Keeping Track of the Horrors
Last year, I started keeping a log of the horrors I was witnessing every month. With so much constantly happening, ALL the time, it can be easy to forget or even miss what happened. So, for this year, I aim to write about these horrors monthly. This serves both as an archive for my own memory and response to these things, as well as a catch-up for everyone else, in case you’ve missed something that happened.
I meant to publish this sooner, but I unfortunately caught COVID around the beginning of this month. So, it was delayed thanks to exhaustion and lingering brain fog, as well as needing to catch up on other work that took default precedence over this new side project/article series.
If I missed a horror (or especially a glimmer of hope) that you know about, please reach out and let me know so I can amend this piece and add it here!
As usual, my writing involves heavy topics and commentary but always ends with some hope. Please read this article at your own pace. Or, if you need to, feel free to skip the horrors and hop down to the bottom of the article, to see some glimmers of hope in the ‘Horrors Persist, But So Do We’ part at the end.
Things are dark and full of terror. But there is still light and love fighting that darkness. People are resisting and pushing back against these things. You may feel despair at what you are witnessing, and that’s understandable – our nervous systems are collectively being assaulted by an unrelenting deluge of fear, anger, and horrors beyond our full comprehension. It is intentional, and it’s meant to burn us out, numb us, and make us complacent in the face of such monumental societal grievances. Just don’t let that despair overwhelm you or push you towards inaction, and don’t give up. This is far from over, and it will get worse before it gets better. But people are waking up more and more each day. And they are collectively putting their feet down, protecting their neighbors and communities, and saying “No More.”
I believe in us. And I believe we will prevail.
As Samwise Gamgee from The Lord of the Rings (which I just rewatched) said, “There is some good in this world (Mr. Frodo), and it’s worth fighting for.”
Content Warnings
As to be expected, this piece is going to cover some really traumatic accounts of violence and abuse, and rough commentary on it. We’re going to talk about ICE and Epstein shit, and everything in between.
Again, you are welcome to skip to the bottom and just read the glimmers. I’m always of the mindset that while we all have an obligation to be as aware and as knowledgeable about what’s happening as we can manage, we can’t do that to the point where it makes us shut down and become paralyzed by the fear or compelled to choose inaction. If what you need right now is some light in the dark, there is no shame in choosing to skip immersing yourself in that darkness.
To be clear, that is not to serve as an excuse to completely bury your head in the sand and turn a blind eye to what is happening – that is unjustifiable in this social upheaval and mass revelations about how the world operates. This guy, a local journalist, just said it best in response to us bombing Iran today.
We all have a role to play in this. Take this time to figure that out before it’s thrust upon you without warning.
As I navigate that contemplation myself, I found purpose in the urge to archive the things I am witnessing in hopes that this helps people more easily digest everything that’s happening without having to spend the countless hours immersing themselves in staying up to date on everything happening everywhere, all at once, all of the time. I’ve done it for you to consolidate it all into something like this article, with linked opportunities to learn more should you desire.
And I hope this all serves as a reminder to everyone that you’re not going crazy, especially about the fact that we are STILL acting business as usual about everything. These are chaotic, insane times to be living through. Be gentle with yourself as you (and your nervous system) navigate the unending assault of horror we’re all under.
If you’re ready to dive in, then take a deep breath and take the plunge.
The Seemingly Unending Month of January and Never-ending Man-Made Horrors Beyond My Comprehension
January simultaneously felt like an eternity and yet passed by way too fast. (Just like 2025). As did February, I am desperately trying to finish this article before March begins, so I can start working on this month’s piece. I’m lucky to have got it published by the last day. :’)
And there is so much to cover, as we began the new year off with a fresh batch of horrors, right away, and it hasn’t stopped.
International Crises
We Invaded Venezuela and Kidnapped President Nicholas Maduro
To talk about what happened in Venezuela at the start of the year, we have to first discuss the things that led to it happening.
As noted by PBS in their Timeline of US Military Escalation Against Venezuela, the invasion of Venezuela had a long lead-up, starting a year ago on Trump’s Inauguration Day. “On January 20, 2025, Trump sign[ed] an executive order that paved the way for criminal organizations and drug cartels to be named “foreign terrorist organizations.” (PBS)
“On August 19, the US military deployed three guided-missile destroyers to the waters off Venezuela. On September 2, the U.S. carried out its first strike against what Trump said was a drug-carrying vessel that departed from Venezuela and was operated by Tren de Aragua.” (PBS)
This would be the first of many strikes in the Caribbean Sea and Eastern Pacific Ocean. There have been 42 as of the date of this paragraph’s writing (2/20/26), with that 42nd strike happening recently, this Monday. (The Guardian)
From these 42 strikes, the US has extra-judicially murdered 145 people on boats and ports. The US and Trump have claimed these strikes were against drug cartel boats, without providing any evidence.
These strikes inevitably led up to January 3, 2026, when US forces “conducted a ‘large scale strike’ across Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, captured Maduro and [his wife, Cilia] Flores and flew them out of the country.” (PBS)
This was two days after Maduro said that “Venezuela was open to negotiating an agreement with the United States to combat drug trafficking.”
Since their capture, Maduro and Flores were charged with numerous drug trafficking and other charges, which they both pleaded ‘not guilty’ to. The case against them is waiting to go to trial, but due to complications, legal experts anticipate that “Maduro likely won’t go to trial this year, even as the case against him moves forward.” (NPR)
Also, since their capture, Trump has announced that the US will be running Venezuela, and that oil companies would come in to update the infrastructure in the country to increase oil production.
From the illegal strikes in the Caribbean and East Pacific to the kidnapping of another sovereign nation’s leader, Americans and the international community alike have called these actions into question and have demanded war crime investigations both domestically and internationally.
Whether these illegal, unprecedented acts are ever held accountable, though, remains to be seen and is wholly unexpected to happen anytime soon.
Trump Threatened to Invade Greenland and Almost Starting WWIII
You may remember from my essay on Political Violence. In it, I touched on these strikes and the comments Trump had been making about taking Canada or Greenland by force, and I questioned what would stop them from doing so if they continued to get away with the illegal strikes and threats against Venezuela.
Right after the new year, we almost found out as Trump announced we had to take over Greenland as a matter of national security, and that we’d do it by force if Greenland didn’t comply. This, as it turned out, was also apparently, at least in part, because Norway didn’t give him the Nobel Peace Prize. (And on top of that insanity, if you’re not aware, Norway doesn’t make that decision).
In response, NATO member nations began deploying forces to the sovereign nation in preparation for an expected assault by the US, also a member of NATO.
This unprecedented situation led many to fear that World War III was, once again, seemingly about to begin. That has since simmered down as Trump appears to have backed off (or TACOed out again), for the time being, at least.
Moving through this second month of the year into March, WWIII still seems to be on the table, though, as we are now threatening to start a war with Iran. But that’s a horror we’ll discuss next month for February. We’ve made it this far, right?
RIGHT? :’)
(Of course I publish this the fucking day we actually bomb Iran. Cool cool cool.)
AI Tech Bullshit
Grok Found to be Generating Hundreds of Non-consensual AI-generated Images and Videos (and Still Is)
In early January, data revealed that users were utilizing Grok, the AI program on Elon Musk’s Twitter, to rampantly generate non-consensual, sexually explicit images and videos. People took profile pictures of anyone, from random women online to celebrities, and generated and shared pornography of them.
And of course, because Twitter is an absolute cesspool (even worse under Musk’s control), some people began using Grok to generate CSAM. That is, Child Sexual Abuse Material. And it’s still doing it, almost two months later.
Yeah… (:
And we thought Grok calling itself “Mecha Hitler” was bad enough.
You’d think a functioning, legitimate government that claims to be tough on crime and claims to support women and children and preaches family values would shut that shit down immediately.
Alas. We don’t have any of that accountability in this nightmare of societal collapse heralded by the pedophile billionaires who are ushering it all in. What they normalize right now will only further destroy truth, reality, and whatever is left of our collective morals or ethics.
ICE Bullshit
ICE Detaining Native American Citizens and Tribal Members
On January 9, ICE reportedly detained four unhoused tribal members from a homeless encampment in Minnesota.
Tribal President Frank Star Comes Out of the Oglala Sioux Tribe in South Dakota shared in a statement that “three of the four Oglala Sioux Tribe members who were arrested in Minneapolis on Friday have been transferred to an ICE facility at Fort Snelling” and one had been released. According to CNN, Homeland Security refused to release more information unless the tribe “entered into an immigration agreement with ICE.” This agreement – 287(g) – would have given ICE agents access to the tribe’s reservation.
Per a TIME article from February 19, “a month after the report, President Star Comes Out still has not received any information regarding their identities, their encounter with ICE, their detention, or whether they have been released.” It seems that the three still-detained men have all but disappeared.
Even more alarmingly is that the article went on to state that Pro Publica had reported finding more than 170 cases where U.S. citizens had been detained by ICE. They published this report on October 16, 2025. With the escalation of their operations in the months since, coupled with their disdain for the law or due process, and habit of refusing to follow protocol or verify people’s status before assaulting and disappearing them, this number has no doubt grown to unknown heights. (That’s a whole facet of disappearing people).
The news of tribal members being detained or disappeared has caused fear for Indigenous Americans who are now worried about having to carry their tribal IDs, and whether it will matter, should ICE stop them.
This is especially after reports from November 2025 that Indigenous actress Elain Miles was detained by ICE after an agent told her tribal ID looked “fake.” Per the Seattle Times, “[she] was walking to a bus stop in Redmond to go to Target, she said, when four men wearing masks and vests with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement label stepped out of two black SUVs with no front plates and pressed her for her ID.”
If this government is comfortable with detaining, disappearing, or threatening to deport Native Americans, then there is literally nothing to stop them from doing that to anyone. And ICE refusing to acknowledge people’s citizenship when proven tells you exactly how it can and will go with anyone’s identification or status.
(This of course goes without saying that ICE shouldn’t be allowed to stop random people on the street and demand their papers in the first place. Remember when it was generally acknowledged that that was some Nazi shit?)
ICE Shot a Protester in the Eye and Blinded Him With a “Less-lethal” Munition
On January 9, ICE agents in Santa Ana, CA shot a protester from point-blank range, with an undisclosed type of round, directly into his eye. All caught on video.
Kaden Rummler, the protester ICE shot, shared his experience thereafter. He said that “doctors found plastic, metal and glass throughout his eye,” and that “metal is still lodged in his face a few millimeters from his carotid artery.”
Not only was he permanently blinded, but it was a “miracle he survived.”
To compound the reality of this situation, I recall a post I recently saw where the person very succinctly pointed out that this unleashing of ICE on our nation is a mass disabling event. (Just like COVID has been).
Between shooting people with bullets or gas canisters (+pepper spraying everyone) and causing insurmountable mental and emotional trauma to people, to assaulting people in a myriad of both documented and yet untold ways, that observation is hauntingly accurate.
Coupled with the increasingly and violently ableist direction this country is heading (and it was already very ableist to begin with), the threat of becoming disabled at the hands of the government is enough to strike fear into anyone’s heart.
And yet, we must stand firm against that fear, for that is their intention: to terrorize us into compliance. I don’t know about you, but I’ll “never bow to a bitch in a toupee,” (Earth to Eve, ‘Threat Level Orange‘).
ICE Executed Two People in Minnesota
In January, we saw ICE escalate its violence in the public sphere with the murders of Renee Nicole Good on January 7 and Alex Pretti on January 24. They were both killed in what have been called execution-style murders by ICE agents. And they were coincidentally within miles of where the BLM protests started in May 2020 after police officer Derek Chauvin killed George Floyd. Minnesotans carry a certain level of grief that is hard to fully comprehend if you have not experienced that yourself in your own community.
Renee Nicole Good was with her wife when they found themselves amid a neighborhood ICE raid. Jonathan Ross, the now identified veteran ICE agent, appears to have been triggered after Nicole and her wife made mildly sarcastic comments towards him. Recording himself, he appeared to switch his phone to his other hand so his dominant hand could grab his firearm. On the other side of the vehicle, another agent approaches, demanding Nicole get out of the car. Between having a gun pointed at her and being yelled at by other armed, masked men, Nicole proceeded to turn her wheel all the way in the opposite direction to flee the threat she felt on her life. It was the last thing she did, as Ross opened fire, shooting her three times, including in the head, executing her. Agents then blocked medics and even an ambulance from reaching her to provide medical aid and ultimately allowed her to bleed out in her car. Days after the incident, it was reported, without evidence, that Ross had sustained internal injuries and bleeding.
Alex Pretti was murdered after ICE agents confronted him and a woman for filming agents while they were in the area. After one agent pushed the woman to the icy ground, Pretti put himself in between her and the agent, while he tried to help her up. That agent then pepper sprayed Pretti, while he still had his phone camera pointed at them recording. Several agents then swarmed Pretti, forced him to the ground. One agent removed Pretti’s gun that was holstered on his six. Immediately after that, another agent reportedly yelled “Gun! Gun!” before unloaded his own weapon into Pretti’s back. According to Pro Publica, two agents, Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and Customs and Border Protection officer Raymundo Gutierrez, were identified as the agents who shot Pretti. Between the two identified agents, 10 shots were fired in less than five seconds.
The Government’s Response to the Shootings
What’s interesting is how quickly after Pretti’s murder, Trump and the government came out against gun rights, claiming people shouldn’t be carrying weapons, especially not to a protest. The irony of which is physically painful after the fallout from January 6. (I would be remiss if I didn’t at least very briefly point out that many of those pardoned January 6th rioters are assumed to have been hired on as ICE agents, along with the Proud Boys and other far-right groups. But I digress.)
After the murders of Good and Pretti, the administration didn’t hesitate to immediately falsely claim they were both “domestic terrorists,” lied that they were trying to harm or kill ICE agents, and justified their deaths. Which inevitably sets the precedent that this will only escalate from here.
This, despite multiple angles of video footage that resoundingly proved otherwise. Good never had her car directed at that ICE agent. And Pretti never removed his (lawfully) holstered gun.
But facts don’t matter, and the government doesn’t care that ICE agents aren’t supposed to act as judge, jury, and executioner towards anyone, citizen or not.
An Escalation of Violence and Threats
Shortly after Pretti’s death, I watched a video of a crowd of people against a group of ICE agents. One agent took his rifle and aggressively pointed it directly at a woman’s face. A woman who, to her resounding courage, pushed that man’s gun away like a child. Which seemed to fluster that man as he immediately backed off, as the impending danger had somehow quickly dissipated. It would almost be comical if it weren’t for the glaring fact that this man was so triggered by something that he felt compelled to aim what looks like a loaded rifle at a crowd of protesters exercising their constitutional rights.
In that moment, I realized what I always knew – that unless we stop this really fucking soon, ICE is going to inevitably carry out a massacre. I desperately hope that I never have to write about this in retrospect of it happening. Can we please stop this before that happens? Or are we going to wait around for it to happen? Will people care when it’s someone *they* know or love? Or when it eventually happens in their community? When is enough enough?
Like the notion about the climate crisis: we’re all just waiting around, watching things happen to other people on our phones until it’s our turn to be the one recording or experiencing it.
Shooting individual people in seemingly, yet repeatedly, “one-off” situations is their attempt at normalizing federal agents killing people, American citizen or not. If we continue to allow it to happen, then it’s only a matter of time before a massacre happens at the hands of an angry, untrained, triggered man who was given a gun and fake authority by a government ran by and for baby murdering, cannibalistic, pedophile billionaires, to strip us of our rights and dignity, and imprison us all in a techno-fascist takeover.
Sit with that as long as you need. We’ll unpack that more next month.
The Other Ongoing Death at the Hands of ICE
It is important to note that Good and Pretti are not the first people by far to be killed by ICE, let alone shot. They just happened to be the ones who grabbed national and international attention. And that is assumed to be due to the fact that they were both white.
Many others before them have been shot, killed, assaulted, harmed, and disabled. And others have been shot and killed by ICE since the two higher profile murders. And more are dying in the ICE camps. But, because those folks were Black or brown, they’ve barely made a dent in the news cycle, all but confirming that suspicion about why some deaths have been deemed more or less important to cover or care about.
Back on October 4, a Chicago woman, Marimar Martinez was shot five times by CBP after they rammed her with their car and then blamed her for hitting them.
“On Friday, I was teaching the young children at the Montessori School, and we were singing and dancing and getting ready for spooky season, preparing fall activities to do the following week,” Martinez said. “On Saturday, my own government was calling me a domestic terrorist, and I was in federal detention centers with the bullet holes all over my body.” (Capitol News Illinois)
She thankfully survived and gave a damning testimony in a congressional forum about the unimaginable trauma and abuse she experienced at the hands of ICE, and where they detained her without medical care. The case against her was also dismissed, after it was revealed that the agent who shot her bragged about shooting her.
On New Years Eve, Keith Porter was shot and killed by an off-duty ICE agent in LA. This happened after Porter had fired off gun shots in celebration of the new year, which prompted the off-duty agent to allegedly respond as if Porter was an active shooter.
Shortly after that on February 16, elementary school teacher Linda Davis was killed after a man being chased by ICE agents crashed into her car during an illegal, high speed car chase. This and any other recent deaths will be covered next month for February’s horrors.
And this doesn’t even begin to touch the number of deaths happening in the ICE camps around the country, and the rampant human rights violations and abuse happening in them. (Look up the Blue Butterfly Zones at the facilities.)
These deaths and abuses at the hands of ICE have gotten far less attention from the mainstream media. And it’s assumed to be because those victims were not white. This is part of an ongoing, worsening horror that I don’t even know where to really say begins, as it’s been a stain on this country for decades now, if we’re not counting the instances of this throughout our country’s entire history.
ICE Begins Door-to-Door Operations
On January 7, the same day Renee Nicole Good was murdered, Vance said ICE was going to start going door to door operations looking for undocumented people. Shortly after, ICE increased their already overwhelming presence in Minnesota, and started their ramped up operation. We watched as they dragged people out of their houses in slippers and shorts, not prepared for the brutal Minnesota winter weather.
Aside from the glaring cruelty of it all, it is a constitutional violation of our Fourth Amendment rights against unlawful search and seizure. Especially when it was leaked that an internal ICE memo said policy had changed to allow entering of people’s homes without a judicial warant. (Not that these fascists care about the law, let alone constitutional law).
Despite claims that they’ve decreased their operations in Minnesota, and news media seems to have turned their attentions elsewhere, residents of Minnesota say that ICE is still terrorizing their communities.
Per to Minnesota Public Radio’s live update of ICE in the state, “There’s a lot of activity going on, especially in the suburbs. They’re doing a lot to try to keep it away from our eyes,” said Morgan Budiandri, a volunteer with the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee. “A lot of restaurants are still getting their doors knocked on by federal agents asking to see a … manifesto of their employees. So you know, we’re seeing less of these kidnappings off the streets, but it’s becoming more surgical.”
Combining this violation of the Fourth Amendment with violating the First, Fifth, Eighth, 10th, and 14th, and their recent flipping on the Second Amendment after they murdered Alex Pretti, is it rather alarming that we are watching the entire Bill of Rights/Constitution being burned in real time.
ICE is (Still) Abducting Children
The abhorrent abuses continued with the news of ICE snatching children, and even using them as bait.
This included a two-year-old girl, identified only as C.R.T.V. in court documents, who was detained with her father. According to the Sahan Journal, “ICE flew a detained Minneapolis 2-year-old and her father to Texas despite a court order that required the toddler’s release, a lawyer for the family said Friday.”
And, the world over became sadly acquainted with a five-year-old boy in a blue bunny hat that broke our collective hearts. On January 20, Liam Conejo Ramos was pictured in his hat, terror in his eyes, as an ICE agent gripped his little Spider-Man backpack. He was used as bait for agents to snatch his dad. Mind you, both of them were in the country legally, pursuing their case for asylum.
Both were then transported (*HUMAN TRAFFICKED*) to the Dilley Immigration Processing Center (a place with rampant abuses reported), where we soon got word that Liam was ill. He was reportedly vomiting and not doing well in the facility, to no one’s surprise and everyone’s rage.
Thankfully, as we will cover below, Liam AND his father have both been released. But, ever unforgiving for a slight against the regime, the government is now seeking an end to the family’s asylum case and deport them.
It is imperative to point out that while we all got together to liberate these innocent people, a little boy in a blue bunny hat and his father, there are untold numbers of children still trapped in the camps. When we cover February we are going to discuss the letters and drawings from children within the camps. We have an obligation to our children, country, and the future of humanity to eradicate this cruelty happening at the hands of our government on our dime.
Especially when you consider the connection to the revelations coming out of the January Epstein files drop that described in ever greater detail the abuses done to children and adults who were victims of Epstein, Trump, and the pedophilic elite running the world, dictating our lives, and controlling all the resources. It doesn’t take much to put two and two together to work out that a pedophile government that is running concentration camps and disappearing people is conducting incomprehensible violence against people on a massive, systemically run scale, and running an even bigger trafficking scheme.
I think it’s an understatement to say we are not angry enough.
ICE’s General Assault on Minnesota
As a general mention, ICE’s all-out assault on Minnesota has been a notable escalation of the federal government’s encroachment on states’ rights and its assault on Americans, the Constitution, and human rights alike.
Without minimizing the assaults on other cities like LA, Chicago, or Portland, the assault on Minneapolis was on an exponentially escalated level.
Thousands of federal agents descended upon the quiet state and began ripping people right out of their cars, detaining anyone and everyone, tear gassing kids, and terrorizing the community. Businesses closed down and families stayed home from work and school in fear of being snatched. In one instance, ICE agents ate lunch at a restaurant and then returned later that day and detained the owners and a dishwasher.
As we just covered, they’re shooting and killing people. They’re kidnapping children. They’re detaining citizens. They’re going door to door and snatching people in their underwear from their homes. And they’re still there, wreaking havoc on the community.
And it appears to be due to a combination of overinflated and largely false allegations of “day care fraud” in the state, racism against Somalians, and Trump’s personal vendetta against Minnesota Governor Tim Walz for running with Kamala Harris against him back in 2024.
But, as we will cover below, the people of Minnesota have not taken this lightly as they are (once again) finding themselves amid an epicenter of righteous unrest at the face of government-sanctioned violence in their community.
(Also, listen to Bruce Springsteen’s recent song, ‘On the Streets of Minneapolis‘)
The Other Horrors (But Wait, There’s More!)
Ilhan Omar Attacked
On January 27, Minnesotan Representative Ilhan Omar was assaulted by a man at a town hall, when he ran at her with a syringe, and sprayed an unknown liquid substance at her. According to PBS, the man “has a criminal history and has made online posts supportive of President Donald Trump.”
What is extra notable and inspiring is that Omar did not just back down in fear at the threat of this attack; she instead met her assailant head-on and showed bravery in the face of the violence being threatened against her, as well as the message of fear that he carried with that threat. And she kept speaking afterwards, continuing the town hall despite the scary interruption.
We all must carry that level of bravery with us as we continue through this nightmare. We cannot back down from this moment or this threat upon our nation and its very soul.
Threats Against the Upcoming Midterm Election
In what was a rather seemingly small blip in the news, on January 28, the FBI raided a Georgia election office in Fulton County. They seized voter records/machines from 2020, claiming (yet again and consistently disproved) voter fraud from the 2020 election.
Moreover, Trump has repeatedly touted wanting to nationalize the elections. Steve Bannon has also made calls to have armed ICE agents stationed at polling places for the midterms, all to ensure that only the “right” people vote.
And, Pam Bondi demanded voter registration info in exchange for toned-down ICE operations. This has been a facet of both their agreement for leaving Minnesota, as well as a facet of the SAVE Act currently being pushed through Congress.
While we’ll discuss this more for February’s article, the point I need to make here is that the SAVE Act, if passed, will include a compulsory requirement for all states to send the federal government their voter rolls and voter information.
It would also require people to show their ID, as well as a birth certificate or passport in order to vote. And guess what, if you’re a married woman who took your husband’s name or had it hyphenated, and your name doesn’t match on your documents, they will bar you from voting.
Not to mention that ICE is notorious for not returning people’s documents after they’ve detained them. Having the threat of armed federal agents detaining you (potentially indefinitely), stealing your documents (which can cost a lot to replace, let alone acquire in the first place and is an illegal poll tax), and otherwise intimidating voters at the polls, is not a sign of a healthy democracy.
Also not to mention that with the new threat of their war with Iran, they might follow through on their desire to declare an emergency and cancel the election entirely. (Also illegal.)
If that all doesn’t send a chill down your spine and tell you that they intend to rig the upcoming midterm election (in many different ways), I don’t know what will. We may never have a free and fair election again if they get their way.
Journalists Arrested for Documenting Anti-ICE Protest at a Church
On January 29, two journalists, including Twin Cities journalist Georgia Fort and former CNN correspondent Don Lemon were arrested, as well as two local activists. This follows their coverage of an anti-ICE protest at a church where people found out that the pastor served as an ICE official.
According to the Minnesota Former, “Pastor David Easterwood is an ICE field director in St. Paul, but did not appear to be present at the service during the protest. Fort and Lemon filmed the protest, during which demonstrators sought to point out the contradiction between working for ICE and preaching the Christian Gospel.”
It is particularly notable that all four of the journalists and activists who were arrested and charged with disrupting a religious service were Black. The government as always, makes examples out of Black and brown folks, and uses them as a means of a pressure test to gauge how Americans respond.
It seems to have worked as expected, given that the coverage of their arrest passed almost as soon as it happened.
And with that, the threat against First Amendement rights, free press, and freedom of speech grows evermore. If they’re arresting journalists, that’s a screaming canary in the coal mine moment.
More Epstein files released
On Friday, January 30, three million more Epstein files were released. And what was not on most people’s 2026 bingo card was the fact that a bunch of conspiracy theories turned out to have potentially been true. (The bingo card comment is meant to be a testament to the insane times we’re living through right now, not a trivialization of the gravity of the situation).
Notable to the release, was the fact that some files disappeared from the DOJ’s website shortly after being released. And the DOJ appeared to have not only black out the names of people involved with or mentioned by Epstein, they unredacted the names of victims, some of whom were to remain anonymous. I’m sure the justice department that’s totally committed to not covering up a pedophile human trafficking ring has a good explanation for how they fucked that one up. That is assuming of course that they didn’t do it on purpose, which is a possibility, and probably the more likely reality.
Anyways, the recent release was a rather insane mindfuck. It appears that they may actually have been eating people and even babies. Some part of Pizza Gate was real, but not the way we were told; they were using pizza (and grape soda) as a codeword for something. Epstein and Maxwell were behind the 4Chan and Reddit alt-right pipeline with all the QAnon conspiracies talking about pedophiles, groomers, and satanic, pedophilic death cults. They purposefully used trans people as a scapegoat to redirect people away from the grooming and abuse done by the rich and powerful. Lex Wexner, the guy who founded Victoria’s Secret (and owned a bunch of other mall companies) was close with Epstein and helped groom the shape of what girlhood and womanhood were for multiple generations. Epstein and Bill Gates talked about population control and may have been directly responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. There is some weird link to a secret 9/11 commission? And apparently Michael Jackson was actually protecting kids, and even helped actor Macaulay Culkin avoid being sent to the island.
(Please note that these are just some of the things I remembered off the top of my head that I’ve come across recently. Whether they’re true or not all needs to be properly vetted through a *legitimate* investigation and trials. Though, at this point, I don’t know if anything would surprise me anymore as I’ve emotionally disassociated too close to the sun.)
This all, of course, barely scratches the surface of potential revelations. People are still going through the files. Three million files are a lot of emails to go through. And photos. And videos. *vomits*
And mind you, most of these revelations were made over the past month of February after a late January drop. To spare you (and me) for now, I’ll cover more of this in next month’s piece as more information come out. (By the time the February article is written, more files may have been released for all we know). Just be ready for some really fucked up shit. After all, remember that we’re still missing ANOTHER three million files. Of which they are two months late and in contempt of Congress in releasing.
But don’t worry guys – the DOW is over 50,000.
._.*
This is FAR from over. And if this is what has been released so far, we haven’t seen the worst of it yet, by far. And yet, more than enough evidence has come out that demands the removal and investigation of this entire administration, and many others in powerful positions. The rest of the files must (and are LEGALLY OBLIGATED to) be released, but even before they are, we must demand accountability for these monsters, NOW.
Are we really going to keep allowing billionaire pedophiles to dictate our lives and destroy society and our planet? I sure fucking hope not.
The Horrors Persist, But So Do We
Thank you for coming to my TED Talk (crash out).
Whether you read all that and made it this far, skipped the really hard parts, took breaks throughout, or came directly to this part, please pause and take a moment to breathe deeply for at least three breaths. And then, think of some things you’re grateful for or which brings you joy. They can be big or small. Hold onto those.
It’s in moments like these that we can momentarily reset our nervous systems. If you are in a constant state of survival mode and never allow yourself moments or periods of rest, it is going to wear you down and destroy you. But allowing yourself to take that pause and ground yourself is what will get you through this. Let your nervous system feel moments of joy, safety, and security so it can release what you’re holding onto as you navigate these persisting horrors.
It is also in these moments that we build our resilience. And, as we witness instances of hope and other people’s acts of resistance, we can grow our own courage so that if and when our time to act comes, we can meet that moment head-on with fortitude and love.
The Glimmers Seen in the Face of This Test of Our Collective Soul
Adrian Conejo Arias and 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos, photo credit US Rep. Joaquin Castro via AP.
Liam and His Dad are Back Home!
After their detainment in Minnesota and transfer to the Dilley facility in Texas sparked an outcry, a judge ordered that Liam Conejo Ramos and his father, Adrian Conejo Arias, be released. According to AP News, they returned to Minnesota on February 1.
This glimmer serves as a reminder of our collective power and resistance when we come together to demand action, accountability, or justice over something. But it also serves to remind us that were it not for that photo of a scared little boy in a bunny hat, Liam and his father may likely have been deported without due process or even disappeared and never be seen again.
This is the reality for countless other children, families, and adults still trapped in these concentration camps who didn’t have someone photograph or record their abductions, or who didn’t have their story catch enough people’s attention to make them care. They need saving, too. And only ‘We the People’ can do that.
This glimmer of hope we all felt seeing that Liam gets to go home needs to push us to do more to demand that everyone is liberated from these inhumane camps and sees reparations for the violence they’ve endured. Because we can and SHOULD be doing more to fight back against this cruelty we’re seeing. And we are more than capable of defeating this evil and righting these wrongs, once we realize how much power we hold inside and together.
Minnesota Shows Us How to Choose Community & Resist ICE with Unwavering Love
Just like the other cities and states that have been under siege from ICE since last year, the people of Minneapolis, MN don’t take kindly to their communities terrorized and their neighbors being assaulted or disappeared by federal agents and everyone’s rights being infringed upon by the government. They responded in their own unique way, just like the Portland Frogs. And Minnesotans have a LOT of practice in when it comes to protesting state-sanctioned violence.
And by golly, did Minnesota show the FUCK up.
In the middle of a Minnesotan winter, where temperatures drop below 0, and even through a winter storm, people bundled up and came out in droves to defend their community. People sometimes showed up in pajamas, robes, and slippers, after being compelled outside when ICE showed up unexpectedly in their neighborhoods.
One woman did just that and was immortalized as the “Minnesota bathrobe lady,” who heard the whistles, and reportedly thought, “I can’t go run upstairs and put on better shoes. Because what if I miss something? … Or, what if another person does get killed? And I miss it.’ So, I was like, I just unfortunately have to lock it in.”
Phenomenal. Iconic.
And a Minnesota dad showed up after reports of another ICE-involved shooting and had some choice words to share with the reporter. “I gotta work in the goddamn morning just like everybody else. …. I’m just here trying to stand for community, dude,” he said, in response to the notion that people have claimed protesters are being paid to be there.
More of this energy please!
People showed up and filmed ICE wherever they went, used whistles to signal to others that ICE was in the area and to stay away/inside, and refused to serve them at restaurants and other establishments. And they showed for each other as they organized networks of people to deliver groceries to families afraid to leave their houses, they walked kids to and from school to ensure they arrived safely, and more.
Juan Leon, a Twin Cities tow truck driver and owner of Leo’s Towing, noticed a pattern of cars being abandoned after people were detained by ICE. So, he took the initiative to return the vehicles to the family when possible. According to CBS, “since late December, he estimated they have dropped off 250 cars.” In these dark times, Juan Leon reminds us that there is some good in this world. But it seems no good deeds go unpunished, as from that same report, I unfortunately need to note that Leon has since received death threats after he was doxed. It hasn’t stopped him as he is unwavering in his response.
Every day, regular people are showing up with love and compassion to provide care and protection to their communities and their neighbors. And in response to the pressure the federal government placed on them, many Minnesotans report that their way of connecting with and showing up for community has been changed forever. Things will never be the same again.
May the folks from Minnesota and around the country continue to show the rest of us what resistance looks like in the face of terror, and how brave it is to trust in community love, not fear. And when our time comes, may their courage carry us to do the same.
My Own Little Glimmers
In trying to be more present and ground myself, I’ve found and formulated ways that help reset my nervous system so that I may continue to do this work.
Below are some things I got to do last month that brought me joy, allowed me to rest, ground myself, and reconnect with my spirit and purpose. I hope by sharing these moments of joy and light, it helps encourages you to find ways to do the same.
It’s not sustainable for one to sit in a constant state of despair. To survive this and fortify ourselves, we have to find clarity and joy, we have to be whimsical, and we have to do things together.
I got a pretty pink swing and some new hummingbird feeders
For Christmas, I asked for what turned out to be the BEST idea and got a pretty pink swing. And let me tell you – it has been incredibly healing. Like the pure whimsy and stimming of it all has connected me to my inner child and has helped expel so much excess energy and anxiety.
The frame is hot pink, and the chair is a lovely light pink macrame seat with a comfy cushion. I have a little table next to it that I got at a thrift store years ago that is shaped like a big pink flower with green legs. I have flowers planted around the space, including some soothing lavender. And I have a little gold sun-catcher charm with mushrooms and moons that was gifted to me, hanging right above me.
And, as another Christmas gift, I got some new pink and purple hummingbird feeders which I placed all around my garden.
So, I get the privilege to sit outside with a cup of coffee in the morning and swing in my chair as I watch my garden visitors fly in and out of the yard. And at night, a soft solar light brightens up the area just enough to see while I get to gaze at the stars, swinging in a brief moment of bliss. (It’s also very fun to play with my dog while swinging!)
I planted more flowers in the garden
As mentioned, setting up my swing area involved also planting some flowers, which is always a testament to tomorrow. The purple African daisies and yellow pansies greet me every morning along with the lavender, as do the snap dragons who unapologetically flaunt their fiery bright pinks and oranges.
Each day fills me with color and gratitude as I walk among the things I help grow and which reciprocate back to me in kind. I provide the flowers with water, nutrients, and devoted care, and they provide me with presence, beauty, and burgeoning life.
I made art, and it made me feel alive
Making art has been difficult for me lately. But I’ve been feeling the urge more frequently, and have made more of an effort to tap into the energy when it visits me.
Last month I got to properly sit down and draw again for the first time in months. I drew fire horses in anticipation of the Lunar New Year and felt a growing, excited energy and hope for the future as the lines formed on the page. I even drew fire horses for my 12th anniversary, which getting to celebrate is a glimmer on its own!
And I made some astronomical-themed artwork with the recent transit of Neptune into the constellation Aries. It kept coming across my feed that the last time this happened, the American Civil War started, and this transit is strongly associated with societal upheaval and revolutionary vibes. So I drew some fun drawings with goats and planets. I plan to put those designs to a canvas to paint them later.
Anyway, with the unrelenting onslaught of AI being shoved down our throats, getting to put my phone down for a while and use my hands to make something, work through the emotions of a line not going the way I like, and creating something out out thin air, is revitalizing. It’s therapeutic. And it reminds me of what makes me human.
I sought real content made by real people
In tandem with honoring art and rejecting AI, I also intentionally sought out content that was real. I looked up short films and animated stories on YouTube and found some really beautiful videos. One was called Snow Bear, made by co-director of Brother Bear. In just 12 minutes, a polar bear had me in tears and captured the nostalgia of animation like Balto, Winnie the Pooh or the Disney Renaissance period of the 90s.
I sat outside in the morning and read ‘We Love You,’ written by the guys who make the ‘We Love You’ videos on Instagram. You may know them as the guys who go “Hey man,” “Hey man!” and then discuss delightful topics with existentialism, wonder, and whimsy. In their book, they share stories, poems, and perspectives, and they speak about newts and trees, moss and birds, fungus and atoms, and life and death. It’s all so beautiful and brings me to tears every time I get to read a couple pages in the garden.
And speaking of moss, I finished reading ‘Gathering Moss’ by Robin Wall Kimmerer. In her book, she discussed the intimate and beautiful lives of moss and the lessons they teach us and the gifts they provide us. Which is on par with the themes of her other books, which I highly recommend to everyone. They are ‘Braiding Sweetgrass’ and ‘The Serviceberry.’ Personally, I believe all her books should be required reading, but especially Braiding Sweetgrass. I read that one last year and it instantly became my absolute favorite non-fiction book, and I learned so much.
Consuming real media made by real people reminds me to be thankful for those who create art, write stories, and share knowledge. And I am blessed to see their art, read these stories, and receive their teachings.
I invited people over, made soup, and provided space to exist
Perhaps the most important glimmer of all, I built community last month. I did so by invited some friends over for a little gathering and we all made a soup together. I put art supplies out, people brought projects to work on, and we all talked about things happening in the world.
It served in a similar fashion as this article series does, in that I shared things that they’d happened to miss in the news, and discovered things I had missed that they informed me about. We got to vent about the insanity around us, and realize that we’re not alone in losing our minds about what we’re witnessing and living through.
And I got to feed my friends, hangout with them all day, and just exist with them, making meaningful connections. And you know what? It was one of the best days ever.
Sometimes all you need to do to resist is make a soup with your friends. <3
Your Turn to Find the Glimmers
Remember a little bit ago I told you to think of some things that brings you joy, or are grateful for? Well, go do those things, show your gratitude, feel alive again, and be present in your body.
And if you’re having trouble thinking of where to start, might I suggest….
Get that coloring book that caught your eye at the grocery store, and color outside the lines. Watch those nostalgic kids’ movies. Plant a flower (or a vegetable you like). Get a swing (or go to the park and swing). Put up some art in your room. Reread your favorite books. Listen to old music that reminds you of simpler times. Get that bean bag chair, those soft slippers, or the footy pajamas you think you’re too old for. Dance and sing while you clean. Make a fresh cooked meal with your loved ones, often. Play board games. Make art and don’t judge it by whether you think it’s “good” or “bad” – judge it by how it makes you feel inside.
Do whatever you need to do to bring joy back into your body and your life. Joy is resistance. Joy keeps the horrors at bay, allow us to reset our minds and nervous systems, and help us hold onto our hope and humanity. And it reminds us that we have free will, and can create the world we want to live in.
The journey may be long and the work often soul crushing, but it will be worth it when we get to the other end of all this, together.
If you’re looking for ways to get involved in the community, check out our Get in Motion page to see organizations who need your support!
Take care beloveds. And remember to always “keep the little flame alive” (Carsie Blanton).
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