The Bad Penny (beta)

In The Bad Penny‘s first interview with a Minneapolis band since ICE, CBP and other feds invaded their city, we touch base with Rob Taxpayer, a multi-instrumentalist for Minneapolis punk-rock band the Taxpayers. He insists the Trump regime, the media and bad actors on social media are deceiving the general public into thinking the city is back to normal. But in reality, the city looks so much like a war zone that Rob has to frequently remind himself that he is indeed still living in America, he says.

“This federal government is more willing to do stuff without worrying about the consequences of it,” he says. “That’s the difference between the first Trump administration and this one: [Now] They say, ‘Fuck you, we’re going to do this anyway. Fuck the courts. Fuck public opinion. Fuck America. We’re gonna do what we fucking want.'”

And that includes ICE patrolling public parks and scaring children to such a grave degree that they fear going to school and stay home instead, according to Rob, who himself is a teacher. By now, just about everyone knows that ICE, CBP and other officials aren’t tasked with arresting criminals but rather indiscriminately and illegally brutalizing, kidnapping and even executing whomever they want to kill, including American citizens.

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“This federal government is more willing to do stuff without worrying about the consequences of it.” –Rob Taxpayer

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“They know no one is going to stop them this time,” Rob chillingly warns, before adding: “At least that’s what they think. We underestimate the amount of power we have. All it takes is collective action [to ward them off].”

To that extent, Trump’s plan to terrorize Minnesota has backfired and resulted in a massive amount of comradery among residents of the state.

Watch more of the video above to hear Rob talk about how Minnesotans have come together and come up with innovative methods of communication to ward off ICE thugs. Rob says the silver lining in this horrific chapter of U.S. history is that droves of Minnesotans are devising community-strengthening strategies that he believes will outlast the Trump Administration for many, many years to come.

Go here to learn more about the Taxpayers and their split 7-inch with Ryan Cassata that came out earlier this month via Ernest Jenning Record Co.

Go here for 100-plus installments of The Bad Penny‘s On Tyranny series.

This entry was posted on 02/16/2026 at 5:17 pm and is filed under Features, Interviews, On Tyranny, On Tyranny, Videos with tags authoritarianism, fascism, ICE, Minneapolis, On Tyranny, Taxpayers, trump, tyranny. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.