MOTHER JONES DAILY: ICE’s Theater of War, From Minnesota to Georgia, Trump’s plans to interfere in the midterms are becoming more dangerous, Who takes Palantir's money? A new tracker finds out., Trump is still posting about arresting Obama and prosecuting election workers, Alex Pretti was a hero. To these workers, he was a colleague, too., Roaming the streets of Minneapolis, looking for ICE 29JAN26

 

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January 29, 2026 What do mirrors reflect back to ICE agents who dress up for war? When they outfit themselves in dramatic camo and hats for jungle warfare in...Minneapolis?  In a new piece out today, I write about the inherent theatrics in ICE's tunnel vision of violence and the psychological effects of dressing up for the war they want. This pretext of war, of course, has always been bogus. Yet federal agents treat it with the dogma of settled fact. But how exactly?  I get into all the military-style gear, as well as Greg Bovino's hulking Nazi-esque coat, to ultimately trace how these optics of a foreign invasion have helped fuel the Trump administration's mass deportation campaign.  But one thing I want to really drive home is that, as terrifying and lethal as ICE agents can be, these are also the same dudes who return to their hotel rooms and behave like the heinous losers they are. (You can see what I mean in the clip embedded here.) And no amount of camo or military-style gear can hide that.  —Inae Oh

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ICE’s Theater of War Camo and hats for jungle combat do not make sense in American cities. But they are key to dressing for the war ICE has imagined. BY INAE OH

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From Minnesota to Georgia, Trump’s plans to interfere in the midterms are becoming more dangerous BY ARI BERMAN Who takes Palantir's money? A new tracker finds out. BY ALEX NGUYEN Trump is still posting about arresting Obama and prosecuting election workers BY KATIE HERCHENROEDER Alex Pretti was a hero. To these workers, he was a colleague, too. BY ANNA ROGERS

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Roaming the streets of Minneapolis, looking for ICE A photographer documents the intense week leading up to Alex Pretti's murder. BY MADISON SWART

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