How To Stop The Minneapolis Insurrection – Buz Blog

Photo: Federal agents deploy tear gas and other munitions into a crowd of people near the intersection of 27th Street and Nicollet Avenue in Minneapolis after a federal officer shot and killed 37-year-old Alex Pretti on Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. (Ben Hovland/Minnesota Public Radio via AP) [Editor’s Note: This is a special edition of the Buz Blog.]

“All of this unrest and all the riots and all the protests, really the anger is at all of you who voted for Donald Trump and voted for Republicans.” – Rush Limbaugh

I have experience with riots and crowd control. I worked in police uniform, on the streets of Long Beach, during the 1992 Rodney King riots. In the late 1990s, I trained with the Long Beach Police Department’s Mobile Field Force. Those are my bona fides, and although they are decades old, what I learned still applies to mob dynamics and psychology.

On May 1, 2001, with just hours notice, our department’s Intelligence Unit found out that anarchists were planning to come to protest against capitalism in Long Beach. They were bringing with them, in their backpacks, their usual “tools”, that included plastic bags of urine and feces. With a very short time to prepare, our department set up a Command Post, developed a plan, and put it in place. We arrested way over a hundred anarchists, both adults and juveniles. We set up accelerated arrest, booking and reporting procedures. A high ranking member of the LA County Sheriffs Office, who was in our Command Post observing what we did, stated Long Beach “rewrote the book” on how to handle these pre-planned riots.

So how do you stop this “mostly peaceful” riot/insurrection going on in Minneapolis? First, President Trump could implement the Insurrection Act. If he doesn’t think that is feasible, he should stay his ground. No matter how many brainwashed useful idiots, paid rioters, local and out of city antagonists invade the city, no matter how bad the fake news press stirs up anti-ICE and Border Patrol sentiment, President Trump must keep those law enforcement officers in that city doing their jobs. Pulling out now would just metastasize this public violence to other “sanctuary” cities and states.

Next, there needs to be undercover officers in the crowd. With the cold weather gear the insurgents are wearing, this should be an easy thing to accomplish. Those working undercover should be armed with a way to communicate with each other, a command post and other officers. They should also have some means to mark those so-called protesters who commit crimes like impeding traffic or attacking federal officers trying to make arrests. This could be done with paint balls, dye packs or maybe lasers if that technology is available.

Another essential element is to have roving 10 man squads of the biggest and baddest officers, to use for going into the mob crowds to make arrests and extract the arrestees. Strategically, the high ground needs to be secured and utilized. Teams of observers, spotters and snipers need to be placed on workable rooftops. Weapons have already been used to injure and attack ICE officers. If a car is being used as a weapon, a sniper’s bullet can take out an engine block. If an insurrectionist raises a firearm or any other deadly weapon at law enforcement, a sniper can take him or her out. This may sound harsh, but these rioters/insurrectionists put the dime in the jukebox, they should be prepared to hear the whole song.