During Monday’s White House press briefing, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt rhetorically asked a relatively simple question of the mostly libera, elite media gathered before her concerning what’s transpired in Minneapolis this month: How would you like it if people followed you everywhere you went, screamed, blew whistles, and recorded your every move? Of course, to be clear, no one should be harassed in public and we have seen dangerous consequences (e.g. the mail bombs to CNN and elected/unelected Democrats). Even partisans like the White House press should be allowed to live in peace with their families. BOOM: @PressSec @KarolineLeavitt asks the White House press corps to consider what it would be like to be harassed, followed, whistled at, and doxed like federal law enforcement in Minneapolis… Reporter: “How serious is the administration taking allegations at local and state… pic.twitter.com/C4Kx9mHAKD — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 26, 2026 The comments came in light of a reporter asking about reports from James O’Keefe and others that “local and state Minnesota officials are communicating with demonstrators to – to basically impede immigration officials.” Leavitt first made clear it’s a concern and something “the FBI and the Department of Justice are looking into” because “it is illegal to unlawfully obstruct lawful immigration enforcement in this country” and oppose even “the worst of the worst” being removed from the country. Then Leavitt deployed her thought exercise: I would just encourage everyone to please imagine in this room, all of you come to the White House every day to report on the President of the United States and the administration. You come into this Briefing Room. You walk through the gates of the White House. Just imagine if there were left-wing agitators or agitators of any kind who were in your face, who were doxing you, who were harassing you, who were physically threatening you, who were biting off your fingers. In the case of a two Border Patrol agents we saw this past weekend in Minneapolis, that would make it very difficult for you to show up and do your job here at the White House every single day. That's what these officers in Minneapolis are facing. A few minutes later, USA Today’s Francesca Chambers predictably pushed back on this with the left’s vapid assertion that those out on the streets of Minneapolis are merely exercising their First Amendment rights. Of course, Leavitt wasn’t having it: .@USAToday’s @Fran_Chambers: “Is it the White House's position that Americans have the right to show up to these ICE operations and film, document, or protest the law enforcement actions?”@PressSec @KarolineLeavitt: “All Americans have a First Amendment constitutional right. Of… pic.twitter.com/Sr89LUcRuA — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 26, 2026 Elsewhere, the briefing began with a question about the double standard between the left’s sympathies for Renee Good and Alex Pretti, but not Ashli Babbitt: .@GatewayPundit’s @ConradsonJordan was today’s “new media seat” recipient at today’s White House press briefing… Conradson: “[W]ith respect to the shooting in Minneapolis, we're seeing massive outrage from the mainstream media and the left. But I'm just wondering, where was… pic.twitter.com/HhuuTuC8NP — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 26, 2026 NewsNation’s Kellie Meyer later questioned whether the President believes the actions of Border Patrol on Saturday were a mistake and, regardless of that sentiment, whether he supports outfitting all federal law enforcement with body cameras: .@NewsNation’s @KellieMeyerNews: “Does the President believe that the killing [of Alex Pretti] was a mistake? Has he expressed that at all?”@PressSec @KarolineLeavitt: “Again, the President has said, you know, we have to review it. And there – this investigation needs to… pic.twitter.com/BIaXJSQ4Ir — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 26, 2026 Following her brief schooling of journalists about personal space, she also dropped this reality about other cities in which federal law enforcement has conducted immigration operations: .@PressSec @KarolineLeavitt: “Seven of the top ten safest cities in the United States cooperate with ICE and we've seen a historic turnaround in safety and cities that have chosen to cooperate with ICE that are not just led by Republicans, but also look right here in Washington,… pic.twitter.com/KU3afi2mLI — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 26, 2026 And, in one final highlight for the good of the order, Real Clear Politics’s Philip Wegmann pressed Leavitt from the right about the Second Amendment: RCP’s @PhilipWegmann: “FBI Director Kash Patel said in a Sunday interview, ‘you cannot bring a firearm loaded with multiple magazines to any sort of protest.’ Does the President believe the Second Amendment rights remain in effect even when protesting?”@PressSec… pic.twitter.com/W60H3vld4v — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 26, 2026