Chris Madel, a prominent defense attorney, joined Liz Collin on her podcast to discuss how once again politicians are ignoring the facts and the presumption of innocence with the shooting involving an ICE agent in Minneapolis.
Madel, who won a high-profile case for Trooper Ryan Londregan in 2024, also represents Alpha News and is a Republican running for governor of Minnesota.
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With regard to the shooting involving an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer and the presumption of innocence, Madel said it is one of the key principles and constitutional guarantees afforded to all U.S. citizens.
“This is one of the things that makes America so great. We don’t just put these things in words on paper. We actually follow them. We actually believe in them,” Madel said. “When our elected leaders don’t do that … they just follow the pitchforks and the torches.”
Reacting to recent press conferences about the ICE shooting, and the remarks of Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Madel explained how this seems like history is repeating itself.
“Honestly, I feel like I’m reliving a lot of that again,” Madel said, referring to the Londregan case.
He explained that about two years ago, elected officials were “putting their thumb on the scale against law enforcement and in favor of the state.”
“And that’s exactly what’s happening here again. I mean, we have crazies like Jacob Frey, you know, using expletives and telling a federal agency to get out of our city,” Madel added.
ICE, get the fuck out of Minneapolis. pic.twitter.com/1gfFC0Le6Q
— Mayor Jacob Frey (@MayorFrey) January 7, 2026
“The notion that these politicians right now are openly talking about this and just really ignoring what our constitutional guarantees are all about, it really is disturbing,” Madel said.
“And for them to intentionally come out here and try to prejudice the public, it’s sick. And I am just so disappointed that, again, when they’ve done this, they’ve gone through this, they went through this with respect to the officers in Chauvin. They went through this with respect to Kim Potter. Then they did it with Londregan—and now it’s happening again. How many times do we need to hit ourselves with a two by four in the head before we realize that it’s a bad idea?” he continued.
Madel and Collin also discussed how the response to the ICE shooting calls leadership into question.
“I mean, you want to you want to find the problem with some of these leaders? They should look in the mirror and decide, are they actually being a leader, are they actually trying to lead, or are they just trying to actually incite people and get people angry in order to try to get more votes?” Madel said.
“Minnesota needs to hit the reset button on its state government. We just can’t continue to be this national laughingstock … And really, this is just emblematic of a lack of leadership. And I would argue it’s a lack of leadership, frankly, on both parties,” he added.
As for the ICE agent involved in the shooting this past week, Madel said that elected officials and the media should “give him the presumption of innocence—just like everybody else deserves in American society.”
Liz Collin
Liz Collin is a multi-Emmy-Award-winning investigative reporter, news anchor, and producer who cares about Minnesota. She is the producer of The Fall of Minneapolis and Minnesota v We the People documentary films, and author of the Amazon best-selling book, They’re Lying: The Media, the Left, and The Death of George Floyd. Her work has prompted important state laws. Yet perhaps most of all, Liz has been giving a voice to the truth—and helping others tell their stories—for more than 20 years.
Dr. JC Chaix
Dr. JC Chaix is an editor, educator, and an expert in media studies. He wrote and directed the Alpha News documentary "The Fall of Minneapolis" and "Minnesota v We the People."
