
Reposted by Daniel Knowles
More than a dozen federal prosecutors have left, or are preparing to leave, the US Attorneys Office in Minnesota since Renée Good was slain by an ICE officer. Good people fleeing a sinking ship.
“We are down to a skeleton crew,” one source told @samanthamichaels.bsky.social
“We are down to a skeleton crew,” one source told @samanthamichaels.bsky.social
Federal prosecutors in Minnesota are "demoralized and pissed"
The administration is pressuring them to charge ICE protesters on scant evidence.
www.motherjones.com
February 2, 2026 at 11:50 PM
More than a dozen federal prosecutors have left, or are preparing to leave, the US Attorneys Office in Minnesota since Renée Good was slain by an ICE officer. Good people fleeing a sinking ship.
“We are down to a skeleton crew,” one source told @samanthamichaels.bsky.social
“We are down to a skeleton crew,” one source told @samanthamichaels.bsky.social
Reposted by Daniel Knowles
Seeing all the “professional” activists go after Stancil is negatively polarizing me into a stance that Minnesota is winning because it’s normal people rising to the occasion and pushing a lot of activist nonsense out of the way by doing it
February 2, 2026 at 11:08 PM
Seeing all the “professional” activists go after Stancil is negatively polarizing me into a stance that Minnesota is winning because it’s normal people rising to the occasion and pushing a lot of activist nonsense out of the way by doing it
Reposted by Daniel Knowles
I was a little late to catch up with this WSJ kleptocracy story. We already knew Sheikh Tahnoon dropped $2b on World Liberty Financial to get Trump to let UAE import advanced chips. Now we learn Tahnoon also purchased 49 percent of World Liberty Financial.
www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
‘Spy Sheikh’ Bought Secret Stake in Trump Company
$500 million investment for 49% of World Liberty came months before U.A.E. won access to tightly guarded American AI chips.
www.wsj.com
February 2, 2026 at 8:19 PM
I was a little late to catch up with this WSJ kleptocracy story. We already knew Sheikh Tahnoon dropped $2b on World Liberty Financial to get Trump to let UAE import advanced chips. Now we learn Tahnoon also purchased 49 percent of World Liberty Financial.
www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
Reposted by Daniel Knowles
A newborn in Minneapolis hadn’t eaten for a day and a half.
ICE agents took her mother when she went to work, trying to make money for diapers.
Her 16-year-old and Bri, a local mother of two, saved that baby's life. @chabeli.bsky.social tells their story
ICE agents took her mother when she went to work, trying to make money for diapers.
Her 16-year-old and Bri, a local mother of two, saved that baby's life. @chabeli.bsky.social tells their story
When one mother was taken by ICE, another stepped in to donate breastmilk
Moms in Minneapolis are donating diapers, food and time to help families who have been ripped apart by ICE.
19thnews.org
February 2, 2026 at 7:46 PM
A newborn in Minneapolis hadn’t eaten for a day and a half.
ICE agents took her mother when she went to work, trying to make money for diapers.
Her 16-year-old and Bri, a local mother of two, saved that baby's life. @chabeli.bsky.social tells their story
ICE agents took her mother when she went to work, trying to make money for diapers.
Her 16-year-old and Bri, a local mother of two, saved that baby's life. @chabeli.bsky.social tells their story
I fear I may have become an AI convert. Just used Claude to write a python script I would have absolutely no idea how to do otherwise, and then write a GUI to run it. This is to uh, update my @last.fm account with logs from a 22-year-old iPod, so pretty niche. But it just works!
February 2, 2026 at 7:26 PM
I fear I may have become an AI convert. Just used Claude to write a python script I would have absolutely no idea how to do otherwise, and then write a GUI to run it. This is to uh, update my @last.fm account with logs from a 22-year-old iPod, so pretty niche. But it just works!
One thing I encountered in my 2024 election coverage was that while people at Trump rallies were wildly pro mass deportation, some rural Republicans I met, including party officials, remained broadly pro migration. They just thought the mass deportation stuff was all bluster and wouldn't happen
Remarkable: 55% of noncollege whites and even 50% of rural whites say ICE is too aggressive, per new Fox News poll.
And 71% of independents disapprove of Trump on immigration.
This is digging deep into Trump's base.
We detail these numbers on today's pod:
newrepublic.com/article/2059...
And 71% of independents disapprove of Trump on immigration.
This is digging deep into Trump's base.
We detail these numbers on today's pod:
newrepublic.com/article/2059...
Trump Tirade over Protests Goes Off Rails as Crushing Fox Poll Hits
As Trump grows more delusional about how hated his ICE raids have become, a longtime pro-immigrant organizer explains why this may be a watershed moment in terms of public opinion on the issue.
newrepublic.com
February 2, 2026 at 4:08 PM
One thing I encountered in my 2024 election coverage was that while people at Trump rallies were wildly pro mass deportation, some rural Republicans I met, including party officials, remained broadly pro migration. They just thought the mass deportation stuff was all bluster and wouldn't happen
An interesting example here is Elon Musk's blatant attempt to buy the Wisconsin judicial election last year. It seems he did succeed in boosting Republican turnout. The state GOP chair was giddy when I interviewed him. But they didn't account for how much farther it boosted Democrat turnout
well then it hasn’t been a very successful one
February 2, 2026 at 1:55 PM
An interesting example here is Elon Musk's blatant attempt to buy the Wisconsin judicial election last year. It seems he did succeed in boosting Republican turnout. The state GOP chair was giddy when I interviewed him. But they didn't account for how much farther it boosted Democrat turnout
Reposted by Daniel Knowles
If a university student group had celebrated Charlie Kirk being killed, complete with a graphic made from an actual picture of the killing, the whole lot of them would have been expelled before the ink on the digital story was dry.
University of Illinois college republicans advocate for executing protesters as “traitors” with art that takes a disturbing killing and makes it even more extreme.
dailyillini.com/news-stories...
dailyillini.com/news-stories...
‘Fell the enemies:’ Illini Republicans support ICE amid killings - The Daily Illini
In a post that included a graphic of a presumed officer holding a gun to someone's head, Illini Republicans stated that they “stand with ICE."
dailyillini.com
February 2, 2026 at 12:03 PM
If a university student group had celebrated Charlie Kirk being killed, complete with a graphic made from an actual picture of the killing, the whole lot of them would have been expelled before the ink on the digital story was dry.
Reposted by Daniel Knowles
University of Illinois college republicans advocate for executing protesters as “traitors” with art that takes a disturbing killing and makes it even more extreme.
dailyillini.com/news-stories...
dailyillini.com/news-stories...
‘Fell the enemies:’ Illini Republicans support ICE amid killings - The Daily Illini
In a post that included a graphic of a presumed officer holding a gun to someone's head, Illini Republicans stated that they “stand with ICE."
dailyillini.com
February 2, 2026 at 4:40 AM
University of Illinois college republicans advocate for executing protesters as “traitors” with art that takes a disturbing killing and makes it even more extreme.
dailyillini.com/news-stories...
dailyillini.com/news-stories...
Especially and necessarily in America because *there hasn't been any comprehensive reform to the actual law in over 30 years*
I genuinely have no idea how to convey this to the American people, but I think the biggest impediment to any kind of immigration reform is that people are convinced that "legal" and "illegal" are immutable, intrinsic categories instead of a rapidly-shifting arbitrary constellation of regulations.
February 2, 2026 at 6:41 AM
Especially and necessarily in America because *there hasn't been any comprehensive reform to the actual law in over 30 years*
Reposted by Daniel Knowles
I remember when political scientists sounding the alarm about a Jan. 6-type event in ~October 2020 were ridiculed by "smart" pundits as radical leftists. One called an article in The Atlantic "too magazine-y." The good news is people seem to be taking 2026/28 much more seriously
David French: This is not a drill www.nytimes.com/2026/02/01/o...
February 2, 2026 at 3:58 AM
I remember when political scientists sounding the alarm about a Jan. 6-type event in ~October 2020 were ridiculed by "smart" pundits as radical leftists. One called an article in The Atlantic "too magazine-y." The good news is people seem to be taking 2026/28 much more seriously
Reposted by Daniel Knowles
The schoolmates of Liam Conejo Ramos wrote letters to ICE.
This is just gutting. And also such a reminder that hate is taught. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/31/o...
This is just gutting. And also such a reminder that hate is taught. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/31/o...
Opinion | ICE Took Liam Conejo Ramos. His Classmates Have Something to Say.
www.nytimes.com
February 2, 2026 at 3:36 AM
The schoolmates of Liam Conejo Ramos wrote letters to ICE.
This is just gutting. And also such a reminder that hate is taught. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/31/o...
This is just gutting. And also such a reminder that hate is taught. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/31/o...
Reposted by Daniel Knowles
Lots of teargas at ICE tonight in Portland. People were just standing and chanting.
February 2, 2026 at 3:23 AM
Lots of teargas at ICE tonight in Portland. People were just standing and chanting.
Reposted by Daniel Knowles
Again Will is a left wing civil rights lawyer whose worst sin is stubbornness and whose greatest virtue is also stubbornness. That he has been transformed into a demon in the minds of losers is evidence of how pathetically inadequate their vision of actual wickedness is.
the image of will stancil these people have built in their heads (grand wizard of the mega klan) is at odds with any time I've seen him post (dweeby, harmless)
January 30, 2026 at 11:22 PM
Again Will is a left wing civil rights lawyer whose worst sin is stubbornness and whose greatest virtue is also stubbornness. That he has been transformed into a demon in the minds of losers is evidence of how pathetically inadequate their vision of actual wickedness is.
Reposted by Daniel Knowles
BREAKING: The two federal immigration agents who fired on Minneapolis protester Alex Pretti are identified in government records as Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and Customs and Border Protection officer Raymundo Gutierrez.
Two CBP Agents Identified in Alex Pretti Shooting
The two federal immigration agents who fired on Minneapolis protester Alex Pretti are identified in government records as Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and Customs and Border Protection officer Raym...
www.propublica.org
February 1, 2026 at 9:10 PM
BREAKING: The two federal immigration agents who fired on Minneapolis protester Alex Pretti are identified in government records as Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and Customs and Border Protection officer Raymundo Gutierrez.
Reposted by Daniel Knowles
February 1, 2026 at 6:20 PM
Two of my friends I met when I lived in Nairobi have a documentary film company they set up then, working as penniless freelancers. A film they produced just won the documentary prize at the Sundance Film Festival: www.washingtonpost.com/entertainmen...
archive.ph
February 1, 2026 at 6:04 PM
Two of my friends I met when I lived in Nairobi have a documentary film company they set up then, working as penniless freelancers. A film they produced just won the documentary prize at the Sundance Film Festival: www.washingtonpost.com/entertainmen...
Reposted by Daniel Knowles
Something’s up in Texas! A more than 30-point swing in Texas State Senate District 9. Congratulations to Taylor Rehmet on winning a seat Trump won by 17 points!
February 1, 2026 at 5:45 PM
Something’s up in Texas! A more than 30-point swing in Texas State Senate District 9. Congratulations to Taylor Rehmet on winning a seat Trump won by 17 points!
Reposted by Daniel Knowles
I just got tear gassed along with thousands of union members, many of whom had their families with them. Federal agents at the ICE facility tear gassed children. We must abolish ICE, DHS, and we must have prosecutions. I expect to see enforcement of our city code prohibiting the use of tear gas.
February 1, 2026 at 1:23 AM
I just got tear gassed along with thousands of union members, many of whom had their families with them. Federal agents at the ICE facility tear gassed children. We must abolish ICE, DHS, and we must have prosecutions. I expect to see enforcement of our city code prohibiting the use of tear gas.
Reposted by Daniel Knowles
some good news buried among the horrible behavior listed:
“The third woman said federal agents at her hotel are subsisting on microwavable bowls of Campbell’s chicken noodle soup, because it’s become so difficult for them to find restaurants willing to serve them.”
“The third woman said federal agents at her hotel are subsisting on microwavable bowls of Campbell’s chicken noodle soup, because it’s become so difficult for them to find restaurants willing to serve them.”
I visited hotels all over Minneapolis, went into back rooms & talked to the staff.
They're afraid.
One told me she resents how her undocumented coworkers spend their days cleaning the rooms of agents who are “hunting down their family members.”
@notus.com:
www.notus.org/immigration/...
They're afraid.
One told me she resents how her undocumented coworkers spend their days cleaning the rooms of agents who are “hunting down their family members.”
@notus.com:
www.notus.org/immigration/...
Minneapolis’ Hotel Workers Are on Edge
Staff across the city told NOTUS how their lives have changed since the start of the federal immigration operation. “It's frightening,” one said.
www.notus.org
January 30, 2026 at 2:44 PM
some good news buried among the horrible behavior listed:
“The third woman said federal agents at her hotel are subsisting on microwavable bowls of Campbell’s chicken noodle soup, because it’s become so difficult for them to find restaurants willing to serve them.”
“The third woman said federal agents at her hotel are subsisting on microwavable bowls of Campbell’s chicken noodle soup, because it’s become so difficult for them to find restaurants willing to serve them.”