I think that the Trump administration is caught between the need to do damage control over the killings, and the upcoming mid-term elections. Part of the reason why Trump and his gestapo are doubling-down over this (despite the clear evidence from the videos), is that Trump is running out of time.
The mid-term elections are 8 months away, which is not allot of time if the goal is to manipulate the 2026 elections nation-wide. They have to do to all of the swing states what they are doing in Minnesota right now if they have any hope of winning the mid-terms. That includes capturing voter registration data from all blue states, and setting the stage for the insurrection act, redistricting and voter manipulation.
America is a big country, and 2026 is is moving fast. We are almost at the end of January. If Trump backs down from this or loses ground on his plans in any state, that pressurizes their schedule. At some point it will become too-late to succeed at this (i think it is already too-late), but they will try and try. The problem is that ICE is becoming too-bold, too-confident that they can kill with immunity and Trump is losing control of them.
Things will get worse as the year progresses. Trump only wins if the country fall-apart before November and is somehow unable to hold elections. Given the executive branch has no direct authority over elections, they must attack and defeat the states. This is why Hegseth is quoted as saying, "ICE > MN" which literally translates as, "ICE has more power than the states do" - which is a lie, but we the people must not let them perpetuate this lie.
We are definitely in a form of civil war.
Scar: Wow. That was an incredible double knee Toph
Toph: It subverts the platonic ideal that is Falcon's single knee, by becoming the combo starter and ender
Scar: It's crazy that both of us are dads now Toph