Rantz: I warned you about escalating Antifa-style violence. Now, an ambush on ICE agents in Texas

An ambush. That’s what federal officials are calling the alleged coordinated, violent assault on an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center in Texas. According to the charges, a group of 10 radical activists didn’t just protest; they allegedly cut fence lines, disabled security cameras, and assaulted an officer.

Each defendant was charged with three counts of attempted murder of a federal officer and three counts of discharging a firearm during and in relation to a violent crime.

You shouldn’t be shocked. This is what some of us have been warning about since the so-called “Summer of Love,” when Antifa thugs held the city of Seattle hostage.

What happened in Texas wasn’t a random act of violence. It was the predictable, inevitable result of a years-long campaign of domestic terrorism waged by disillusioned, delusional, radicalized upper-middle-class Americans and enabled by prominent Democrats and their media allies. Some have been warning that the Radical Left’s unhinged, dehumanizing rhetoric would get people hurt. Now, it has.

The trend towards Antifa-style violence has been obvious

This isn’t even the first time. Remember Willem Van Spronsen?

In 2019, the Antifa terrorist firebombed an ICE facility in Tacoma, declaring in his manifesto that it was time to “take action against the forces of evil.” He was killed in the subsequent shootout. Where did he get the idea that ICE agents were “evil”? He was listening to the people in power.

He was inspired before the most dangerous rhetoric wasn’t being espoused. Imagine those now listening to extremists like Seattle’s own Congresswoman and Squad grandmother, Pramila Jayapal, who disgracefully labeled ICE a “terrorist force.” Then, she doubled down on it in an interview on CNN, pretending that ICE is “disappearing” random Americans. A sitting member of Congress told the country that a federal law enforcement agency is a terrorist organization. When you label someone a terrorist, you are giving your followers a moral license to treat them as such. Violence becomes not just an option but a righteous imperative.

Democrats continue to escalate their dangerous rhetoric

Jayapal isn’t an outlier; she’s a trendsetter in the Democratic party.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz called ICE agents a “modern-day Gestapo.” He was intentionally invoking the image of Nazi secret police to describe American law enforcement officers. The message to his radical base was clear: these are not public servants but genocidal thugs who must be stopped by any means necessary.

This dangerous line of attack was popularized by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who famously and repeatedly referred to border detention facilities as “concentration camps.” The media amplified her claims, ignoring the historical absurdity and the clear intent to incite hatred. Rep. Ayanna Pressley joined the chorus, accusing ICE of causing “harm and terrorizing” communities.

What did you think would happen when you label the enemy Nazis?

This isn’t just political hyperbole. Words have consequences.

When someone with power and a national platform repeatedly tells the public that federal agents are Nazis, Gestapo, and terrorists running concentration camps, they are planting a seed. They are telling the most unhinged and violent members of their base that these agents are not human beings deserving of protection but monsters deserving of destruction. They are giving marching orders to Antifa. This isn’t good faith analysis or honest observations. It’s intentional fearmongering.

For years, the mainstream media has ignored the escalating violence from the far-left. They dismissed Antifa’s riots in Seattle and Portland as “mostly peaceful protests.” Some, like Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY), pretended the concept of Antifa was invented by the Right. They ignored my warnings and the warnings of others that the constant, vitriolic attacks on law enforcement would lead to exactly this. They only seem to care about political violence when they can blame it on the right. When the perpetrators are left-wing radicals inspired by Democratic politicians, they suddenly lose interest.

Violence will continue

The blood of any officer hurt in these attacks is on the hands of the politicians who painted targets on their backs. The blame lies squarely with Pramila Jayapal, Tim Walz, AOC, and every other Democrat who chose cheap political points over the safety of our federal officers.

This will not stop, either.

The Texas ambush is an escalation, not a conclusion. The left’s rhetoric is only getting more extreme, and their activist base more emboldened. Until these politicians are forced to publicly and unequivocally apologize for their disgusting smears—and until the media holds them accountable for the climate of hate they’ve created—we will see more ambushes, more firebombs, and more violence. And we will know exactly who to blame.

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