Black Hawks Over American Streets Helicopters in the night, children stripped from their beds, citizens detained without charge; Trump’s police state has arrived, and what happened in Chicago will soon be happening everywhere. MeidasTouch Network and Michael Cohen Oct 4 Guest article by Michael Cohen. Follow him on Substack for more by clicking here. When Trump was on the campaign trail and his goons paraded around with signs screaming “Mass Deportation Now,” did you think it was bluster? A bit of Trumpian theater to whip up the base, like the “lock her up” chants or the wall Mexico was supposed to pay for? Wrong. None of this was hype. It was a warning — one too many Americans ignored. And now, it’s here. Chicago just became another test case for what life under Trump’s police state looks like. Picture this: Black Hawk helicopters slicing through the night sky. Armed agents in masks flooding into a South Side apartment building. Doors kicked in, families dragged out, children stripped from their mothers in the middle of the night. Three hundred officers swarming a single neighborhood, detaining not just immigrants but American citizens — kids included — for hours on end. All in the name of “national security.” That wasn’t a movie scene. That wasn’t Venezuela, Russia, or Iran. That was Chicago, Illinois, in 2025. Operation Midway Blitz, they’re calling it. Blitz — a word chosen not by accident, but because Trump and his people want you to know this is war. According to DHS, the raid targeted members of Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang Trump has labeled a terrorist organization. Let me repeat that: the President of the United States unilaterally branded a foreign street gang a terrorist organization, giving federal agencies cover to treat Chicago apartment buildings like al-Qaeda compounds. And what did this massive military-style siege actually produce? Thirty-seven arrests. A handful of alleged gang members. Several people accused of drug possession. And children — four American citizen children — hauled away by strangers with rifles to be placed “in the care of the state.” This is what Trump calls “law and order.” This is what he promised when he said he would flood “Democrat-run cities” with federal agents. And he’s keeping that promise. What he’s really building is not safety; it’s a police state. The images are chilling. Men dragged outside half-naked. Children shivering, unclothed, taken from their mothers as helicopters hovered above. A woman crying in Spanish across the street: “I’ll always love you.” Papers, birth certificates, family photos tossed across the floor like garbage. This isn’t policing. This is punishment — collective punishment against entire communities. Against sanctuary cities. Against political opposition. The White House claims it’s about fighting crime. Don’t buy it — that’s bullshit. Look at the numbers. Out of more than 800 people arrested during these Chicago operations in the past month, most had no criminal record. No pending charges. Many had never been accused of a crime in their lives. What they were guilty of was existing in a country where the President has weaponized federal law enforcement against the vulnerable, the voiceless, and anyone who lives in a zip code that dared vote blue. Ask yourself: if this can happen in Chicago, what stops it from happening in Philadelphia? Atlanta? Boston? Your own backyard? If federal agents can storm apartments in the dead of night, detain American citizens without charges, and strip children from their parents in front of their neighbors, then the Constitution isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on. Governor JB Pritzker said it plainly: Illinois is not a war zone. But Trump wants you to believe it is; because chaos justifies control. Fear justifies power. And terror — manufactured terror — justifies his dream of mass deportation. Remember, this is the same Trump who, back on the campaign trail, cheered on chants of “Send them back!” He told you what he was going to do. He told you he wanted mass deportation, militarized crackdowns, and enemies lists. The only lie was pretending it wouldn’t touch ordinary people, that it was only about “criminals.” Now we see the truth — or I hope you do. Because the net is wide, and it’s catching citizens right alongside migrants. I spent years in Trump’s orbit. I know how he thinks. He thrives on creating enemies and crushing them publicly. He doesn’t see migrants as human beings. He doesn’t see dissenters as citizens with rights. He sees everyone who isn’t loyal as expendable. The raids in Chicago aren’t about public safety; they’re about public submission. So the question is: how long before Americans stop pretending this is someone else’s problem? How long before people realize that when Trump comes for the immigrant, he sets the precedent for coming for the journalist, the activist, the protester, the political opponent? That’s how authoritarianism works; you start with the vulnerable, and once the machine is built, it never stops grinding. This is a warning. A flashing red siren. We are no longer at the stage of “it can’t happen here.” It is happening here. This week it was Chicago. Tomorrow it could be your city. And once you let a police state take root, history shows it never gives power back voluntarily. Because in Trump’s America, the knock at the door in the dead of night isn’t for someone else; it’s coming for you. Meidas+ is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. I KNOW IT’S SATURDAY, BUT CHAOS DOESN’T TAKE WEEKENDS OFF. RIGHT NOW IS THE TIME FOR YOU TO JOIN THE FIGHT! SUBSCRIBE. READ. SHARE. RESTACK. Yeah, I know; you’re tired. This shit is exhausting. Guess what? Me too. But I’ve spent the last eight years throwing punches in the dark so truth could get a little daylight. And now I’m asking you to step into the ring with me. Michael Cohen Principal of Crisis-X #1 and #8 NYT Bestseller Author Host of The Mea Culpa Podcast Co-Host of The Political Beatdown Former Personal Attorney To President Donald J. Trump Discharged Felon Because if you’re still reading this, you already get it: This isn’t just a newsletter. It’s a rallying cry. A war drum. A line in the sand. We are not passive observers of the downfall. We are the resistance. We call out the liars. We drag corruption by the collar into the sunlight. We say the quiet parts out loud; and we don’t flinch. But here’s the truth: I can’t do this solo. Not anymore. The storm is already here. We are standing in it. And it’s wearing stars and stripes like camouflage, preaching “freedom” while it sells fascism at retail. So let me ask you: Are. You. In? Because this is not a scroll-and-forget read. This is a living, breathing, fire-breathing movement; and movements don’t move unless you do. We need to be louder than spin, tougher than propaganda, and impossible to gaslight. That takes more than clicks. More than likes. It takes skin in the game. So if you believe truth matters; if you’re sick of the bullshit, if you’re ready to stop screaming into the algorithm and start pushing back with purpose, this is your next step. HERE’S HOW YOU PUT YOUR FOOT ON THE GAS: Become a paid subscriber. Fund fearless, unfiltered journalism that hits back. Share this with the loudest people you know; the ones who never sit down and shut up. Build the community. Amplify the message. Be the damn megaphone. And yeah; Founding Members? The first 240 of you will get a signed, numbered, limited-edition Substack version of Revenge. That’s not just a collector’s item. That’s receipts. Proof you didn’t sit this one out. But let’s be clear: This isn’t about a book. It’s about backbone. It’s about calling out the gaslighters and refusing to be played. It’s about locking arms and saying, “Not. On. Our. Watch.” You want to make a difference? Then make it — right now. Because if we don’t fight for truth, no one will. But if we fight together? They can’t drown us out. Let’s be so loud, they wish we were just angry tweets. Let’s be unshakable. Unignorable. Un-fucking-breakable. Let’s go! Meidas+ is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. A guest post by Michael Cohen Principal of Crisis-X #1 and #8 NYT Bestseller Author Host of The Mea Culpa Podcast Co-Host of The Political Beatdown Former Personal Attorney To President Donald J. Trump and Discharged Felon

 

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NEWS: MAGA Voters Blame Donald Trump and Republicans for Government Shutdown

MAGA voters blame Trump and Republicans for shutdown, the White House violates the Hatch Act during the shutdown, Trump/Epstein statute is back up in front of the Capitol, and more.

Aaron Parnas Oct 3

Good morning, everyone. Washington, D.C. is at a breaking point. The government shutdown has entered its third day—and it’s not ending anytime soon. For the first time, Trump’s own supporters are beginning to turn on him, as polls show the overwhelming majority of Americans now place the blame squarely on the White House. At the same time, the administration is openly violating the Hatch Act, weaponizing federal government websites to attack Democrats.

At a time when this White House is trying to silence me, your support is what keeps this work alive. It fuels the reporting they’re desperate to bury.

If you believe in independent journalism—if you believe in truth that refuses to be intimidated—then please subscribe today. Share this work. Stand with me. Together, we’re not just covering the news. We’re fighting for the right to tell it.

With that, here’s what you missed:

• The Senate will vote today on short-term Democratic and Republican spending bills, which have repeatedly failed. If blocked again, the Senate will adjourn until Monday, extending the government shutdown into a sixth day.

• Those in President Trump’s own party are beginning to slightly turn against his position in the government shutdown. This morning, a KFF poll found over three-quarters of Americans want Congress to extend enhanced ACA subsidies, including 92% of Democrats, 82% of independents, 59% of Republicans, and 57% of MAGA supporters; the subsidies, set to expire at year’s end, drew 24 million enrollees in 2025 and if they lapse, premiums could more than double in 2026, with 2 in 5 saying they’d drop coverage—39% would blame Trump, 37% Republicans in Congress, and 22% Democrats.

• The Bureau of Labor Statistics will not release its usual monthly jobs report due to the ongoing government shutdown.

• Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, called for a Hatch Act investigation into the White House after agency websites posted shutdown messages blaming Democrats, which he argued amounted to illegal political activity.

• The Trump administration froze $2.1 billion in federal funding for Chicago infrastructure projects, including the Red Line Extension and Red and Purple Modernization, with budget director Russell Vought saying the hold was to prevent “race-based contracting”; it follows a similar $18 billion freeze on New York City projects that drew sharp criticism from local lawmakers.

• A provocative statue titled “Best Friends Forever” depicting Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein holding hands has been reinstalled on the National Mall after its earlier removal by the National Park Service; created by activist art group “The Secret Handshake,” the piece mocks Trump’s ties to Epstein and follows the group’s history of satirical installations targeting political figures. This is a picture I took of the statute this morning:

• Four top prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia, the office handling the case against former FBI director James Comey, have been forced out amid President Trump’s push to charge political opponents, sparking concerns among lawyers that political loyalty is overriding competence and jeopardizing national security investigations.

• Federal agents raided a 130-unit South Shore apartment building in Chicago, detaining at least 37 people in an operation targeting alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua; residents, including U.S. citizens, reported being zip-tied, homes ransacked, and belongings stolen, while the already neglected property—long plagued by code violations and ownership disputes—was left in chaos with broken doors, water damage, and abandoned units.

• Venezuela’s defense minister said five U.S. F-35 fighter jets were detected 75 km off its Caribbean coast, calling the flights a “provocation” and national security threat amid rising tensions with Washington; the U.S. has recently deployed warships and aircraft to the region, moves Venezuela claims are aimed at regime change rather than drug trafficking operations.

• Apple has removed the ICEBlock app, which alerted users to ICE agent sightings, after pressure from the Trump administration and law enforcement citing safety risks; the app had over 1 million downloads since its launch in April, with criticism that it endangered agents, though supporters saw it as a tool against immigration raids.

• Republicans are pushing the Stop Illegal Entry Act, a bill that would impose mandatory five- to 10-year prison sentences on migrants who re-enter the U.S. illegally and commit other crimes, drawing criticism from justice groups as a costly “mass incarceration” measure that could overwhelm courts and prisons; it passed the House with limited Democratic support and now faces an uphill battle in the Senate under Ted Cruz’s lead.

• Israeli forces intercepted the final boat of the 42-vessel Global Sumud Flotilla, the Marinette, about 42.5 nautical miles from Gaza—the closest such mission has come since the blockade began in 2009; around 450 activists, including Greta Thunberg and several European MPs, are being detained for deportation as organizers report lost contact with another vessel, the Mikeno.

• A Global Witness investigation found that TikTok directed child accounts, even with “restricted mode” enabled, to pornographic content within a few clicks; researchers said the platform suggested explicit search terms and surfaced sexual material, prompting claims TikTok violated the UK’s Online Safety Act, though TikTok has since removed the flagged videos and updated its search recommendations.

• A fire triggered by an explosion at Chevron’s El Segundo refinery in California—its second-largest U.S. facility and key supplier of jet fuel to LAX—was still burning Friday, though confined to one unit; no injuries were reported, but analysts warned California fuel prices could rise given the state’s isolated market.

• Greater Manchester Police confirmed that during Thursday’s synagogue attack in north Manchester, one victim was accidentally killed by police gunfire while officers subdued the attacker, Jihad al-Shamie; another bystander was injured but is expected to recover.

• The death toll from the collapse of the Al Khoziny Islamic boarding school in East Java, Indonesia, has risen to nine, with rescuers still searching for more than 50 trapped teenage students; heavy equipment and ambulances are on standby as families brace for more casualties.

Good news:

• Craig Campbell’s 10-year-old Doberman, Night, saved him from a grizzly bear attack in Cochrane, Alberta, by standing between him and the bear until it retreated; the heroic act earned Night induction into Purina’s Animal Hall of Fame 2025, Canada’s longest-running pet recognition award.

• Two UK cousins and an American couple from Kansas City, all descended from Anthony Smith, met by chance at his grave in Raunds, England, on September 22, discovering they were fourth cousins in a 12-billion-to-one coincidence that left them “absolutely thrilled” and led to a new family bond.

• One year after invasive black rats were eradicated from Bikar Atoll and Jemo Islet in the Marshall Islands, seabirds and native forests are thriving again, with 2,000 sooty terns feeding chicks and thousands of Pisonia seedlings returning—part of Island Conservation’s global efforts that have restored ecosystems on 65 islands to benefit both nature and local communities.

• The Holgate Windmill in York, England — Britain’s oldest brick tower windmill and the only working 5-sailed, double-shuttered windmill in the country — is still grinding flour more than 250 years after it was built in 1770, thanks to restoration by volunteers who now sell its flour locally to keep the tradition alive.

See you this evening.

— Aaron