Aloha Reader,

Let's start with a WIN: This week, we express our gratitude to the people and leaders of Minneapolis for demonstrating that perseverance pays off. Minnesotans have shown the world how to resist authoritarianism and have created a playbook for others to follow. While Tom Homan announced the end of "Operation Metro Surge" and the withdrawal of DHS personnel from the Twin Cities, local leaders are cautious in their optimism. However, this does not diminish the damage that has been done.

Election Subversion is the End Goal

1. In Minnesota, children remain afraid to go to school; families have gone into hiding, businesses have closed, courts are overwhelmed with urgent detainee cases. Renee and Alex are dead, and their murderers are still at large.
2. Noem and Homan demonstrated their lawless paramilitary force, ready to deploy at will against political opponents. The feds no longer bother with the National Guard—it's too law-abiding. The undertrained overarmed thugs spread more chaos faster. On TV now, Noem is saying, "When it gets to Election Day, we've been proactive to make sure we have the right people voting, electing the right leaders to lead this country."
3. Last Friday, Congressional Republicans put us in a partial government shutdown to avoid putting commonsense restrictions on these practices. (More below.)
4. Against this backdrop, the US House of Representatives passed the “SAVE America” Act, the harshest voter suppression measure since the Jim Crow laws. It won’t pass the Senate filibuster, but it is a model that many states will use to restrict voting locally. Most at risk are swing states that have MAGA Republican election administrators.
5. We learned more about the Fulton County, Georgia, incident, in which the Director of National Intelligence, despite lacking domestic legal authority, ceremonially led the seizure of ballots under false pretenses. The unsealed warrant proves the irregularity of this action. There was no new evidence in an adjudicated case. And the statute of limitations deadline had expired.
6. All the while, the Epstein-Trump cover-up continues. By now, it’s clear that the Bondi-Patel redaction omissions are intentional threats to the victims and survivors, while their massive black ink protects the Trumpist broligarchy. Yet Bondi has shifted the story from the horrors of Epstein-Trump to the minutiae of procedure and her contemptuous behavior before Congress. All while violating a simple law that Congress passed unanimously.

Overall, this was another challenging week, but it has also crystallized the MAGA plot to subvert the 2026 elections. Under the pretense of immigration enforcement, they will make it hard(er) for citizens to vote, while simultaneously terrorizing our communities with the lawless occupation by DHS/ICE/CBP.

When authoritarians know they are in trouble, they are at their most dangerous. The MAGA world is crumbling. The economy isn’t delivering. People resent federal officers imitating criminal gangs. Polls continue to drop. The lawless abuses of power will become riskier and more demonstrative than ever.

Where does that leave us? Our assignment is to continue what the communities of Los Angeles, Portland, Chicago, Charlotte, Minneapolis, and DC have begun. We need to show up with numbers and conviction that make our peaceful pro-democracy movement undeniable.

First, in the upcoming primary elections, we must use our voting power to replace complacent incumbents with opposition leaders who will relentlessly challenge this lawless regime. Second, we need to ensure that voter turnout in the general election is overwhelming, despite any procedural tricks or the deployment of paramilitary forces aimed at discouraging participation.

Let's hit the streets again!

TAKE ACTION: Join us tomorrow, Monday, February 16, 2026, for our Not Our President’s Day pop-up protest.
​Queen Kaʻahumanu Highway south of Henry Street, from 4-5 PM. Show up decisively. Register.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR: Saturday, March 28, 2026, is the next No Dictators/No Kings rally. Register early​

The Fight to Rein in DHS/ICE/CBP

WIN: In Washington, DC, Senate Democrats held the line again by tying incremental DHS Funding to policies that would restrict ICE/CBP lawlessness. Instead of agreeing, Republicans have given us another partial government shutdown, including TSA and the Coast Guard. We need to make it obvious to all Americans that Congressional Republicans want to write Noem another blank check to terrorize our communities. They want it so badly that they have forced the shutdown.

TAKE ACTION: Sign up for our Indivisible's Tuesday phonebank into Republican states. Make their ears ring! Register.

Public Policy Team

The Indivisible Hawai'i Policy Team had another great week in the State Legislature. The legislative session is more like a marathon and relay race, as bills move from committee to committee and cross over between the Senate and House.

TAKE ACTION: To join the amazing Public Policy Team, check out this webpage. Please take the training and sign up there.

Postcarding

Wow! In just six short weeks, we’ve written get-out-the-vote postcards to 3,949 voters in Michigan, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Arizona, Ohio, and Georgia - all states with crucial 2026 elections. Way to go, writers!

Our next events are:

• Thursday, February 19, 2026, from 1:30 to 3:00 PM. Gypsea Gelato, 79-7491 Hawaiʻi Belt Rd, Kealakekua, HI 96750. Register ​
• Sunday, March 1, 2026, from 3:00 to 5:00 PM. Kahalu’u Beach Pavilion. Register.

We will skip the meeting on February 26 and continue our weekly Thursday Postcard Socials in March. Big mahalo to Eve and Mary for hosting! We provide you with free postcards, voter lists, scripts, and instructions. You provide the stamps, your writing muscle, and your favorite pens. We always appreciate your generous donation of postcard stamps or money toward postage, so that all postcard writers are welcome (including those with limited financial capacity). This way, we can all find ways to help get out the vote.

Can’t make it to our postcard parties? We’ve got you covered. Pick up a postcard packet at one of our postcard hubs and write at home. More info here.

Leaping forward with the Indivisible Hawai'i State Network

The Indivisible Hawai'i State Network (IHSN) was founded by Lisa Gibson in 2017. Initially, it was a small team dedicated to advancing democracy. However, due to massive demand, 13 chapters have since been established across all the Hawaiian Islands, including ours.

​Kona Indivisible took the lead by creating a website and maintaining regular communication with our members. Based on feedback, we are now expanding our efforts and, in collaboration with all chapter leaders, are working on unified chapter branding and redesigning and restructuring the IHSN website. We are excited about this creative process and would love to hear your suggestions on what you'd like to see. Since this is a significant investment, we would appreciate any support to help cover the costs.

TAKE ACTION: Donate to support the new Indivisible Hawai'i State Network web presence. Mahalo Nui Loa!

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We'll see you on Monday (same place, same time).
Warmest Aloha

Sam & the leadership team

- The Kona Indivisible Team ​konaindivisible.org​ ​info@konaindivisible.org​

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