CNN host Jake Tapper scrambled to cut away from a deranged guest who attempted to compare federal immigration enforcement operations to the holocaust.
Jamie Schwesnedl, co-owner of Moon Palace Books in Minneapolis joined CNN’s “The Lead With Jake Tapper” to discuss ongoing immigration enforcement operations in the Twin Cities region. The Trump Administration has surged more than 2,000 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents to the region as part of Operation Metro Surge, which the administration has billed as the largest targeted immigration enforcement operation in U.S. history.
Schwesnedl explained that he and some other businesses owners coordinated to close in “solidarity” with anti-ICE agitators and illegal aliens. He described the atmosphere in Minneapolis as one where the city felt “invaded by masked gunmen” in reference to agents conducting arrests.
Elsewhere in the interview, Schwesnedl referred to ICE detention facilities as “concentration camps.” He specified facilities like Fort Snelling in Minnesota, claiming it was “built as a concentration” camp, as well as the largely defunct “Alligator Alcatraz” in Florida.
“I’m not saying they’re Dachau, I’m not saying they’re putting people in ovens… yet. But these are concentration camps,” he added, at which point Tapper jumped in, saying, “I don’t need to argue with you about that” before asking if the guest was aware of the historical context.
Tapper appeared taken aback but engaged in a back-and-forth, pressing for clarification. Schwesnedl ultimately refused to retract his statement.
While Schwesnedl appears to have embraced anti-ICE activism, a number of prominent businesses, sports franchises and other prominent organizations penned a letter to both state and federal officials calling for an end to the unrest. The letter was sent just hours before a mob of rioters attacked agents and ransacked a hotel in St. Paul, continuing with a trend of attacking hotels after rioters get “tips” about agents staying there.
Less than 24 hours later, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz called President Donald Trump to discuss potential cooperation on assisting ICE with deportations. This represents a major capitulation for Walz, who has maintained his state’s “sanctuary” policies throughout the president’s second term.
