U.S. President Donald Trump recently issued a warning against anti-ICE protesters, claiming they will “have to suffer.” Speaking on Air Force One, Trump was asked about his Truth Social post, where he warned protesters who spit on, punch or kick federal officers during anti-ICE demonstrations would face serious consequences.
“Your post on ICE protests. What did you mean when you said people will suffer an equal or greater consequence?” a reporter asked. In response, the President said that if the protestors “do anything bad to our people, they will have to suffer.”
“I’m sorry. If they start spitting in people’s faces, punching our people, punching our soldiers, our patriots. They will get taken care of at least in an equal way. You see it. The way they treat our people. And I said: ‘If someone does that, you can do something back.’ They’re not going to stand there and take it,” he said.
Trump added that if the demonstrators “throw bricks at a car, at one of our vehicles, our very expensive vehicles,” then they’re “going to be met with very very serious force.”
On Saturday, the 79-year-old took to his Truth Social platform, writing that he has instructed Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, to not “participate in various poorly run Democrat Cities with regard to their Protests and/or Riots unless, and until, they ask us for help,” under no circumstances.
“I have instructed Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, that under no circumstances are we going to participate in various poorly run Democrat Cities with regard to their Protests and/or Riots unless, and until, they ask us for help.” https://t.co/FZNu96r8O7
— Yeshi Seli (@YeshiSeli) February 1, 2026
“We will, however, guard, and very powerfully so, any and all Federal Buildings that are being attacked by these highly paid Lunatics, Agitators, and Insurrectionists,” he added. The President also wrote that he had ordered “ICE and/or Border Patrol to be very forceful in this protection of Federal Government Property.”
Speaking to reporters about Democrat-run cities, later on Saturday night, Trump said that they must formally request federal assistance if they want.
“Cities are all Democrat-run cities, and if they want help, they have to ask for it, because if we go in, all they do is complain,” he said, per CNN.
The recent clashes between protestors and federal officers have intensified, especially in the Minneapolis area, as demonstrations grew following the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal agents amid increasing immigration enforcement operations.
Alex Pretti was shot dead by U.S. Border Patrol officers during “a targeted operation” against “an illegal alien wanted for violent assault,” on January 24, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) wrote in an X post following the shooting.
They alleged that the ICU nurse approached the US Border Patrol officers with a “9 mm semi-automatic handgun,” and “violently resisted,” as they tried to disarm him.
“Fearing for his life and the lives and safety of fellow officers,” fired shots at Pretti, who was later pronounced dead at the scene.
“The suspect also had 2 magazines and no ID—this looks like a situation where an individual wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement. About 200 rioters arrived at the scene and began to obstruct and assault law enforcement on the scene, crowd control measures were deployed for the safety of the public and law enforcement,” the statement added.
Hundreds of people stigmatically gathered minutes after the Alex Pretti murder by Trump’s forces. The regime labeled them rioters and moved against the crowd; since then, hundreds more have joined. Protests are also breaking out across the US, with palpable anger in the air. #3E pic.twitter.com/jNGjDqlKW8
— Anonymous (@YourAnonCentral) January 24, 2026
Since then, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara has emphasised that while Pretti had a legal permit to carry a concealed handgun, there is no evidence to show he used the weapon against officers before being shot dead.
Additionally, multiple videos have emerged that challenge the federal government’s account of the altercation. Earlier in the month, Renee Nicole Good, a mother of three, was also shot dead in Minneapolis, an incident that sparked widespread protests.
“Renee was one of the kindest people I’ve ever known. She was extremely compassionate. She’s taken care of people all her life. She was loving, forgiving and affectionate,” Good’s mother said in a statement.
