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Michael Shellenberger, founder of Public News, sat down with Jesse Watters on January 16, 2026, to deliver a blunt assessment of the growing violence and lawlessness surrounding recent anti-ICE demonstrations. He warned that what we’re watching isn’t peaceful protest but the ugly radicalization of a segment of the Left that treats confrontation like a game and the media like an accomplice.
Shellenberger told Watters that these tactics are reckless and endangering ordinary people, arguing the protests have moved beyond civil disobedience into actions that get people killed and communities terrorized. The anger on the street has had real, tragic consequences and can’t be dismissed as spontaneous outrage when it is driven by a culture that glorifies disruption.
The death of Renée Good in Minneapolis on January 7, 2026, has become a lightning rod for this debate: video of the encounter spread quickly, and officials and witnesses offered conflicting narratives about whether the agent acted in self-defense. Whatever one believes about the specifics, the fact remains that a citizen lost her life during an enforcement action, and that outcome demands clarity and accountability — not amateur dramatics staged for social feeds.
In the days that followed, tensions boiled over again when another protester, Alex Pretti, was shot amid chaotic clashes with federal agents, sparking citywide outrage and large demonstrations that brought much of Minneapolis to a standstill. The escalating cycle of confrontation, viral videos, and partisan spin proves Shellenberger’s point: naked chaos and performative outrage are replacing sober civic debate, and the result is more tragedy, not progress.
Conservative Americans should not let the mainstream media normalize and excuse this behavior. Too many outlets reflexively sympathize with anyone holding a protest sign while refusing to reckon with the violent tactics and lawlessness that follow when mobs are given moral cover. We can defend the right to protest and still insist on basic rules of civilization: no one has the right to obstruct lawful policy or endanger their neighbors under the banner of virtue signaling.
Washington politicians who cheer this chaos need to be held to account by voters and by their own consciences. Elected leaders must back the rule of law, support law enforcement when they act within the law, and condemn agitators who turn legitimate grievance into street theater and lethal encounters. If we fail to restore order and respect for institutions, the American project itself will suffer — and hardworking, decent families will pay the price.
This is a moment for patriots who love their country to speak plainly: demand fair investigations, demand accountability, and demand that civic norms be restored. Stand for victims, insist on due process, and refuse to let a radical fringe rewrite the rules while the rest of us pick up the pieces. America is worth defending from chaos at the street level and from the dangerous narratives that feed it.
