THE PRIME OF TOUGH-GUY PROGRESSIVISM. On Saturday, Larry Krasner, the elected Democratic district attorney of Philadelphia, posted a photo of himself on social media. It was a black-and-white picture of a stern-looking Krasner in a dark suit, one hand to his sunglasses. At the bottom of the photo, in all caps, was “FAFO,” which of course stands for “f*** around and find out.” The accompanying message said, “To [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] and the National Guard: if you commit crimes in Philadelphia, we will charge you and hold you accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”
Made in the context of the Minneapolis shooting, the post was part of a new wave of tough-guy progressivism in which state and local Democratic officials around the country apparently hope to intimidate the federal government over the enforcement of federal immigration law. “Get the f*** out of Minneapolis,” said the city’s Democratic mayor, Jacob Frey, addressing his comments to ICE. Back in Philadelphia, Krasner’s Democratic colleague, Sheriff Rochelle Bilal, used street slang to threaten ICE: “If any of them want to come in this city and commit a crime, you will not be able to hide … You don’t want this smoke, ’cause we will bring it to you.”
Tough-guy anti-ICE talk is, of course, rampant on social media. A search by Grok finds that 100 to 200 X accounts use “F*** ICE” or some variant in their username or bio. Some have it superimposed on their photos. As for social media content, Grok said that “F*** ICE” appears on the site “thousands of times at minimum across X’s history, and very likely tens of thousands when including all capitalizations and slight variations.”
That kind of thing is to be expected. You can find somebody saying f*** anything on social media. What is more interesting, and more concerning, is that the belligerence displayed by some in positions of authority has trickled down to street protesters. There, raw anger and combativeness toward law enforcement can have very serious consequences.
On Friday, Fox News correspondent Matt Finn rode through Minneapolis with ICE as officers attempted to warn people against obstructing law enforcement. Standing at the driver’s side window, an officer told a woman who had been tracking ICE vehicles, “If I continually see you following us, interfering with us, honking your horn, blocking our cars, you have a very high probability of making a really bad decision and being arrested today, OK?” With what appeared to be a self-satisfied smile, the woman said, “I think I’m making exactly the right decision. Bad decision — that’s funny, coming from you.”
Other videos have gone viral in recent months of drivers across the country organizing to block ICE operations. Most have ended without serious incident. But anyone who has been stopped by the police should appreciate the importance of not only not resisting but also being cooperative. The anti-ICE crusade seems to have spawned a corps of amateur warriors who believe they can stick it to law enforcement officers without consequence. Maybe they can, maybe they can’t.
DAILY MEMO — THE MINNEAPOLIS SHOOTING: THAT SETTLES IT
The most awful consequence occurred with another tough-guy progressive, Rebecca Good, who is the wife of Renee Good, the woman killed in the Minneapolis encounter with ICE. Just look at Rebecca Good in the video taken by officer Jonathan Ross. “U.S. citizen, former f***ing veteran,” Rebecca Good said to Ross. “You want to come at us? You want to come at us? I say go get yourself some lunch, big boy.” A few seconds later, Rebecca Good urged Renee Good to drive away, even after being ordered by law enforcement to get out of the car. Renee Good hit the accelerator, and the tough-guy progressive pose led to disaster.
Still, at the moment, tough-guy progressivism is itching for a fight. From Larry Krasner to the streets of Minneapolis, resistance warriors have arrayed themselves for battle against federal law enforcement. That’s never a good idea, but they seem to be very excited about it. Given that, it is unfortunately true that the Minneapolis incident will likely not be the last to end badly.