CNN, in an attempt to underline Minneapolis as a national emergency, held a “State of Emergency” town hall hosted by Anderson Cooper and Sara Sidner. This townhall was short on substance, long on fluff, heavy on leftwing narratives and did little to meaningfully advance the conversation surrounding immigration enforcement operations in Minnesota.
It appears that the town hall was set up to be a Parkland-style event where conservatives were brought before the braying mob and flayed for spectacle. Border Czar Tom Homan, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and Governor Tim Walz were all invited to attend. They all declined. And perhaps it was for the better.
The most notable fact about the town hall is that the recently-published video of Alex Pretti spitting at the Border Patrol and kicking the tail light off a vehicle was not aired until 28 minutes into the town hall. This allowed Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey to navigate the town hall without having to speak to this new set of facts.
A notable moment from the Frey solo portion of the town hall: the first, his inability to say he supports the arrest of criminal illegal aliens, even under the gentlest prompting:
Jacob Frey just cannot bring himself to say he supports the arrest of criminal illegal aliens, even under the friendliest prompting:
ANDERSON COOPER: If Tom Homan advocates for a more targeted policy of actually going after people who demonstrably have committed a crime, not… pic.twitter.com/l5iDB4a4sJ
— Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) January 29, 2026
After the first commercial break, Frey is joined by Minneapolis Chief of Police O’Hara. When asked, Frey claims to have never seen the video and rushes to dismiss it. O’Hara then slams CBP/ICE procedures and tactics on the streets.
Jacob Frey claims to have never seen 1/13 video, rushes to dismiss. MPD Chief O’Hara slams CBP/ICE procedures and tactics on the streets. pic.twitter.com/nalQAXo4Nf
— Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) January 29, 2026
The most remarkable moment of the evening is probably Chief O’Hara defining what crosses beyond a peaceful protest and into mob violence. By this standard, Minneapolis Police should’ve cleared the streets already.
Listen closely to MPD chief O’Hara’s definition of what crosses the line beyond peaceful protest. By this standard, MPLS should’ve been shut down long ago.
ANDERSON COOPER: We’ve been talking to a lot of incredibly brave citizens, young people, old people- all ages, who have… pic.twitter.com/BHLBnY0MQM
— Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) January 29, 2026
It was time for the Republicans to take the stage. The questioning at this point got more adversarial. State representative Elliott Engel took the panel to task over jail detainers and how they could have been avoided:
WATCH: MN State Rep @elliottengenMN SCHOOLS the CNN hosts on jail detainers and how this could have all been avoided pic.twitter.com/MJk2vATTfg
— Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) January 29, 2026
State Senator Michael Holmstrom called the media out (specifically the Star-Tribune) for suppressing the ongoing massive fraud scandal.
WATCH: State Sen. @MichaelH_MN brings up the both media suppression of the massive fraud investigation, and cites it as an underlying reason for the chaos in MN pic.twitter.com/gGstYLkAv4
— Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) January 29, 2026
The elected Republicans were followed by Attorney General Keith Ellison, and an ecumenical panel.
As far as questions go, the overwhelming majority were left-leaning questions centered around cooperating with feds. The town hall was clearly set up to be an ambush for dissemination of leftwing talking points.
We note that, when examining CNN’s selective airing of town halls, there is never a town hall convened that might disturb media narrative. Town halls have never been convened subsequent to the deaths of Laken Riley, Rachel Morin, Jocelyn Nungaray, and so many others. Some national emergencies appear to be more equal than others.
Perhaps, more tellingly, they are just (D)ifferent.
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