Melanie Smellanie
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melbinks.bsky.social
Melanie Smellanie
@melbinks.bsky.social
390 followers 210 following 1.5K posts
Perfume lover, lawyer, person
Posts Replies Media Videos
Reposted by Melanie Smellanie
walkerbragman.bsky.social
“You cannot bring a firearm, loaded, with multiple magazines to any sort of protest that you want. It's that simple.” — FBI Dir. Kash Patel
A man carrying an assault weapon at the Michigan capitol in 2020 to protest COVID restrictions. Behind him are two people wrapped in Trump flags. More arms anti-lockdown protesters
January 25, 2026 at 4:54 PM
Reposted by Melanie Smellanie
tressiemcphd.bsky.social
So which politician is calling for the dismantling of the probably illegal database that ice & this government is collecting biometric data of protesters?
January 25, 2026 at 5:42 PM
Reposted by Melanie Smellanie
mjmcoomber.bsky.social
My friend Sara posted this about the superb care her father received from with Alex Pretti

Absolutely heartbreaking
Photos of Alex Pretti with Sara’s caption: On August 16th at approximately 10:00 pm I received a call from the ICU at the VA saying my Dad had sepsis and needed to be intubated to stay alive so Josh and I headed in. We were greeted by the kindest, most calming and warm soul who helped us understand what was happening and showed deep care for us and my Dad. He continued to show utmost patience and kindness over the next few days as my Dad remained in the ICU and we were there continually. It was Alex Pretti, the man shot today by ICE. If you see this video and don't think it's murder, I don't understand your thinking and ask you to question your heart. He was out there trying to help and protect and from the little we knew of him, it doesn't surprise me he was not afraid to be on the front lines of this horrible scene in our Minneapolis. Weeping for his family and all those at the VA who no longer get to work with him or receive his care.
January 25, 2026 at 4:19 PM
Reposted by Melanie Smellanie
johnpicacio.bsky.social
Remember the other day when I was saluting my friend Greg Ketter, owner of Minneapolis’ DreamHaven Books? This is him the following day. Greg will never say this, so I will — now is a great time to buy books from DreamHaven. Support Americans who stand up vs. 🧊. dreamhavenbooks.com
DreamHaven Books owner Greg Ketter emerging from a cloud of tear gas that ICE agents fired into the streets of Minneapolis.
January 25, 2026 at 5:32 PM
Reposted by Melanie Smellanie
roxanegay.bsky.social
I don’t want to hear anything from an elected official unless it’s a plan to defund the DHS and impeach Noem, Bovino, etc. No texts. No emails. No talk about the economy. Step up or step off.
January 24, 2026 at 7:23 PM
Reposted by Melanie Smellanie
danielharper.bsky.social
The fact that every right winger with influence screams "who is paying for all of this" tells you exactly how awash in cash they all are, and how much they rely on that to keep their movement afloat.
jeffsharlet.bsky.social Jeff Sharlet @jeffsharlet.bsky.social · 23h
James O'Keefe says he's never seen anything so organized as the anti-ICE movement, observers--he seems to think this term is code--everywhere he goes. Who is paying for it??? he demands to know. It's like he can't even imagine people caring for one another.
January 25, 2026 at 11:06 AM
Reposted by Melanie Smellanie
astrokatie.com
A reminder to the news media: “conflicting accounts” is what you say BEFORE the incontrovertible video evidence appears. After that, your job is to ask why one side is lying, not to repeat the lie and pretend no one knows the truth.
January 25, 2026 at 12:28 PM
Reposted by Melanie Smellanie
amandamull.bsky.social
Really hard to look at this and all the other examples of bravery and kindness from ordinary people in this moment not think also of the tremendous cowardice exhibited over the past year by some of the richest, most well-protected people in business, media and politics
nkalamb.bsky.social Nathan Kalman-Lamb @nkalamb.bsky.social · 1d
Let us all have the courage displayed by the residents of Minneapolis.
Woman on the right was using her walker to advance into the tear gas
January 25, 2026 at 2:24 PM
Reposted by Melanie Smellanie
joshgondelman.bsky.social
It has never been more clear that community and solidarity are what keep people safe, and ICE as an institution is an obstacle to public safety.
January 25, 2026 at 4:54 AM
Reposted by Melanie Smellanie
emilystjams.bsky.social
Even the worst person alive should not be gunned down in the street by the state. Still, it is very striking how the people killed by DHS agents in the Twin Cities have been the sorts of Americans we routinely celebrate as "our best." Were I writing a book, I'd call the intended moral over-obvious.
January 25, 2026 at 1:02 AM
Reposted by Melanie Smellanie
maxberger.bsky.social
"What can Democrats actually do?"

- Vote against funding for ICE and DHS

- State that any ICE officers who commit crimes under Trump will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law

- Encourage cities and states to refuse to cooperate with ICE

- Explain ICE is part of Trump's tyranny
January 24, 2026 at 7:34 PM
Reposted by Melanie Smellanie
hels.bsky.social
Hey you know that uncomfortable, existentially reorienting realization you might be having right now that America is harmful, has always been harmful, is built on harm — and you are in & of it, even as you might choose to rage against it?
January 25, 2026 at 1:17 AM
Reposted by Melanie Smellanie
nkalamb.bsky.social
Statement from Alex Pretti’s family.

“Please get the truth out about our son. He was a good man.”
“We are heartbroken but also very angry.    Alex was a kindhearted soul who cared deeply for his family and friends and also the American veterans whom he cared for as an ICU nurse at the Minneapolis VA hospital. Alex wanted to make a difference in this world. Unfortunately he will not be with us to see his impact. I do not throw around the hero term lightly. However his last thought and act was to protect a woman.    The sickening lies told about our son by the administration are reprehensible and disgusting. Alex is clearly not holding a gun when attacked by Trump’s murdering and cowardly ICE thugs. He has his phone in his right hand and his empty left hand is raised above his head while trying to protect the woman ICE just pushed down all while being pepper sprayed.    Please get the truth out about our son. He was a good man. Thank you”
January 25, 2026 at 1:14 AM
Reposted by Melanie Smellanie
justkelly.bsky.social
They put Geraldo Lunas Campos in a chokehold and compressed his chest until he stopped breathing. And then they lied through their Nazi teeth.
www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
ICE detention staff reported death of restrained man as a suicide
The statements to 911 operators the night Geraldo Lunas Campos died appear to conflict with autopsy’s later finding of ‘homicide.’
www.washingtonpost.com
January 24, 2026 at 3:28 PM
Reposted by Melanie Smellanie
npr.org
Russian strikes left much of Kyiv without heat, water and power during freezing temperature, even as Ukraine, Russia and the U.S. held talks on ending the nearly four-year war. n.pr/4bQ3ccY
Russian strikes knock out heat in freezing Kyiv as peace talks continue
Russian strikes left much of Kyiv without heat, water and power during freezing temperature, even as Ukraine, Russia and the U.S. held talks on ending the nearly four-year war.
n.pr
January 25, 2026 at 1:25 AM
Reposted by Melanie Smellanie
reichlinmelnick.bsky.social
You have to read this. Firsthand affidavit from one of the women who was there and recording the video. She talks about how Alex Pretti was directing traffic when she arrived. She watched him be killed in front of her. She's afraid to go home, worried she'll be arrested.
1. I am a resident of the Whittier neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota. I am over 18 years of age. I am a children's entertainer who specializes in face painting. 2. On Saturday, January 24, 2026, at about 8:50 am, I was getting ready to go to work when I heard whistles outside. I knew the whistles meant that ICE agents were in the area, so I decided to check it out on my way to work. I've been involved in observing in my community because it is so important to document what ICE is doing to my neighbors. Connecting to your local community and knowing who your neighbors are is something I profoundly value. 3. I drove to Nicollet Ave. and 26th where I could hear the whistles coming from. I turned south onto Nicollet. There were already several ICE agents there and they'd set up a sort of vehicle convoy on Nicollet and 28th. There were also about 15 observers there, recording and observing ICE. 4. I saw ICE agents surrounding cars and punching car windows. I also saw them stopping vehicles further down Nicollet, so I backed up because I didn't feel safe continuing on. 5. I noticed a man sort of acting to help traffic move more smoothly. He helped me find a place to park. I got out with my whistle and my camera. I went over to him and said something like, "I'm going to film and use my whistle." 6. It seemed like most ICE activity was happening a little farther down the street from us, near 27th. Someone was being thrown to the ground. 7. I started recording. There was an agent by a car across the street. Two observers were a few feet away from the agent, blowing their whistles. One was wearing a backpack. 8. I and the man who was observing and helping direct traffic were standing in the street. There was a phone in the man's hand recording a video. 9. An agent approached and asked us to back up, so I moved slowly back onto the sidewalk. 10. The man stayed in the street, filming as the other observers I mentioned earlier were being forced backward by another ICE agent threatening them with pepper spray. The man went closer to support them as they got threatened, just with his camera out. I didn't see him reach for or hold a gun. 11. Then the ICE agent shoved one of the other observers to the ground. Then he started pepper spraying all three of them directly in the face and all over. The man with the phone put his hands above his head and the agent sprayed him again and pushed him. 12. Then the man tried to help up the woman the ICE agent had shoved to the ground. The ICE agents just kept spraying. More agents came over and grabbed the man who was still trying to help the woman get up. All three of the observers looked to have been badly affected by the pepper spray. I could feel the pepper spray in my eyes. 13. The agents pulled the man on the ground. I didn't see him touch any of them-he wasn't even turned toward them. It didn't look like he was trying to resist, just trying to help the woman up. I didn't see him with a gun. They threw him to the ground. Four or five agents had him on the ground and they just started shooting him. They shot him so many times. 14.1 don't know why they shot him. He was only helping. I was five feet from him and they just shot him. 15. The video I recorded of what happened accurately depicts the events leading up to the agents shooting him and several minutes afterwards. The video is attached as Exhibit 1. 16. I have read the statement from DHS about what happened and it is wrong. The man did not approach the agents with a gun. He approached them with a camera. He was just trying to help a woman get up and they took him to the ground. 17. I feel afraid. Only hours have passed since they shot a man right in front me and I don't feel like I can go home because I heard agents were looking for me. I don't know what the agents will do when they find me. I do know that they're not telling the truth about what happened. I've heard that other witnesses might have been arrested and taken to the Whipple Building. 18. I am disgusted and gutted at how they are treating my neighbors and my state. I keep alternating between crying and feeling determined it is important to remember the value of documenting injustice. We show up for the people who need us to bear witness, because it can't just be one group of people bearing the brunt of their tyranny. This is a struggle to protect our freedom and democracy, those things are on the line. He lost his life for those values. I declare under penalty of perjury that everything I have stated in this document is true and correct. Dated and signed on Jan 24, 2026 in Hennepin County, State of Minnesota.
January 25, 2026 at 1:15 AM
Reposted by Melanie Smellanie
rwchal.bsky.social
2. (Cont) if you’re involved in a church or a school or any form of community, start creating signal channels and thinking through plans for how to prepare if/when this happens near you. What we’re doing is working, and I hope other communities can prepare in advance so it works even better there
January 25, 2026 at 12:37 AM
Reposted by Melanie Smellanie
rwchal.bsky.social
Thanks for your support 💕 my thoughts on the best way to show solidarity are:
1. Donate to places helping make sure our most affected neighbors are fed: www.zeffy.com/en-US/donati... and iglesiavina.org/home%2Finicio
2. Prepare your communities for this. Get whistles. Create channels with neighbors
Despensas/ Food Drive
Join our Community Food Drive to support those in need while nurturing faith and fellowship. With your help, we can extend a helping hand and foster a sense of community.Your contribution will go towa...
www.zeffy.com
January 25, 2026 at 12:34 AM
Reposted by Melanie Smellanie
lauraolin.bsky.social
If you rank civility over justice at this point you are a collaborator
elizabethjacobs.bsky.social Elizabeth Jacobs, PhD @elizabethjacobs.bsky.social · 1d
I’m completely fed up with elected Representatives saying shit like, “Republicans will tell you behind closed doors that they don’t agree with what ICE is doing”.

Playtime is over. Professional courtesy no longer exists.

Name them, record them, and make it public.
January 24, 2026 at 11:34 PM
Reposted by Melanie Smellanie
victorerikray.bsky.social
What's happening in Minnesota is one reason the Reconstruction Amendments banned insurrectionists from holding office. Unfortunately, the originalists on the Supreme Court interpreted the plain language of the amendment to mean its opposite.
January 24, 2026 at 11:31 PM
Reposted by Melanie Smellanie
karnythia.bsky.social
You could actually structure your moral code around the idea that law enforcement doesn't exist to execute people. You don't have to create perfect victim narratives, you can just refuse to accept that the state gets to kill people.
January 24, 2026 at 9:22 PM
melbinks.bsky.social
The very least they can do.
yasharali.bsky.social Yashar Ali 🐘 @yasharali.bsky.social · 1d
BREAKING

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer says Senate Democrats will not support DHS funding due to Minneapolis:
"What's happening in Minnesota is appalling —and unacceptable in any American city. Democrats sought common sense reforms in the Department of Homeland Security spending bill, but because of Republicans' refusal to stand up to President Trump, the DHS bill is woefully inadequate to rein in the abuses of ICE. I will vote no. "Senate Democrats will not provide the votes to proceed to the appropriations bill if the DHS funding bill is included."
January 25, 2026 at 12:11 AM
Reposted by Melanie Smellanie
johnrogers.bsky.social
Abolish ICE. Fire them all. Prosecute *every single abuse*.
January 24, 2026 at 3:54 PM
Reposted by Melanie Smellanie
dynamicsymmetry.bsky.social
If you’re an elected official, talking about reforming ICE should be instantly disqualifying. I don’t want to hear one goddam thing about electoral strategy

There is no excuse anymore, not that there was before. You don’t reform death squads
January 24, 2026 at 3:58 PM