The Wire - February 2, 2026

//The Wire//2300Z February 2, 2026//
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//BLUF: ACTIVIST GROUPS CONTINUE PROJECTING FORCE IN MANY AMERICAN CITIES. TRUMP SAYS NO FEDERAL SUPPORT FOR RIOT CONTROL UNLESS STATES ASK FOR IT. EPSTEIN FILE RELEASE CONTINUES TO IMPLICATE HIGH-RANKING POLITICIANS.//

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Minnesota: Demonstrations and protests continued over the weekend, with intensification on some fronts. In South Minneapolis, ICEWatch Vehicle Checkpoints have been established on Cedar Avenue, creating another "Autonomous Zone" running along Cedar, from 32nd to 34th Street. These checkpoints are checking identity documents and running license plates through their own ICEWatch license plate databases to check if a vehicle/person is affiliated with ICE. Of note, the Minneapolis Police Department has addressed these individuals manning this illegal checkpoint, however after the initial warning was given, no follow-up contact has been made.

Analyst Comment: For additional geospatial context, one block to the south of the most southern checkpoint is another site to be aware of, the headquarters for the Corcoran Neighborhood Organization. The headquarters for this NGO serves as a Center of Gravity (CoG) for anti-ICE organization throughout the local area. As such, this site is likely serving as a static Observation Post spotting vehicles for these checkpoints.

Washington D.C. - President Trump issued guidance regarding the growing riot season throughout the United States, which will remove federal resources from responding to riots unless the city/state explicitly asks for federal assistance. Otherwise, federal forces will be deployed to protect federal buildings and installations in more kinetic cities, as the violence continues to escalate.

Analyst Comment: On paper, this is really how it's always been since federal resources are not usually activated unless the state requests it first. However this messaging conveys that the overall plan is to let liberal cities burn due to their own policies, so it seems. As such, for any innocent people caught in the crossfire, it would be wise to prepare for an intensification of riot activity nationwide moving into the spring/summer months, now that the one entity that rioters are actually scared of (federal forces) are publicly taking a reduced role.

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Analyst Comments: In addition to the chaos unfolding around the nation, the recent release of Epstein Files has swept the internet as many people comb through the records to potentially identify perpetrators involved in Epstein's extremely large network.

Regardless of being able to make sense of all of this at the present time, the real-world effects have already begun concerning this latest document release. In the United Kingdom, Lord Mandelson has resigned from the Labour Party after getting caught with his pants down in the files, and (former) Prince Andrew is likewise in even more hot water than he already was due to his association with Epstein. In Norway, Crown Princess Mette-Marit has apologized publicly for her relationship with Epstein, which the latest round of emails suggest was extremely personal and graphic. Otherwise, a general trend is emerging regarding the other few thousand people who's emails to Epstein got released, which usually involves some colorful email or post on social media defecting from their involvement with Epstein. As such, a lot of "I'm sorry for being friends with Epstein" emails are being sent out right now from a lot of influential and powerful people.

Analyst: S2A1
Research: https://publish.obsidian.md/s2underground
Disclaimer: No LLMs were used in the writing of this report.
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