Voter Panel Erupts When GOP Supporter Defends ICE

Panelists clashed over the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol and protests targeting United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during a Tuesday “Faulkner Focus” voter panel.

President Donald Trump will give the first State of the Union address of his second term Tuesday night, which is expected to primarily focus on the economy and affordability. “Faulkner Focus” host Harris Faulkner asked one Republican panelist, a teacher named Dwayne, about his thoughts on patriotism.

“I think we’re just falling into tribalism to where if you don’t agree with the president, it’s OK to be disrespectful to the country, it’s OK to be disrespectful to the Constitution and to not have civility,” Dwayne told Faulkner.

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“As a person that was a teacher, students would say things that other students didn’t disagree with, I didn’t say it was OK to just walk outside the classroom because we expect a certain decorum and a certain level of class and civility that we all have as Americans and what we’re seeing now with the left is because they didn’t get their way even though Barack Obama deported as many people more than President Trump, even though he talked about tariffs, now a lot of things that were common sense before they disagree with because it’s politically advantageous,” Dwayne, who is black, continued. “They think it’s OK to now scream and leave the room, and we’re seeing a collapse of what we just consider civility in our country.”

Democrats faced criticism for an increased use of profanity and their conduct during Trump’s March 4, 2025, address to Congress, when they remained seated and rarely applauded during Trump’s speech, even when Secret Service Director Sean Curran presented Devarjaye “D.J.” Daniel, who is battling brain cancer, with credentials during the speech. Dwayne’s comments drew disdain from a panelist with left-wing views.

“Yes, I understand, like the civility and decorum of January 6th,” Adam, an older white man who claimed to be “independent” but who was also described as “progressive,” said, with Dwayne responding, “Or we could talk about that as many times as agents have come under attack in Minneapolis and they’ve done nothing about that.”

“Brutalizing people who don’t deserve it,” Adam replied, with Dwayne responding, “How many as people, that’s how many people have been killed by illegal immigrants in this country? Does that matter?”

The presence of hundreds of federal law enforcement personnel to Minnesota became controversial following the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good by DHS agents in January during confrontations between the agents and so-called “rapid response networks” opposed to the illegal immigration crackdown. The panel continued to clash over illegal immigration, until Faulkner refocused the panel.

“We had north of 11 million, some estimates much more than that, come in. Those people should not be in the country if they are here illegally and I know on the left what many of you will say, and I look at you, Adam, because you say you’re a progressive, you say you’re independent, but progressive isn’t a party, so you’re much farther left than the moderates in your party, and you agree with that,” Faulkner said.

“That many illegal aliens coming in who were not vetted, this is what we have been handed as a nation, and we must think of it that way, not as an individual party one way or the other,” Faulkner continued. “And if some of us are hurting and being killed, that hurts all of us, right? And so it takes a force to do that.”

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