What’s unfolding in Minneapolis isn’t a protest that “got out of hand,” according to a retired U.S. Army Green Beret who spent years studying and countering insurgencies abroad. It’s something far more deliberate.
In an exclusive interview with Joe Pags, Eric Schwalm—a former Special Forces soldier who trained insurgents overseas—warned that the chaos surrounding ICE operations fits a familiar and dangerous pattern. “Not only isn’t this grassroots, this is not even a protest. This is an insurgency,” Schwalm said flatly.
Schwalm explained that insurgency doesn’t begin with mass violence—it starts with narrative control, organized agitation, and the deliberate targeting of law enforcement. “It’s a level of sophistication that is through the roof as far as unconventional warfare goes,” he said, noting that many of the same tactics he encountered in Iraq and Afghanistan are now appearing on American streets.
The interview examined how individual flashpoints are used to mobilize crowds. Schwalm pushed back on media portrayals of figures like Alex Pretti, pointing to video evidence showing aggressive confrontations with federal agents. In insurgency doctrine, Schwalm explained, such individuals function as “foot soldiers,” often used to provoke response and escalate tension while organizers remain behind the scenes.
A major focus of the conversation was how insurgencies weaponize perception. “Whoever gets the message out first wins,” Schwalm said, explaining why viral videos, misleading headlines, and emotionally charged narratives are critical to sustaining unrest. Pags pointed to examples of elected officials amplifying false or incomplete claims to inflame public sentiment, arguing that misinformation is now an operational tool.
Schwalm also issued a warning to gun owners and constitutional conservatives. Carrying a firearm into a volatile confrontation with law enforcement, he said, is reckless and counterproductive. “If I carry a two-way weapon into a protest and get into a physical disagreement with an officer, I’m responsible for doing that,” he stated, stressing that insurgent movements often exploit such moments to justify escalation.
Schwalm’s analysis first gained national attention after a viral post on X amassed nearly 40 million views, signaling that millions of Americans recognize something is fundamentally different about this unrest. In the interview, he laid out what comes next if these tactics go unchecked—and why federal authority and local leadership matter in stopping the progression from unrest to organized destabilization.
This is not partisan commentary. It’s battlefield analysis from someone who’s seen how insurgencies begin—and how they spread.
Watch the full Joe Pags interview with Eric Schwalm for a breakdown the mainstream media isn’t providing, and to understand why Minneapolis may be a warning sign for the rest of the country.