{"id":46548,"date":"2026-02-05T12:30:18","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T20:30:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=46548"},"modified":"2026-02-05T12:30:19","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T20:30:19","slug":"escalating-threats-to-midterm-elections-bannon-says-trump-will-have-ice-surround-the-polls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2026\/02\/05\/escalating-threats-to-midterm-elections-bannon-says-trump-will-have-ice-surround-the-polls\/","title":{"rendered":"Escalating Threats to Midterm Elections, Bannon Says Trump Will \u2018Have ICE Surround the Polls\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/media-library\/ice-detains-immigrants-inside-new-york-city-courthouses.jpg?id=63829698&amp;width=1200&amp;height=400&amp;quality=70&amp;coordinates=0%2C490%2C0%2C1177\" alt=\"ICE Detains Immigrants Inside New York City Courthouses\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Federal agents patrol the halls of immigration court at the Jacob K. Javits Federal Building on October 27, 2025, in New York City.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u00a0(Photo by Michael M. Santiago\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u201cThis is a red alert moment,\u201d said Sen. Ed Markey. \u201cWe have to start working to protect polling places from Trump\u2019s paramilitary ICE goons before it\u2019s too late.\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/author\/stephen-prager\">Stephen Prager<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Feb 04, 2026 (CommonDreams.org)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Days after President&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/donald-trump\">Donald Trump<\/a>&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/trump-2026-elections-theft\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">suggested<\/a>&nbsp;that&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/republicans\">Republicans<\/a>&nbsp;should \u201cnationalize the voting\u201d in Democratic districts, his former&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/white-house\">White House<\/a>&nbsp;adviser telegraphed another way Trump may seek to prevent a free and fair election later this year: illegally flooding polling places with&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/immigration\">Immigration<\/a>&nbsp;and Customs Enforcement agents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re damn right we\u2019re gonna have ICE surround the polls come November,\u201d Bannon&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/steve-bannon-proposes-using-ice-in-elections-11462376\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said<\/a>&nbsp;on his&nbsp;<em>War Room<\/em>&nbsp;podcast on Tuesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>RECOMMENDED&#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/trump-says-cancel-2026-election\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/media-library\/us-politics-trump-return.jpg?id=62815349&amp;width=1200&amp;height=1200&amp;quality=70&amp;coordinates=333%2C0%2C334%2C0\" alt=\"US-POLITICS-TRUMP-RETURN\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/trump-says-cancel-2026-election\">Fearing Midterm Loss, Trump Once Again Says \u2018We Shouldn\u2019t Even Have an Election\u2019<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/trump-midterm-election-2026\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/media-library\/a-sign-points-to-a-polling-station-setup-on-election-day-on-december-9-2025-in-miami-florida.jpg?id=63129868&amp;width=1200&amp;height=1200&amp;quality=70&amp;coordinates=170%2C0%2C171%2C0\" alt=\"It Would Be a \u2018Mistake\u2019 for Dems to Assume Trump Won't Try to Subvert 2026 Elections: Experts\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/trump-midterm-election-2026\">It Would Be a \u2018Mistake\u2019 for Dems to Assume Trump Won\u2019t Try to Subvert 2026 Elections: Experts<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re not gonna sit here and allow you to steal the country again,\u201d he continued. \u201cAnd you can whine and cry and throw your toys out of the pram all you want, but we will never again allow an election to be stolen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Steve Bannon: \u201cWe\u2018re gonna have ICE surround the polls\u2026We\u2019ll never again allow an election to be stolen.\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/9R9tZdolHx\">pic.twitter.com\/9R9tZdolHx<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RpsAgainstTrump\/status\/2018888609919807679?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 4, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>What Bannon proposed would be in direct violation of state and federal law. As Sean Morales-Doyle, the director of the Brennan Center\u2019s&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/voting-rights\">voting rights<\/a>&nbsp;and elections program,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.brennancenter.org\/our-work\/research-reports\/federal-and-state-election-laws-ban-federal-forces-polling-places\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">explained<\/a>&nbsp;back in October:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p>The law is crystal clear: It is illegal to deploy federal troops or armed federal law enforcement to any polling place. In fact, it is a federal crime for anyone in the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/us-military\">US military<\/a>&nbsp;to interfere in elections in any way. More specifically, it is a crime, punishable by up to five years in prison, to deploy federal \u201ctroops or armed men\u201d to any location where voting is taking place or elections are being held, unless \u201csuch force be necessary to repel armed enemies of the United States.\u201d &#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It is also a federal crime for anyone, including federal agents, to intimidate voters. Anyone who does so may be liable for a number of different federal criminal offenses.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>While Trump has not explicitly said ICE should be deployed in 2026, he has said he&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/trump-says-cancel-2026-election\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">regrets<\/a>&nbsp;not deploying the National Guard to seize voting machines during the 2020 election, which he attempted to overturn with a litany of disproven fraud allegations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He has since followed through somewhat on this desire,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/trump-fbi-fulton-county\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">sending<\/a>&nbsp;the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/fbi\">FBI<\/a>&nbsp;to seize 2020 election materials from a voting hub in Fulton County, Georgia, as part of what the FBI said was an \u201cinvestigation\u201d into election fraud, which he said caused him to lose the election to former President&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/joe-biden\">Joe Biden<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s unclear how, if at all, ICE may figure into his&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/trump-2026-elections-theft\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">goal<\/a>, stated earlier this week, to have Republicans \u201ctake control of the voting in at least 15 places,\u201d which would violate the constitutional right for states and localities to administer their own elections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He has, however, used ICE to&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/pam-bondi-minnesota\">demand<\/a>&nbsp;that Minnesota\u2014a key swing state in 2026\u2014turn over its voter rolls to the federal government in exchange for a withdrawal of agents who have killed three US citizens over the past month and unleashed a wave of violence and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/civil-rights\">civil rights<\/a>&nbsp;violations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Expressing fear that Republicans will be trounced in November\u2019s midterm elections\u2014which\u00a0<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/polls\/congressional-vote-2026.html\" target=\"_blank\">polls<\/a>\u00a0currently indicate is likely\u2014Trump has also recently\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/trump-says-cancel-2026-election\">suggested<\/a>\u00a0on multiple occasions that the elections should simply be \u201ccanceled\u201d outright.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps:\/\/twitter.com\/i\/status\/2018841948082032846\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Sen.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/chris-murphy\">Chris Murphy<\/a>&nbsp;(D-Ct.) said all of this adds up to a frightening picture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/donald-trump\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Donald Trump<\/a>&nbsp;can\u2019t win the 2026 election, so he\u2019s putting in place a plan to steal it,\u201d he said in a video posted to&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/social-media\">social media<\/a>. \u201cThat is not hyperbole. That is not conspiracy. He is literally doing it, and telling you he\u2019s going to do it every single day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Murphy said, \u201cHe wants the federal government, meaning Donald Trump\u2019s MAGA loyalists, to run elections in places like Georgia and Minnesota, and probably&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/pennsylvania\">Pennsylvania<\/a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/texas\">Texas<\/a>&nbsp;and Maine\u2014anywhere that there\u2019s a race that might determine control of the House or the Senate.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Trump\u2019s threats come amid negotiations in Congress over whether to provide additional funding to ICE and its parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Democrats have said they will not provide the necessary votes to fund DHS unless certain&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/ice-reforms-court-order-violations\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reforms<\/a>&nbsp;are put in place to rein in the agency\u2019s abuses\u2014such as requiring agents to wear body cameras, carry identification, and obtain judicial warrants before making arrests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY), who voted against the bill Tuesday to&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/progressives-denounce-ice-shutdown-bill\">extend<\/a>&nbsp;DHS funding for two weeks while negotiations continue, has said Democrats must also pursue guarantees that ICE will not be used to interfere with elections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe must not agree to another dollar for ICE until we add my amendment blocking the federal government from seizing voter rolls, ballots, or voting machines,\u201d he said on Tuesday. \u201cIf the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/house-gop\">House GOP<\/a>&nbsp;is serious about election integrity, they will agree that elections must remain run by states, not rigged by a wannabe dictator.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sen.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/ed-markey\">Ed Markey<\/a>\u00a0(D-Mass.)\u00a0<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/EdMarkey\/status\/2018839346179113222\" target=\"_blank\">agreed<\/a>: \u201cThis is a red alert moment&#8230; We have to start working to protect polling places from Trump\u2019s paramilitary ICE goons before it\u2019s too late.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/author\/stephen-prager\">Stephen Prager<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Stephen Prager is a staff writer for Common Dreams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/author\/stephen-prager\">Full Bio &gt;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Federal agents patrol the halls of immigration court at the Jacob K. Javits Federal Building on October 27, 2025, in New York City. \u00a0(Photo by Michael M. Santiago\/Getty Images) \u201cThis is a red alert moment,\u201d said Sen. Ed Markey. \u201cWe have to start working to protect polling places from Trump\u2019s&#8230; <a class=\"continue-reading-link\" href=\"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2026\/02\/05\/escalating-threats-to-midterm-elections-bannon-says-trump-will-have-ice-surround-the-polls\/\"> Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr; <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46548"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46548"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46548\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":46549,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46548\/revisions\/46549"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46548"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46548"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46548"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}