What is happening in Minneapolis should not be understood as a protest movement, but as the early stages of a domestic insurgency. The behavior we are observing closely matches known insurgent tactics people have seen in places like Iraq and Afghanistan. The activity shows signs of organized command-and-control, not spontaneous activism.

The groups involved are using structured communication networks, role specialization, intelligence gathering, operational security measures, and coordination methods typical of insurgent cells. Former, Special forces Green Beret, Eric Schwalm, gives examples which include capped Signal groups by geographic zone, dedicated surveillance teams tracking federal vehicles, centralized dispatch nodes, systematic reporting formats, vetting of participants, timed message deletions, and logistical support from sympathetic civilians.

According to Schwalm, this mirrors the early phases of insurgency where groups avoid overt violence most of the time, operate below the threshold that triggers full government response, shape public narratives to maintain local support, and deliberately provoke overreaction by authorities when possible.

What he finds most alarming is that this is domestic—run by American citizens, potentially aided by elements within local institutions, and directed against federal law enforcement. He argues that once this kind of infrastructure exists, history shows it rarely dissolves on its own and tends to expand and harden.

If Americans and Christians continue to frame this as mere activism or civil disobedience, they may miss the reality that an organized resistance network is forming—one that resembles the kinds of insurgent structures the U.S. military has spent decades fighting abroad.

It could be that the West and America is at the early, pre-violent stage of an insurgency, and that failing to recognize it now risks far more serious escalation later