Open Letter to Sahan Journal and the Minnesota Public: Setting the Record Straight on Operation Metro Surge and the True Culprits Behind the Bloodshed
February 10, 2026
Phillip C. Parrish
Candidate for Governor of Minnesota 2026
Bloomington, Minnesota
To Shubhanjana Das and the team at Sahan Journal,
I received your inquiry about Republican responses to ICE activity in Minnesota, specifically Operation Metro Surge, the deployment of federal agents, and the tragic deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. I appreciate the outreach—journalism matters, even when it comes from outlets that consistently frame these events through a lens sympathetic to immigrant communities and critical of federal enforcement.
But let’s be clear upfront: I expect Sahan Journal’s eventual coverage will soften, reframe, or outright misrepresent my position to fit a narrative that portrays federal agents as aggressors and the anti-ICE resistance network as victims or defenders of justice. Your recent stories have emphasized grief over the killings, eyewitness accounts questioning agent tactics, legal clashes with the state, and the human cost to families—while giving far less ink to the criminal networks, fraud rings, and obstruction that made this surge necessary in the first place.
So I’m publishing this open letter to get ahead of any spin. Minnesotans deserve the unfiltered truth from a retired Navy Lieutenant Commander who’s spent years exposing the racketeering syndicates looting our state—not the polished, one-sided version that protects the DFL machine and its nonprofit allies.
Here is my position, raw and direct, consistent with my public statements and the intelligence brief I released last month: “Exposing and Dismantling Minnesota’s Anti-ICE Domestic Terrorist Network”.
1. Do I support the ongoing deployment of 3,000 federal immigration agents to the Twin Cities?
Yes—without hesitation. Operation Metro Surge is the overdue enforcement a constitutional republic demands when a state like Minnesota has spent years as a sanctuary for criminal aliens, fraud operations, and human trafficking networks. We’ve seen thousands of violent offenders removed already. This isn’t chaos; it’s cleanup. The fear gripping communities isn’t caused by agents—it’s the direct result of Walz, Frey, Ellison, and their allies inviting predators in and then obstructing anyone trying to remove them.
2. Do I have objections to the tactics used by ICE and Border Patrol during Operation Metro Surge?
No substantive ones. Agents are operating in an environment deliberately made hostile: vehicular assaults on federal officers up 3,200%, armed resistors, orchestrated mob confrontations via Signal chats like Southside RR Daily, and crowds mobilized to create standoffs. These aren’t routine traffic stops—they’re war-zone conditions created by the domestic terrorist network funded with our tax dollars through foundations like the Women’s Foundation of Minnesota’s Immigrant Rapid Response Fund. Any force applied is a consequence of that engineered resistance, not rogue cowboys. The blood is on the hands of those who turned lawful enforcement into a battlefield.
3. Should there be an investigation into the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti?
Yes—but the real investigation must target the anti-ICE syndicate that provoked these confrontations. Renee Good and Alex Pretti died because the network dragged civilians into violent escalations. Pretti was armed, linked to rapid-response tactics, and actively resisting during a raid. Good’s death occurred amid the chaos the DFL-enabled obstruction created. Blaming agents ignores the root cause: a state government that refused to cooperate, amplified inflammatory rhetoric, and funded groups that treat ICE like the enemy.
4. Should Minnesota authorities be part of that investigation?
Not until the enablers are sidelined. Walz, Ellison, Frey, and their nonprofit partners are deeply compromised—they bankrolled and encouraged the very groups running interference. State involvement now would be the syndicate policing itself. Let federal authorities lead, with full transparency.
5. Do I support the federal government’s account of the Alex Pretti shooting?
Yes. The context—aggressive resistance tied to the network’s playbook—aligns with the official narrative. Pretti wasn’t an innocent bystander pulled into the wrong place; he was in the mix with people who view federal officers as targets. Videos and reports support self-defense, not execution.
6. What is the best course of action to resolve the situation?
• Complete the targeted removals of criminal aliens and fraudsters.
• Dismantle the anti-ICE domestic terrorist network via RICO prosecutions, grant audits, and asset seizures—starting with the Signal command centers and foundations diverting taxpayer money to bail funds, trainings, and protest ops.
• Mandate full state cooperation: end sanctuary policies, defund obstructive nonprofits, and require Minnesota law enforcement to assist ICE instead of obstruct.
• As a Catholic and follower of Jesus Christ, I believe in justice with mercy for the repentant—but not leniency for those who loot public resources, shield predators, and spill innocent blood. Mercy doesn’t excuse enabling crime.
These deaths—tragic as they are—would never have happened if Minnesota had cooperated with federal immigration enforcement like responsible states do. The criminal syndicate founded and fueled by Tim Walz, Jacob Frey, and their allies bears primary responsibility. Federal agents are not the villains; they’re the response to years of corruption and obstruction.
Minnesotans, don’t let the narrative get twisted. Read my full intelligence brief. Follow the money. Demand accountability from the real racketeers who’ve turned our state into a looting ground.
I’m running for Governor to dismantle these networks once and for all—root and branch. Integrity, servant leadership, and the rule of law will prevail.
If Sahan Journal wants to discuss this further, my line is open: 612-460-1717. No scripts, no filters—just the truth.
In service to Minnesota and our constitutional republic,
Phillip C. Parrish
Candidate for Governor of Minnesota 2026
X: @phillipcparrish
Freedom Talk with Phil: @parrish4mn
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