It’s hard not to notice the sharp contrast we witnessed over the weekend between the anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement protests and the demonstrations taking place in Iran. Well, maybe it is hard for some. Here’s DNC Chairman Ken Martin doing his best to squeeze out a comparison between the two events. From Tehran to my birthplace of Minneapolis, people are rising up against systems that wield violence without accountability.In Iran, brave protestors confront a far-right theocratic regime that crushes dissent and denies basic freedoms. Here at home, tens of thousands are…— Ken Martin (@kenmartin73) January 11, 2026 “In Iran, brave protestors confront a far-right theocratic regime that crushes dissent and denies basic freedoms,” Martin wrote. “Here at home, tens of thousands are marching after the fatal ICE shooting of Renee Good- demanding justice, transparency, and an end to an unchecked federal force that takes lives and tears families apart.” This absurd statement was widely mocked on social media. In Iran, protesters are risking death fighting for freedom from a brutal Islamic terrorist regime.In Minneapolis, Radical Left lunatics and purple-haired schizos are melting down over law enforcement.The head of the Democrat Party thinks they are the same. https://t.co/J1wPAwD0HG— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) January 11, 2026 There’s a sharp distinction between the protests in the U.S. versus what’s happening in Iran. I wanted to say this was “needless to say,” but apparently it must be said with so many Westerners clearly divorced from reality. On the one hand, you have the obviously brave Iranian protesters who’ve taken to the streets even though their regime has been comfortable jailing and executing dissenters who have committed no other crime other than speaking out in opposition to their rule. The Iranian mullahs have, according to multiple reports, attempted to violently crack down on the protests engulfing multiple cities across their country. The number of protesters killed is over 600, according to estimates on Monday afternoon. Some of the videos and image coming out of Iran right now are remarkable. ? JUST IN: Absolutely MASSIVE Iranian protest happening in the streets of Tehran against Khamenei tonightJaw-dropping amount of demonstrators. THE PEOPLE MUST WIN! America stands with them! ??pic.twitter.com/b3eGMzu5GB— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) January 12, 2026 Nationwide unrest challenging Iran's theocracy saw protesters flood the streets in Tehran.Iran has faced intense nationwide protests for two weeks, marking the largest challenge to the country's ruling regime in years — and drawing vows from President Trump to intervene on the… pic.twitter.com/boGmJb7Tri— CBS News (@CBSNews) January 12, 2026 Even where protesters are only detained, they are very likely to be executed by a regime noted for jailing and killing religious and political dissenters. BREAKING:Islamic authorities in Iran have announced the imminent executions of participants in anti-regime protests.Officials said that following expedited court proceedings, the first group of convicted "ringleaders of unrest" will be executed on Wednesday morning.Among… pic.twitter.com/CnTFXr7ITu— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) January 12, 2026 Now, I genuinely don’t know where the Iran protests are going. This could be another moment of false hope. Accurately ascertaining the level of discontent in Iran is difficult given that information in and out of the country is tightly restricted. Not to mention, even if there is a popular turn against the regime, bravery is simply not enough to topple a government committed to staying in power that has mostly monopolized the use of force. There is no Second Amendment in Iran and little political freedom of any kind to speak of, and it seems the regime is willing to escalate violence to stay in power. We were able to connect with a source in Isfahan, Iran tonight to gather more information. He says demonstrations are ongoing with live ammunition being used against protesters. Will update with more soon.— Trey Yingst (@TreyYingst) January 12, 2026 What this means for the U.S. and what President Donald Trump’s response will be is still unclear, but it’s hard not to have sympathy for people putting their lives on the line against tyranny. It’s a different story here in the U.S., where woke mobs in Minnesota and elsewhere are not just protesting, but actively impeding law enforcement. Unlike the Iranian protesters, they’ve taken to the streets with the absolute support of cultural elites. The Golden Globes Sunday night was filled with leftist moral preening about standing in solidarity against ICE and the allegedly authoritarian Trump administration (which isn’t doing so good at “dictatorship” if it allows these events to take place on national television without interference). Judd Apatow hit out at Donald Trump at the Golden Globes by saying: "I believe we're a dictatorship now."https://t.co/bOV17S1uUr— Variety (@Variety) January 12, 2026 And isn’t it interesting that the people protesting Israel and the U.S. for apparently being so awful to Palestinians in Gaza have suddenly gone quiet about what’s happening in Iran? Yes, where is the pro-Pal crowd when ninety million people long since exploited and oppressed are under attack by the murderous regime ? https://t.co/FB1YpQZgZ0— Edward N Luttwak (@ELuttwak) January 11, 2026 Right now, according to them, it’s the anti-ICE protesters who are oppressed—even though in America they have the right to participate in elections, speak their mind without fear of arrest, and can lawfully protest policies they don’t like. Yes, you can’t hit a law enforcement officer with a 2,000-pound vehicle without potential consequences. I don’t see that right enshrined in the Constitution. Some Americans (and perhaps more than a few non-Americans) on the Left have decided that losing an election is intolerable and that a federal government enforcing immigration laws they don’t like is somehow illegitimate. It hasn’t helped that many prominent Democrat politicians and lawmakers signal it’s fine to impede law enforcement, creating the deadly situation leading to the ICE shooting of Renee Good. The Left’s activists have essentially, and maybe even unwittingly, courted death or serious harm by attempting to impede border enforcement. In one case that has led to tragic consequences and may lead to more. This is not meant as a dismissal of the Left’s current freak out. The rhetoric from Democrat politicians and their calls to essentially resist the federal government are dangerous and may have significant consequences. Theater kids larping out their fantasies can do terrible and consequential things sometimes. John Wilkes Booth proved that point. But comparing their protests to what’s happening in Iran is, for me, a little hard to stomach. The post While Woke American Mobs Protested Law Enforcement, Iranians Were Fighting for Their Lives appeared first on The Daily Signal.