Matthew Chapman
October 23, 2025
RAW STORY
President Donald Trump is inflicting "terror" on communities all around the country with his masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents randomly kidnapping people, Democratic National Committee chair Ken Martin told MSNBC's Jason Johnson on Thursday evening — and it's driving a huge part of the backlash against his administration.
"One quick question," said Johnson. "Every single day, we're seeing viral videos of ICE agents breaking into homes, attacking people, threatening people, tear-gassing people who are American citizens. We have major elections in cities across America who are being threatened by ICE. Would the Democratic Party be willing to come out as aggressive against ICE as Republicans have against the Department of Education? Would the Democratic Party be willing to say, 'We will abolish ICE if we take control of the White House in 2028?' What is your position on ICE moving forward as the head of the DNC?"
"Well, listen, I think what we've seen in terms of how this administration has used ICE and weaponized it, having masked thugs, you know, terrorizing communities — I'm in LA today, East LA, in fact. And I will tell you, what's happening out there again is not by accident," said Martin. "It's by design to intimidate, to harass, to terrorize communities, to have people live in a constant state of fear. There's no doubt about it."
As for actually abolishing ICE, he added, that's a conversation for the future; however, "I will tell you what. You don't weaponize it in the way that Donald Trump and the Republicans have, that's for sure. Right? You don't use our federal government to attack its own people, to terrorize communities."
"You know, I was talking to a mental health therapist earlier today who was telling me that they have a number of clinics in LA and the number of children coming in who are having generational trauma because they're seeing their parents and grandparents disappeared right in front of their eyes and snatched and, you know, not coming home for days — I mean, this is the type of terror that Donald Trump and his administration and his agencies are inflicting on Americans," said Martin.
"Again, that's why we've seen a huge swing away from Donald Trump at this moment, right?" he added. "Those — again, I want to reiterate, it wasn't just Democrats who showed up at those 'No Kings' rallies. It was Americans who are pissed off because they are seeing their Constitution shredded in front of their eyes."
'Chilling': FBI shocks with visits to homes of innocent protesters under Trump's orders
David Edwards
October 23, 2025
RAW STORY
A person passes by the FBI seal on the wall of the FBI headquarters, days after the Trump administration launched a sweeping round of cuts at the Justice Department, in Washington, U.S., February 3, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
Under orders from President Donald Trump, the FBI has started visiting the homes of innocent protesters, according to a report.
In one case, special needs teacher Miles Serafini, 26, told independent journalist Ken Klippenstein that agents visited his home after he participated in a June protest at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Arizona. The two agents, who only identified themselves as "James" and "Keith", were recorded on Serafini's security camera.
"We came out here to ask you questions regarding a protest that happened on the 11th of June," one of the agents explained. "We've been just basically going around asking questions for a few people … and your name was brought up."
Last month, Trump issued National Security Presidential Memorandum 7 (NSPM-7), which authorized the Department of Justice to treat "extremism on migration" as an indicator of terrorism. Attorney General Pam Bondi cited Trump's memorandum in a Sept. 9 directive adding any necessary FBI agents to a "temporary ICE Protection Task Force."
The president's order suggested that "law enforcement can intervene in criminal conspiracies before they result in violent political acts."
Serafini said the agents that visited his home "were trying to figure out the shadowy entity behind the protest."
"What a waste of their time to go after s—t that doesn't exist," he added. "And they kept drilling me on the fact that I showed up alone, [that I didn't] remember where I saw the flyer, and didn't know anybody there. They told me that's unusual and pretty suspicious — as if I was holding back information about whoever organized the protest. They kept insinuating that I was lying to them."
Before leaving, the agents told Serafini that it might not be the last time they saw him. The warning left him concerned enough that he decided not to attend the recent No Kings protests.
"That is exactly the chilling effect on speech that the FBI investigating political matters risks creating," Klippenstein noted.
David Edwards
October 23, 2025
RAW STORY
A person passes by the FBI seal on the wall of the FBI headquarters, days after the Trump administration launched a sweeping round of cuts at the Justice Department, in Washington, U.S., February 3, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
Under orders from President Donald Trump, the FBI has started visiting the homes of innocent protesters, according to a report.
In one case, special needs teacher Miles Serafini, 26, told independent journalist Ken Klippenstein that agents visited his home after he participated in a June protest at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Arizona. The two agents, who only identified themselves as "James" and "Keith", were recorded on Serafini's security camera.
"We came out here to ask you questions regarding a protest that happened on the 11th of June," one of the agents explained. "We've been just basically going around asking questions for a few people … and your name was brought up."
Last month, Trump issued National Security Presidential Memorandum 7 (NSPM-7), which authorized the Department of Justice to treat "extremism on migration" as an indicator of terrorism. Attorney General Pam Bondi cited Trump's memorandum in a Sept. 9 directive adding any necessary FBI agents to a "temporary ICE Protection Task Force."
The president's order suggested that "law enforcement can intervene in criminal conspiracies before they result in violent political acts."
Serafini said the agents that visited his home "were trying to figure out the shadowy entity behind the protest."
"What a waste of their time to go after s—t that doesn't exist," he added. "And they kept drilling me on the fact that I showed up alone, [that I didn't] remember where I saw the flyer, and didn't know anybody there. They told me that's unusual and pretty suspicious — as if I was holding back information about whoever organized the protest. They kept insinuating that I was lying to them."
Before leaving, the agents told Serafini that it might not be the last time they saw him. The warning left him concerned enough that he decided not to attend the recent No Kings protests.
"That is exactly the chilling effect on speech that the FBI investigating political matters risks creating," Klippenstein noted.
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