2026, Minneapolis – Witness to Days of Death and Despair

By Joseph Carvalko | 2 February 2026
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(Credit: X / screengrab)

Thousands of strangers gather in the streets, protesting the betrayal of a man who once swore an oath to defend democracy.

Donald J. Trump—whether brooding in the White House or retreating to Mar‑a‑Lago—does not see the frigid avenues packed with silent defiance… and with death. He remains untouched by the chaos he has unleashed. Yet in the recesses of his narcissistic mind, he is haunted by the image of those marching multitudes who, by this time next year, may be calling for his impeachment.

I watch from behind my own shield of safety, yet I am emotionally submerged in blood, grace, and mortality—a privileged witness trying to comprehend the carnage wrought by a constitutionally elected servant of the people.

As in Plato’s Republic, his followers mistake shadows for truth. They are the latest iteration of history’s misled masses, deceived by a demagogue who guides them step by step into tyranny. This is no new story. It is the ancient plot in which corrupt masters of human destiny exploit a polity’s ignorance for their own ascent.

I see a tyrant surrounded by masked cruelty, fraud, racism, and the constant drumbeat of threatened wars. I see democracy eroding under the weight of manufactured discord—division engineered for political gain.

I am a man watching a democracy bleed out. I reflect, I remember, and I imagine the final moment—my own spiritual death—falling victim to the taboos I dare to name aloud. I imagine being dragged into the clutches of a madman’s henchmen, or the madman himself, who commits political violation against the very people he swore to protect, taking pleasure in watching them suffer.

Yet I also witness courage. Renee Good and Alex Pretti were killed in cold blood, paying with their lives for resisting his secret police. Their deaths have become a grotesque spectacle, a tally kept somewhere in the Oval Office. I can only count what I know: at least ten people killed by ICE and CBP, with many more dying in custody—each one falling from the cliffs of democracy into the shallow grave of autocracy.

Yes, I am a witness. And so are two hundred million Americans who see what I see.

Joseph Carvalko is an American lawyer, who for over four decades has represented numerous organizations and individuals, from billionaires to indigents. He has been actively engaged in organizations such as Amnesty International, as its Legislative Coordinator for the State of New Mexico; the Sioux City American Indian Center, board member/activist; and Chairman, Technology and Ethics Working Research Group, Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics, Yale University, and Adjunct Professor of Law at Quinnipiac University, School of Law, teaching Law, Science and Technology. He has also worked as a technologist, where he’s been awarded 18 patents in various fields. Carvalko has authored over twelve books which include novels, poetry, law, science and the humanities. His articles appear regularly in a variety of publications and blogs. He lives on the U.S. east coast and in the New Mexico mountains.

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