Knowing lies are foundational to authoritarianism
By 
Trump has responded to the murder of a civilian by an ICE agent in Minneapolis by defending an entirely fictious scenario with no resemblance to the facts that are easily observable on video:
This is the ICE agent President Trump says was "violently, willfully, and viciously ran over … hard to believe he is alive."
[image or embed]— Drew Harwell (@drewharwell.com) Jan 7, 2026 at 1:19 PM
Mayor Frey, to his credit, preemptively pushed back forcibly at the inevitable claims from the government that a woman was shot from the side of her car out of “self-defense”:
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey forcefully pushed back against any suggestion that the fatal shooting involving a federal immigration agent was an act of self-defense.
“This was an agent recklessly using power that resulted in somebody dying, getting killed,” Frey said.
Frey said claims that the shooting was justified are false and misleading.
“What I can tell you is the narrative that this was just done in self-defense is a garbage narrative that is not true,” he said. “It has no truth, and it needs to be stated very clearly.”
The administration’s lies about what happened beed to be countered as forcefully as possible as often as possible.
And no matter how bad you think the facts are, they’re worse:
"A doctor at the scene attempted to help the woman who was shot, but was kept away by federal agents. When an ambulance finally arrived, it was blocked from reaching her by law-enforcement vehicles, and paramedics had to reach her on foot. The woman has died." www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0…
[image or embed]— Nicholas Thompson (@nxthompson.bsky.social) Jan 7, 2026 at 12:32 PM
This is an administration that is quite simply indifferent to the lives of anyone it considers a political enemy.