Austen Hartke
@austenhartke.bsky.social
Trans guy, lover of dad jokes and pastries. Author of "Transforming: The Bible and the Lives of Transgender Christians." Home is MSP. He/Him. linktr.ee/austenhartke
Reposted by Austen Hartke
Government officials held a news conference today to break news they had known for days already: The Twin Cities is facing a huge surge, to a total of 350-450 federal agents from the original 140.
Learn more here & find the full newsletter at defend612.com/blog (1/2)
Learn more here & find the full newsletter at defend612.com/blog (1/2)
December 24, 2025 at 12:35 AM
Government officials held a news conference today to break news they had known for days already: The Twin Cities is facing a huge surge, to a total of 350-450 federal agents from the original 140.
Learn more here & find the full newsletter at defend612.com/blog (1/2)
Learn more here & find the full newsletter at defend612.com/blog (1/2)
Reposted by Austen Hartke
ICE Watch welcome, a Christmas Eve special! – Wednesday 12/24 1pm-2pm
Minneapolis and the Twin Cities has begun to experience another massive surge in abductions and disappearances.
New to ICE Watch and want to get involved?
(1/3)
Minneapolis and the Twin Cities has begun to experience another massive surge in abductions and disappearances.
New to ICE Watch and want to get involved?
(1/3)
ICE Watch Welcome!
defend612.com
December 24, 2025 at 3:23 AM
ICE Watch welcome, a Christmas Eve special! – Wednesday 12/24 1pm-2pm
Minneapolis and the Twin Cities has begun to experience another massive surge in abductions and disappearances.
New to ICE Watch and want to get involved?
(1/3)
Minneapolis and the Twin Cities has begun to experience another massive surge in abductions and disappearances.
New to ICE Watch and want to get involved?
(1/3)
Marshmallow Mateys beats Lucky Charms every time. Proud to have grown up in the queer old town where they make this stuff 😄
I swear to god, every Malt-o-Meal generic cereal name sounds like old-timer slang for gay people.
You can’t tell me no one in the 1970s wasn’t referring to their gay neighbors as the “marshmallow mateys”
You can’t tell me no one in the 1970s wasn’t referring to their gay neighbors as the “marshmallow mateys”
December 24, 2025 at 4:55 AM
Marshmallow Mateys beats Lucky Charms every time. Proud to have grown up in the queer old town where they make this stuff 😄
Reposted by Austen Hartke
Reposted by Austen Hartke
It's Day 19 of the ICE occupation of MSP.
Today thousands of Minnesotans poured onto Lake Street to rally in support of our immigrant neighbors and against ICE.
Take a moment to look at this crowd of you and your neighbors rallying in below zero windchill.
📸 @roblevine82.bsky.social
Today thousands of Minnesotans poured onto Lake Street to rally in support of our immigrant neighbors and against ICE.
Take a moment to look at this crowd of you and your neighbors rallying in below zero windchill.
📸 @roblevine82.bsky.social
December 20, 2025 at 8:52 PM
It's Day 19 of the ICE occupation of MSP.
Today thousands of Minnesotans poured onto Lake Street to rally in support of our immigrant neighbors and against ICE.
Take a moment to look at this crowd of you and your neighbors rallying in below zero windchill.
📸 @roblevine82.bsky.social
Today thousands of Minnesotans poured onto Lake Street to rally in support of our immigrant neighbors and against ICE.
Take a moment to look at this crowd of you and your neighbors rallying in below zero windchill.
📸 @roblevine82.bsky.social
Reposted by Austen Hartke
We love the anonymous neighbor who made this sign! We don't have a single religious affiliation, but whatever inspires you to mutual aid, we're glad you're here. It was a nice surprise to go to the QR code and discover someone spreading the word about US! ❤️
December 16, 2025 at 3:28 PM
We love the anonymous neighbor who made this sign! We don't have a single religious affiliation, but whatever inspires you to mutual aid, we're glad you're here. It was a nice surprise to go to the QR code and discover someone spreading the word about US! ❤️
Considering she represents the state with the highest percentage of trans folks, you'd think @klobuchar.senate.gov wouldn't fuck this up as consistently as she does. Folks aren't going to forget votes like this when she campaigns next.
Here are the 28 Dem Senators who voted to advance the first federal ban on trans athletes & a federal definition of sex that would make trans & intersex people non-existent: Angela Alsobrooks (MD), Tammy Baldwin (WI), Richard Blumenthal (CT), Lisa Blunt Rochester (DE), Chris Coons (DE), ->
By a vote of 76-23, S 1071 passes the motion to proceed to the motion to concur. Won't know who voted for this until the roll call is uploaded, but safe to say it passed with the support of at least 24 members of the Democratic caucus. (Rand Paul probably voted nay and Steve Daines has been absent).
December 16, 2025 at 3:43 AM
Considering she represents the state with the highest percentage of trans folks, you'd think @klobuchar.senate.gov wouldn't fuck this up as consistently as she does. Folks aren't going to forget votes like this when she campaigns next.
Reposted by Austen Hartke
the good that you do persists in this world
December 14, 2025 at 8:20 PM
the good that you do persists in this world
Reposted by Austen Hartke
Contact your reps NOW and tell them to vote NO on both bills! action.transequality.org/a/vote-no-hr... (2/2)
Action Alert: VOTE NO to Dangerous and Discriminatory Anti-LGBTQI+ Bills: H.R. 3492 and H.R. 498
Tell your representatives to VOTE NO on Dan Crenshaw and Marjorie Taylor Greene’s dangerous and discriminatory bills H.R. 498 and H.R 3492 and protect trans and intersex kids. It takes two minutes to…
action.transequality.org
December 15, 2025 at 8:34 PM
Contact your reps NOW and tell them to vote NO on both bills! action.transequality.org/a/vote-no-hr... (2/2)
Reposted by Austen Hartke
TWO anti-trans bills are up for a vote this week:
❌ Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's bill that would criminalize providers of gender-affirming care
❌ Rep. Dan Crenshaw's bill that would block Medicaid funds from covering transition-related care (1/2)
❌ Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's bill that would criminalize providers of gender-affirming care
❌ Rep. Dan Crenshaw's bill that would block Medicaid funds from covering transition-related care (1/2)
December 15, 2025 at 8:34 PM
TWO anti-trans bills are up for a vote this week:
❌ Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's bill that would criminalize providers of gender-affirming care
❌ Rep. Dan Crenshaw's bill that would block Medicaid funds from covering transition-related care (1/2)
❌ Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's bill that would criminalize providers of gender-affirming care
❌ Rep. Dan Crenshaw's bill that would block Medicaid funds from covering transition-related care (1/2)
Reposted by Austen Hartke
They dragged a woman on the road and called the police because they were threatened by people throwing snowballs at them. ICE is composed of the biggest cowards on the planet
Hennepin County dispatch got a panicked call from a Department of Homeland Security supervisor in Minneapolis requesting assistance because “we only have a few officers but we have 60-70 agitators fighting them.” Hennepin deputies didn’t witness any attacks on agents.
www.mprnews.org/story/2025/1...
www.mprnews.org/story/2025/1...
ICE agents call for backup during Minneapolis traffic stop, bystanders hurl insults and snowballs
Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a call for help from an agent who said 60 to 70 “agitators” were “fighting them.”
www.mprnews.org
December 16, 2025 at 12:22 AM
They dragged a woman on the road and called the police because they were threatened by people throwing snowballs at them. ICE is composed of the biggest cowards on the planet
Reposted by Austen Hartke
This article is sympathetic towards ICE but still a good read because it's clear that Minneapolis and Saint Paul are doing AMAZING work (with a little assistance from our weather).
www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...
www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...
ICE operation shows the difficulty of immigration arrests amid pushback in frigid Minnesota
NBC News was granted exclusive access to accompany Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers as they tried to arrest targets in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area.
www.nbcnews.com
December 12, 2025 at 6:55 PM
This article is sympathetic towards ICE but still a good read because it's clear that Minneapolis and Saint Paul are doing AMAZING work (with a little assistance from our weather).
www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...
www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...
Reposted by Austen Hartke
It's Day 9 of the ICE occupation in MSP.
Reminder that we are in this for the long haul. Take a deep breath and take care of yourself, your family, and community.
If you have not yet gotten ICE training, there's another chance on Zoom tonight led by our friends in Chicago. (Link in thread)
Reminder that we are in this for the long haul. Take a deep breath and take care of yourself, your family, and community.
If you have not yet gotten ICE training, there's another chance on Zoom tonight led by our friends in Chicago. (Link in thread)
December 10, 2025 at 7:31 PM
It's Day 9 of the ICE occupation in MSP.
Reminder that we are in this for the long haul. Take a deep breath and take care of yourself, your family, and community.
If you have not yet gotten ICE training, there's another chance on Zoom tonight led by our friends in Chicago. (Link in thread)
Reminder that we are in this for the long haul. Take a deep breath and take care of yourself, your family, and community.
If you have not yet gotten ICE training, there's another chance on Zoom tonight led by our friends in Chicago. (Link in thread)
"Tincher said she’s even more motivated after her arrest to volunteer to support immigrants in her community. 'I’m just so concerned about our neighbors, our peaceable neighbors, being abducted, and the worries their families are going through,' Tincher said."
Really thankful for folks like Sue.
Really thankful for folks like Sue.
“She has marks on her neck and wrist from where agents restrained her. Agents cut off her wedding ring and held her in leg shackles at Whipple Federal Building for about five hours.”
Her crime: witnessing ICE, from a distance.
Her crime: witnessing ICE, from a distance.
Federal agents arrest citizen observer watching ICE detain neighbors on her north Minneapolis block
Susan Tincher, a 55-year-old American citizen, appears to be the first observer arrested by federal immigration enforcement officers since the agency launched an immigration surge in the Twin Cities l...
www.mprnews.org
December 10, 2025 at 3:20 AM
"Tincher said she’s even more motivated after her arrest to volunteer to support immigrants in her community. 'I’m just so concerned about our neighbors, our peaceable neighbors, being abducted, and the worries their families are going through,' Tincher said."
Really thankful for folks like Sue.
Really thankful for folks like Sue.
Reposted by Austen Hartke
Minneapolis, I'm sure this would be helpful this week
The latest edition of my newsletter includes must-reads, organizing resources, year-end reflections, and a writing exercise for anyone trying to stay whole and take action in 2026.
Must-Reads and Some Notes on Taking Action and Staying Whole in 2026
As we close out a year of crisis and courage, I’m thinking about what sustains us — and what comes next.
organizingmythoughts.org
December 8, 2025 at 3:16 AM
Minneapolis, I'm sure this would be helpful this week
Reposted by Austen Hartke
This is the energy we need from everyone
December 5, 2025 at 11:54 PM
This is the energy we need from everyone
Reposted by Austen Hartke
"If something were to happen, we would know that we’d done everything possible to protect what was entrusted to us."
sojo.net/articles/new...
sojo.net/articles/new...
What to Do if ICE Comes to Your Church
“How do we ensure that our people know exactly what to do if law enforcement or a government official were to come to our building, particularly during open hours?” Rev. Minna Bothwell said.
sojo.net
December 5, 2025 at 9:30 PM
"If something were to happen, we would know that we’d done everything possible to protect what was entrusted to us."
sojo.net/articles/new...
sojo.net/articles/new...
Reposted by Austen Hartke
Boosting this virtual training opportunity tomorrow (Wednesday!)
Register in advance for this webinar:
zoom.us/webinar/regi...
Register in advance for this webinar:
zoom.us/webinar/regi...
December 3, 2025 at 12:14 AM
Boosting this virtual training opportunity tomorrow (Wednesday!)
Register in advance for this webinar:
zoom.us/webinar/regi...
Register in advance for this webinar:
zoom.us/webinar/regi...
Can I just collectively nominate every hymn they've ever done in the 9 Lessons and Carols from King's College every year??
Okay, but seriously, favorite Christian carol: The Holly and the Ivy
Favorite secular song: I'll Be Home for Christmas
(Runner up for both categories: Good King Wenceslas)
Okay, but seriously, favorite Christian carol: The Holly and the Ivy
Favorite secular song: I'll Be Home for Christmas
(Runner up for both categories: Good King Wenceslas)
What is your favorite "Christian" Christmas song and what is your favorite "Secular" Christmas song?
I will probably always adore "O Come All Ye Faithful" and "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" for Christian.
And "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" for secular.
I will probably always adore "O Come All Ye Faithful" and "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" for Christian.
And "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" for secular.
December 2, 2025 at 3:35 AM
Can I just collectively nominate every hymn they've ever done in the 9 Lessons and Carols from King's College every year??
Okay, but seriously, favorite Christian carol: The Holly and the Ivy
Favorite secular song: I'll Be Home for Christmas
(Runner up for both categories: Good King Wenceslas)
Okay, but seriously, favorite Christian carol: The Holly and the Ivy
Favorite secular song: I'll Be Home for Christmas
(Runner up for both categories: Good King Wenceslas)
Reposted by Austen Hartke
Really a wonderful list of ways to organize. Observing and potentially disrupting ICE’s activity is of course a visible and essential tactic right now, and there are a lot of other tactics as well! Many described here.
New resource⚡️ Block it! Don’t Build It. Don’t Fill It. Don’t Fuel It.
A mini-toolkit to take action to slow down and disrupt the government’s kidnapping, detention, and deportation machine.
Info on strategies/tactics, ways to take action, and more:
www.interruptingcriminalization.com/block-it
A mini-toolkit to take action to slow down and disrupt the government’s kidnapping, detention, and deportation machine.
Info on strategies/tactics, ways to take action, and more:
www.interruptingcriminalization.com/block-it
November 22, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Really a wonderful list of ways to organize. Observing and potentially disrupting ICE’s activity is of course a visible and essential tactic right now, and there are a lot of other tactics as well! Many described here.
Reposted by Austen Hartke
New "How to Report ICE" zines up today:
#Nashville
#Asheville (In North Carolina folder)
#TwinCities Metro Area (in Minnesota folder)
#NewYorkCity en Español!
I am working on the backlog and will have more out tomorrow!!
drive.google.com/drive/folder...
#Nashville
#Asheville (In North Carolina folder)
#TwinCities Metro Area (in Minnesota folder)
#NewYorkCity en Español!
I am working on the backlog and will have more out tomorrow!!
drive.google.com/drive/folder...
SALUTE zines **BE SURE TO PRINT AT 100%!** - Google Drive
drive.google.com
November 19, 2025 at 10:57 PM
New "How to Report ICE" zines up today:
#Nashville
#Asheville (In North Carolina folder)
#TwinCities Metro Area (in Minnesota folder)
#NewYorkCity en Español!
I am working on the backlog and will have more out tomorrow!!
drive.google.com/drive/folder...
#Nashville
#Asheville (In North Carolina folder)
#TwinCities Metro Area (in Minnesota folder)
#NewYorkCity en Español!
I am working on the backlog and will have more out tomorrow!!
drive.google.com/drive/folder...
Reposted by Austen Hartke
THREAD. A collection of photographs of excellent sheep I have met on walks.
You will find the captions to each photo in the alt text.
You will find the captions to each photo in the alt text.
November 14, 2025 at 9:48 AM
THREAD. A collection of photographs of excellent sheep I have met on walks.
You will find the captions to each photo in the alt text.
You will find the captions to each photo in the alt text.
Reposted by Austen Hartke
I’m gonna miss our only true poster Senator
People should be allowed to have a THC seltzer if they want to
November 14, 2025 at 5:37 PM
I’m gonna miss our only true poster Senator
Reposted by Austen Hartke
Starbucks employees in Minneapolis, and across the country, are striking for
✅ Fair wages
✅ Proper staffing
✅ End to union busting
I'm proud to stand in solidarity with @sbworkersunited.org until they get the fair contract they deserve! 💪🏽
#NoContractNoCoffee
✅ Fair wages
✅ Proper staffing
✅ End to union busting
I'm proud to stand in solidarity with @sbworkersunited.org until they get the fair contract they deserve! 💪🏽
#NoContractNoCoffee
As of this morning, Starbucks workers across the country are officially ON STRIKE. And we're prepared for this to become the biggest and longest ULP strike in Starbucks history.
Say #NoContractNoCoffee with us: DON'T BUY STARBUCKS for the duration of our open-ended ULP strike! $SBUX
Say #NoContractNoCoffee with us: DON'T BUY STARBUCKS for the duration of our open-ended ULP strike! $SBUX
November 14, 2025 at 6:55 PM
Starbucks employees in Minneapolis, and across the country, are striking for
✅ Fair wages
✅ Proper staffing
✅ End to union busting
I'm proud to stand in solidarity with @sbworkersunited.org until they get the fair contract they deserve! 💪🏽
#NoContractNoCoffee
✅ Fair wages
✅ Proper staffing
✅ End to union busting
I'm proud to stand in solidarity with @sbworkersunited.org until they get the fair contract they deserve! 💪🏽
#NoContractNoCoffee
Really thankful for the campaign Fateh ran, and even though I'm frustrated (to put it mildly) about another 4 years of Frey, I know the energy and strength of this campaign is going to matter moving forward.
Thank you, Minneapolis!
While this wasn’t the outcome we wanted, I am incredibly grateful to every single person who supported our grassroots campaign.
I’ll keep fighting alongside you to build the city we deserve. Onward.
While this wasn’t the outcome we wanted, I am incredibly grateful to every single person who supported our grassroots campaign.
I’ll keep fighting alongside you to build the city we deserve. Onward.
November 5, 2025 at 6:31 PM
Really thankful for the campaign Fateh ran, and even though I'm frustrated (to put it mildly) about another 4 years of Frey, I know the energy and strength of this campaign is going to matter moving forward.