Reps Ilhan Omar, Betty McCollum Among 50+ Dem Lawmakers Calling for Trump’s Removal

Welcome back to The Flyover, your daily digest of important, overlooked, and/or interesting Minnesota news stories.

MN Republicans Slow to Condemn Calls for Genocide and/or World War III

President Donald Trump’s recent social media posts have been, to put it midly, batshit terrifying. While administration officials boasted last week of a 15-point peace plan for Iran, negotiations have now devolved into Trump making threats on Truth Social to “Open the Fuckin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah” and that “a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again” unless Iran agrees to a ceasefire. (Deadline: 8 p.m. EST Tuesday... gulp.)

In case you need lukewarm comfort, Minnesota Democrats have been quick to decry Trump openly planning to commit war crimes. Over on the site formerly known as Twitter, U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) calls Trump’s posts “sickeningly evil” and advocates for impeachment while Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN) is calling for Congress to recovene in light of recent statements. Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN) also tweeted that "Congress needs to step in and stop him." On Facebook, Gov. Tim Walz commented that “the president has lost his mind” and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) called him “insane”—hell, even Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN) issued a statement.

Meanwhile, we’ve yet to see any condemnation from any MN GOPers. U.S. Reps. Michelle Fischbach and Pete Stauber posted today about welfare fraud, while House Whip Tom Emmer has been off social media since the death of his mother last week. In total, more than 50 Dem lawmakers are calling for Trump's removal via impeachment or the 25th Amendment.

Pro Wrestling Gets Real in St. Paul

In late March, AEW's Dynamite came to St. Paul’s Roy Wilkins Auditorium. The Atlantic was there too for this lovely scener of a story that captures how politics bleed into pro wrestling.

On that night, reporter Jeremy Gordon spoke with attendees who wore “ABOLISH ICE” tees and have been impacted by the atrocities of Operation Metro Surge. Many were hoping for an appearance from outspoken anti-ICE wrestler Brody King, whose recent performances have elicited “Fuck ICE!” chants from the crowd. Gordon describes him as being “like Popeye after downing a can of spinach, as though he were ready to punch the sun.”   

Pro wrestling, Gordon argues, can sometimes it can become political theater, where an unspoken understanding between performer and audience leads to catharsis. “Pro wrestling is still considered a lowbrow entertainment—meathead Kabuki, not a night at the opera,” he writes. “But discontent can be found anywhere, and the license to coarsely express oneself can be surprisingly cleansing.”

We won’t spoil the conclusion; you’ll have to read the story to find out if Brody makes an appearance (or maybe you already know because you were there).

Street Cam Video Shows ICE Agents Lied

In news that should shock no one, new video footage obtained by the New York Times further supports witness accounts, not federal agent testimony, of what actually happened during a messy January 14 ICE arrest on the North Side. At the time, then-Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem described the event as “an attempted murder of federal law enforcement.”

“The video contradicts the agent’s claim that three assailants had beaten him with a shovel and broom for roughly three minutes before he opened fire,” the article states. “Instead, the confrontation depicted in the video lasts about 12 seconds and shows two men struggling with the agent. It shows no sustained attack with a shovel.”

The video does not clearly show at what point the main target, Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, was shot in the leg. Witnesses stated that he was hit through the door of his duplex (the Times has a pic of the bullet hole) while agents claimed he was shot during the initial struggle.

Federal prosecutors didn’t even bother to watch the footage until weeks after the incident—after making public statements and filing criminal charges against the two men. Those charges were eventually dropped, and the Times notes that the agents could soon face criminal charges themselves for lying under oath. 

We also get an update on the families impacted by the incident. Sosa-Celis and his friend/defender, Alfredo Aljorna, spent time in a local jail before being released, while their two partners were shipped off to El Paso, Texas, before being sent back to Minnesota for trial.

“There’s no food, no earnings, the power gets cut, water gets cut,” Aljorna says of why he left his home in Venezuela. But coming to America is “like trading one hell for another.” 

Drone Footage Shows Empty Twins Stadium

Look, we know fan morale is really, really, really low these days and the new foods this year are mostly bad, but jeez, this Target Field drone footage taken at Monday night’s game showing vast swaths of empty sections is brutal. If those $2 happy hour brews don’t entice you, maybe our ranking of walk-up songs will?