It is not the breaking news, emotional and scandalous though it is, that matters most but the larger pattern, timing, and intensity. The recent ICE crackdowns, shootings, and fatalities are but telltale signs of worse things to come.
But don’t take my word for it; connect the dots for yourself!
I have taken to getting fodder for my article from CB-ham conversations.
An excerpt of CB radio chatter recorded in the US state of Georgia on Jan. 10, 2026, captures a wide-ranging, often inflammatory discussion touching on law enforcement, public protest, religion, and so-called conspiracy theories. Much of the details of this exchange would never be allowed on either legacy MSM or alternative media.
In the exchange, one speaker argues that authorities should either make arrests when laws are being broken or disengage entirely, criticizing what he describes as inconsistent enforcement. He suggests that protests should be governed by strict rules and penalties, including jail time for violations, and says unrest should have been addressed decades ago. As the saying goes, if you don’t have universal enforcement of the law, you have a tyranny.
Another segment veers into criticism of biblical narratives, with a speaker questioning the plausibility of the Israelites’ 40 years in the desert and framing the account as metaphorical or misguided.
Other comments reflect deep distrust of government and political institutions. One speaker dismisses Democratic officials and calls for the wholesale rejection of existing laws, while another claims informal coordination between civilians and law enforcement. The discussion concludes with unverified allegations and conspiracy theories involving Jeffrey Epstein, intelligence agencies, and occult practices, which are presented as rumor rather than fact.
The recording illustrates the increasingly fragmented and polarized tone of informal political discourse, blending grievances about enforcement and culture with skepticism toward institutions and the spread of unsubstantiated claims.
Method in Madness
President Trump and his close associates see the benefit from civil unrest as a means to hold onto power — to extend their threatened authority. Even from a non-partisan perspective, one should just see what is happening for what it is — as there are observable patterns and scholarly insights available—as all sides are benefiting in their own vested ways. It is nothing new in political science or statecraft to see such a concerted effort to divert attention from “real issues” during times of discord from within.
American “Civil War II” has already started. It may be in the soft stage right now, but as far as all the leftists are concerned, the first shot was fired in Minneapolis, though the right may put the date rather earlier. Leftists are fighting mad and hateful. Rightists are fighting mad and hateful too. Family members are already hating each other; everyone is on non-speaking terms with the other side.
If you’re not on the extreme side of one hateful group, like me, both sides hate you, and you are cancelled. If you’re on the side of leftist hate, you hate all rightists, and all rightists hate you. If you’re on the side of rightist hate, you hate all leftists, and all leftists hate you.
Rally Around the Flag Effect
For instance, a 1994 study from the University of California, Davis, analyzed 648 leaders across 33 countries, finding that those involved in interstate or intrastate disputes tend to extend their tenure by diverting attention from economic or governance failures.
In civil contexts, unrest can create a “rally around the flag” effect, where perceived threats enhance executive approval. And this opens the way for the use of false flag incidents, designed to further inflame and divert attention. The perfect storm is brewing with economic stagnation at home, higher inflation, and the overall mood of the nation bordering on depression and helplessness.
ICE crackdowns are all the more polarizing for society, with obvious distractions, allowing leaders to frame opposition as threats to order, thereby consolidating their base support, albeit leaving the country all the more divided. They are quick to label their victims as domestic terrorists, and on the global scale, at least for the American reality, anything that diverts attention away from Israel, Jeffrey Eptsten, the plight of Palestinians, etc., serves even greater purposes.
Americans are constantly being told that many of their problems are related to illegal migrants, or international terrorists, which further stirs the proverbial melting pot of what it means to be a US citizen—exaggerating deeper anxieties rather than coordinated action to deal with the problems faced by the average Joe in the street.
Connecting these dots underscores the importance of identifying patterns over individual events—and a definite pattern is emerging. The claim that ICE agents were acting in “self-defense” has moved many politicians and celebrities to close ranks and take to social media to pay tribute to Renee and condemn ICE’s actions.
Renee Good may be a fly in the ointment to Trump’s plans to divide and turn different parts of American society against its very foundational principles and instill fear, violating state rights and the 10th Amendment in the process. Perhaps I am naïve, but it appears that the federal government and ICE are trying to create ripe conditions for a Civil War in select states, especially the Minneapolis-Twin Cities area, and because of politics, not immigration law.
Blindly OBEY Or Die!
In response to the already heated situation, instead of trying to cool things down, the Trump administration is sending 1,000 more ICE agents to Minnesota to reinforce the 2,000 other officers and agents who are already on the ground as a show of force. Nationwide, it is reported that there have been at least 9 shootings at the hands of ICE agents, not to mention a number of close calls.
There is little middle ground in this discussion. It makes me think of the need for special glasses and the movie They Live (1988), directed by John Carpenter, to be able to see clearly who are the aliens that live amongst us.
The message is now to learn from what happened and, buttressed with the recent ICE enforcement surge, OBEY and don’t do anything that will give the impression that you are exercising your rights as a US citizen, including free speech!
Your life and safety depend on it!
What remains clear is that the fallout from Good’s death has gone far beyond Minneapolis. The incident has energized activists on all sides of the issue, intensified mistrust between both native and immigrant communities and federal law enforcement, and deepened the sense of political and social polarization across the country — leaving little common ground for dialogue over immigration policy and enforcement moving forward.
Even legal US immigration is in the crosshairs, under the guise of immigrant visas being suspended for 75 countries because of their political views, leadership, or whatever the excuse of the day is proffered to be.
Connecting these dots underscores the importance of identifying patterns over individual events—and a definite pattern is emerging. It is a matter of how things are done; even Germans were often more polite in most cases when rounding people up for execution.
The comparisons with the German Gestapo are not helped by the DHS head, Gregory Bovino, striding out in a Nazi-style trench coat ensemble, which swiftly drew the ire of the left.
Maybe I’m naïve, but why can’t ICE do what law enforcement used to do—approach people calmly, ask for identification, verify status, and, when necessary, act with a lawful warrant?
Instead, we’re watching agents yank people from homes and cars in scenes that look more like raids than policing—and the whole country sees it nightly on the news. This isn’t about efficiency or public safety; it’s about fear. Fear is aimed squarely at immigrants, but also at native-born Americans who still believe this country should live up to a higher standard of freedom than the one it’s now advertising.
The message is unmistakable: compliance through intimidation and silence through spectacle.
Jeffrey K. Silverman is a freelance journalist and international development specialist, BSc, MSc, based for 30 years in Georgia and the former Soviet Union
Follow new articles on our Telegram channel
