Talking Points Memo has gotten word that DHS is distributing one of those puerile challenge coins to agents in Minnesota for Operation Metro Surge. Here are the two sides of it:
Photos of the coin were given to TPM by someone at Whipple, the federal building on the edge of Minneapolis that is the DHS base of operations, and where detained people are taken and housed in inhumane conditions. It's also where immigration judges like Nathan Hansen do Stephen Miller's work for him.
Not surprisingly, the person who gave TPM the photos "requested anonymity to avoid retaliation." When asked for comment, the DHS spokesperson only seemed concerned about whether the coins were authorized in terms of branding, not about what they depict.
As a person who lives in the Twin Cities, let me say: we do not live in the war zone depicted here and did not, even at the height of Operation Metro Surge. There were no buildings on fire, let alone dramatically blown up as shown on the coin reverse, with roiling clouds of smoke along the horizon.
There were way too many helicopters flying at night: that's probably the most true part of the imagery.
The masked goons we had here were generally wearing khakis or jeans and regular coats, with some random-looking camouflage they got at Fleet Farm, usually with a flak jacket thrown over that said POLICE. Their clothing didn't look at all like uniforms, and they seldom had giant guns like these.
The deaths' heads with glowing eyes and matching guns behind are generally reprehensible, and especially in the context of a domestic operation.
Donald Trump, of course, is shown as a chiseled version of himself that was true even 20 years ago, and the guy on the right doesn't even resemble Mr. Potato Head, Tom Homan. That's who I assume it is supposed to be, since it can't be Greg Bovino.
The whole idea of challenge coins for domestic law enforcement should not exist. Maybe they make sense for military units (I never knew these things existed until the Trump regime, which makes me think they and their designs were innocuous), but law enforcement members working among their fellow residents should not see their jobs as a game with the goal of winning a coin. No matter how good or bad its design is.
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