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The year was 1999. NFC Championship Game. The Atlanta Falcons at the Minnesota Vikings in the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis. The Vikings, on the verge of returning to their first Super Bowl appearance in more than two decades, can put the game away late by adding a field goal to a seven-point lead with under two minutes remaining.
Vikings kicker Gary Anderson, a four-time Pro Bowl selection, had been perfect the entire regular season, going into the most important kick of his life, the first kicker in the history of the league to ever not miss an attempt over a 16-game season. Overall, Anderson had converted 122 consecutive attempts, a record that still stands today.
So, of course, he missed from the relatively close range of 39 yards out. The Falcons drove for the game-tying touchdown, forced overtime, and won on a field goal to reach their first Super Bowl in franchise history.
And that’s the rub: Field goal kickers are rarely remembered for all the made kicks and almost always remembered for the one that got away. Any human being perfect at anything is virtually impossible, but that’s the pressure guys like Anderson signed up for. To this day, Viking fans will look back at that missed kick with disgust and wonderment:
Why then, at that moment, did Anderson miss for the first time in 123 tries? A short kick? In a dome with no wind? On essentially a carpet?
All good questions.
Twenty-seven years later, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol now face the same exact challenge: Be perfect or face the wrath. And in this case, perfection is the bar set by Democrats and legacy media amid the coordinated chaos created by the Left.
We saw this on display this past weekend after Alex Pretti, 37, was shot and killed by Border Patrol in Minneapolis on Saturday. Pretti was armed with a 9mm semiautomatic handgun and not one, but two magazines of ammunition with dozens of bullets at the ready, if needed. He also carried no identification.
A WELCOME COURSE CORRECTION IN MINNESOTA
According to federal officials in their initial press briefing on Saturday afternoon, Pretti approached several agents while armed, did not reveal he was carrying a firearm and additional ammo, and “violently resisted” when an attempt to disarm him by officers was made. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem specifically said Pretti had “brandished” a weapon.
Before the confrontation, federal authorities were attempting to arrest Jose Huerta-Chuma, who entered the country illegally and has a long criminal history, including domestic assault, disorderly conduct, and driving without a license.
From a political perspective, the usual sides have dug in, with most conservatives arguing that Pretti had no business impeding a federal law enforcement operation, nor approaching them and making physical contact, all while heavily armed. And if he had complied, this tragedy would have never occurred. The Left, meanwhile, is arguing that Pretti was peacefully protesting and never posed a threat.
Overall, according to DHS, there has been more than a 1,300% increase in assaults on federal law enforcement, a 3,200% increase in vehicle attacks on agents, and an 8,300% increase in death threats in the past year. With all of these numbers in mind, what would possibly compel any sane person to confront or impede federal officers when they’re already on edge from constant death threats and attacks?
It also has served zero purpose that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the former 2024 vice presidential nominee, along with Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, have repeatedly encouraged agitators to confront and disrupt federal officers from doing their job, which is to arrest and deport violent criminals who have entered the country illegally. Walz has called ICE agents a modern-day “Gestapo” and even compared illegal immigrants hiding in their homes from ICE to Anne Frank hiding from the Nazis — yes, he really said that — all while Frey has literally told ICE to “get the f*** out of Minneapolis.”
Earlier this week, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, never one to be on the defensive, fired back:
“They have also used their platforms to encourage left-wing agitators to stalk, record, confront, and obstruct federal officers who are just trying to lawfully perform their duties, which has created dangerous situations threatening both these officers and the general public and Minnesotans alike,” she correctly noted. “This is precisely what unfolded in Minneapolis on Saturday morning.”
But because ICE and border patrols need to be perfect, legacy media is attempting to paint both federal enforcement entities in the same light as Walz and Frey have. They did so after the shooting of Renee Nicole Good, who partially struck an ICE agent with her SUV, reportedly causing internal bleeding to his torso. This was after she was repeatedly told to exit her vehicle before taking off and clipping the officer.
They also did so after three illegal immigrants attacked an ICE agent, including one with a snow shovel, considered a deadly weapon. The officer being attacked shot one alleged assailant in the leg while defending himself. In both instances, Good and the three illegal immigrants were portrayed as victims and ICE the evil aggressor.
The same thing is happening now with Alex Pretti. The media largely portrays Pretti as a totally innocent protester while claiming border agents are responsible for what they call a straight-up murder.
HOW TRUMP LOST THE INFO WAR IN MINNEAPOLIS
If only the situation were that simple. Pretti was not at a protest in that area of Minneapolis, but right in the middle of a federal staging area, seemingly by design. Reports on Tuesday also reveal that he was in a physical confrontation with federal officers just last week, which resulted in a broken rib.
And according to chats on the app Signal, agitators were directed to be around that location to impede agents from doing their job while warning illegal immigrants of possible arrests coming by blowing whistles and honking horns. In other words, these “organic” protests are anything but organic.
On being perfect, ICE and border patrol have made hundreds of thousands of arrests over the past year, almost all with no incidents or tangible resistance. But if one or two appear to go wrong in the eyes of the Left, even if they’re not at fault, howls to abolish ICE and shut down operations from Democrats and their allies in the media only become more deafening.
All of that said, it is certainly worth noting that the current resistance to ICE is not prompting the George Floyd effect that we saw in 2020. What had started with violent riots in Minneapolis quickly spread to other cities across the country, much of it highly organized and backed by left-wing dark money organizations in an effort to fuel chaos ahead of the 2020 U.S. presidential election. And it worked.
The Floyd effect isn’t happening this time around, however. Black Lives Matter is mired in scandal after top brass allegedly used donations to build mansions for themselves in several locations across the country and Canada. And in cities and towns across the country, ICE and border patrol arrests continue to go smoothly. Why? Because state and local leaders are cooperating with the Trump administration. And until Walz and Frey spoke to Trump on Tuesday, the opposite was happening in Minneapolis
Another story worth far more coverage than the media is providing: The impact that ICE and federal law enforcement are having in cities where mayors and governors are cooperating with the Trump administration.
Look at Memphis and New Orleans as the best examples: Here are two cities run by Democrat mayors, with violent crime rates and murders during the Biden years among the highest in the country. Trump sees this as a crisis that can be addressed with federal resources, and within weeks, both cities are infinitely safer than they once were.
According to data from the Memphis PD, murders are down nearly half (47%) when comparing 2025 to 2024. Violent crime is down 30%, and overall crime is down 41%.
In New Orleans, Metropolitan Crime Commission data shows just seven homicides reported in the city in January, an eye-popping 63% when compared to the same time period one year ago.
DESPITE DEFUNDING, NPR AND PBS CONTINUE ‘OBJECTIVE JOURNALISM’ CHARADE
Minneapolis has approximately 430,000 residents. As far as NFL cities are concerned, it is among the very smallest.
Yet Democrats and the media would have you believe that the highly coordinated, well-funded resistance there is part of a nationwide movement.
It is not.
ICE and border patrol have been close to perfect in doing their jobs.
But all it takes is one Gary Anderson moment or two before their very existence in making America far safer is under direct threat.