Minneapolis just demonstrated what happens when leaders confuse a press conference with policy. Minnesota Democrats keep acting like empty speeches can replace action that benefits their city, and the streets are paying for it.

A week ago, Mayor Jacob Frey was telling ICE to "get the f— out." Now he's telling activists to "be peaceful — or go home," because the city is flirting with the insane outcome he finally described out loud: two government entities "literally fighting one another" in the street. This was by design, and it's a disgrace.

This doesn't have to be a showdown. Minnesota's leaders can cooperate with lawful federal enforcement to remove violent offenders, keep the peace locally, and shove disputes over ICE conduct into the place that exists for these disputes: courts and oversight—not street scuffles.

People are getting hurt. A local woman, Renee Good, was killed in an ICE-involved shooting that sparked unrest. And this week, a man was shot in the leg after the Department of Homeland Security said a traffic stop turned into a chase, a struggle, and an attack on a federal officer with a snow shovel and a broom handle.

After Good was killed, Frey went to the microphones and aimed his anger at ICE. Grief and rage may be real. But "get out" isn't policy. It's a dare. 

Then came the second flashpoint. DHS says federal officers ran a "targeted" traffic stop, the suspect fled, and the pursuing officer ended up on the ground fighting while two more people joined in with a shovel and broom handle. DHS says the officer fired "defensive" shots and hit the man in the leg.

Frey responded by urging peace and calling the situation "not sustainable." He warned residents not to "take the bait." He also said the city can't function if local police and federal officers start "literally fighting one another."

On the other end of the megaphone, President Trump threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act if Minnesota politicians don't help "stem the chaos." Governor Tim Walz urged Trump to "turn the temperature down" and told Minnesotans to speak out "peacefully."

Everyone suddenly discovered the value of calm after spending a week feeding the outrage machine. Cooperation would be nice, especially when we have known violent criminals and a massive fraud debacle unfolding in Minnesota.

Cities don't get to veto federal law by tantrum. A mayor can criticize tactics. He can demand accountability. He can marshal city resources to keep order. But he can't treat federal enforcement like a visiting army he can expel with a well-timed curse.

Federal authority has limits, too. Immigration enforcement doesn't erase the Bill of Rights. If federal officers use force, they owe clarity about what happened. If they violate rights, victims can sue. If an officer breaks the law, prosecutors can charge him. That's the rule-of-law path.

What you don't do is substitute street pressure for legal process. When leaders frame enforcement as illegitimate by default, they invite crowds to "resist" in real time. That's how you end up with officers attacked in the dark, or with more shootings, or with a city that can't tell the difference between a protest and a mob.

Cooperation is not surrender. It's basic governance. Frey can tell people to protest peacefully and still direct city agencies to coordinate with federal authorities on removing violent offenders. He can put local police back on their real mission—protecting neighborhoods—instead of sidelining them.

That cooperation should be practical. Focus on violent offenders and clear public-safety threats. Share information and establish ground rules for operations around large demonstrations. Put a clear public message behind it: you can protest, but you cannot assault officers, torch property, or blockade the city into paralysis.

And if ICE crosses lines, Minneapolis has tools that don't require a street fight: courts, internal investigations, subpoenas, and political pressure. That's how a constitutional system works. When politicians talk instead as if the next step is government-versus-government conflict, they start to sound less like leaders and more like narrators of a domestic feud.

The same goes for Washington. The Insurrection Act is a real lever. It exists for extreme breakdowns, not for social-media brinkmanship. If every ugly night becomes an excuse to talk about troops, you don't restore legitimacy. You advertise that escalation is the point.

Residents are on edge, and that's rational. Two shootings tied to federal immigration operations in a week will do that. People can demand transparency and restraint when the government uses force.

But fear doesn't justify lawlessness, and it doesn't justify leadership-by-incitement. The quickest way to guarantee more injuries is to tell a crowd that federal agents have no right to be there and then act surprised when somebody decides to test that claim with a shovel.

So the path forward is boring on purpose. Local officials de-escalate the streets and coordinate on violent offenders. Federal officials run disciplined operations that they can defend in court. Everyone stops treating Minneapolis like a set for cable news.

Sovereignty and immigration enforcement matter. So do constitutional limits and basic public order. We can't run a country on "resistance" versus "troops."

Accountability has to be symmetrical. City Hall should stop implying the streets can veto federal law, and it should cooperate in removing violent offenders from the streets, including those committing acts of violence. The administration should stop treating escalation as branding and run a lawful operation that can survive scrutiny. More governing, fewer TV hits.

In a republic, you don't govern by profanity—and you don't restore order by chasing TV hits.