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Jelinda Montes

Jelinda Montes is a National Affairs Fellow at Salon. She recently graduated NYU’s Magazine and Digital Storytelling masters program. Her work has appeared in The Nation, The American Prospect, Gay Times and more.

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Rep. Ilhan Omar speaks during a town hall meeting at the Urban League Twin Cities facility on January 27, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. A person holding a syringe charged the podium as Omar spoke. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

“We are Minnesota strong”: Rep. Ilhan Omar attacked at town hall

Jelinda Montes
U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth speaks during a meeting at the Pentagon on January 15, 2026 in Arlington, Virginia. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

“Uncharted water”: Caribbean boat strike victims’ families sue US

Jelinda Montes
U.S. Customs and Border Patrol Commander at Large Gregory Bovino speaks during a news conference at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal on January 25, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The news conference comes after 37-year-old legal observer Alex Pretti was fatally shot during a confrontation with federal agents. The Trump administration has sent a reported 3,000 federal agents into the area, with more on the way, as they make a push to arrest undocumented immigrants in the region. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino demoted after Pretti killing

Jelinda Montes
Signage about slavery is displayed on an outdoor exhibit at Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on October 24, 2025. (Photo by Michael Yanow/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Philadelphia sues after Trump orders removal of slavery exhibit

Jelinda Montes
Donald Trump and the Tiktok app (Photo illustration by Salon/Getty Images)

Trump cheers as TikTok sale is finalized

Jelinda Montes
Kyle Gass (L) and Jack Black of Tenacious D perform at PNC Music Pavilion on September 06, 2023 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Jeff Hahne/Getty Images)

“Bigger than Oasis”: Tenacious D’s Gass says band will return following Trump gaffe

Jelinda Montes
Donald Trump at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Jan. 21, 2026. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

“We would be frankly unstoppable”: Trump dances around Greenland threats at Davos

Jelinda Montes
DAVOS, SWITZERLAND - JANUARY 20: Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney delivers a speech at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting held in Davos, Switzerland on January 20, 2026. (Photo by Harun Ozalp/Anadolu via Getty Images)

“The bargain no longer works”: Canada’s Prime Minister calls out America’s economic hegemony

Jelinda Montes
WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 20: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media during a press briefing in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House on January 20, 2026 in Washington, DC. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was joined by President Trump days after the president threatened a 10% import tax on goods from eight European countries that have rallied around Denmark amid Trump's calls for the U.S. to take control of Greenland, a semi-autonomous Danish territory. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

“There can be no going back”: Trump pushes forward on Greenland

Jelinda Montes
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - JANUARY 18: A protester with an anti-ICE sign, stands outside of the Henry Bishop Whipple Federal building on January 18, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Protesters continued to gather to demonstrate against an ongoing immigration enforcement dubbed "Operation Metro Surge". (Photo by Jim Vondruska/Getty Images)

Protesters enter church run by ICE official, drawing DOJ outrage

Jelinda Montes
INNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, U.S. â" JANUARY 15: Federal immigration officers arrest a protester outside Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S., January 15, 2026. (Photo by Mostafa Bassim/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Dine and detain: A new ICE arrest tactic

Jelinda Montes
WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 15: (EDITOR'S NOTE: This Handout image was provided by a third-party organization and may not adhere to Getty Images' editorial policy.) President Donald Trump meets with Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado in the Oval Office, on January 15, 2026 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Daniel Torok/The White House via Getty Images)

“A classic showoff”: Trump accepted Machado’s Nobel and Norwegians aren’t happy

Jelinda Montes
The Washington Post Building at One Franklin Square Building on June 5, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

“Highly unusual and aggressive”: FBI raids Washington Post journalist’s home

Jelinda Montes
American Civil rights activist Claudette Colvin, 7th April 1998. On March 2, 1955, at the age of fifteen, Colvin was arrested for not giving up her seat to a white person in Montgomery, Alabama. This predated the arrest of Rosa Parks and the the 1955 Montgomery bus boycott by nine months. (Photo by Dudley M. Brooks/The The Washington Post via Getty Images) (Photo by Dudley M. Brooks/Getty Images)

Claudette Colvin, pioneering civil rights activist, dies at 86

Jelinda Montes
Bill O'Reilly (Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images)

“ICE needs to de-escalate”: O’Reilly calls on DHS to tone down tactics

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Scott Adams, cartoonist and author and creator of "Dilbert", poses for a portrait in his home office on Monday, January 6, 2014 in Pleasanton, Calif. (Photo By Lea Suzuki/Getty Images)

Scott Adams dead: “Dilbert” creator turned conservative commentator dies at 68

Jelinda Montes
WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 02: U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (R) looks on as U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting of his Cabinet in the Cabinet Room of the White House on December 02, 2025 in Washington, DC. A bipartisan Congressional investigation has begun regarding Secretary of War Pete Hegseth's role in ordering U.S. military strikes on small boats in the waters off Venezuela that have killed scores of people, which Hegseth said are intended "to stop lethal drugs, destroy narco-boats and kill the narco-terrorists who are poisoning the American people.” (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

The US used a disguised plane in the first drug boat strike — some experts say it’s a war crime

Jelinda Montes
Protesters hold photos of Renee Nicole Good, the day after her shooting death Wednesday by an ICE agent in Minneapolis, in front of the Federal Building in downtown Los Angeles on January 8, 2026. (Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

“I’m not mad at you”: ICE officer’s video shows Renee Nicole Good’s last words

Jelinda Montes
President Donald Trump speaks with reporters before boarding Air Force One on Nov. 16, 2025.

Trump rejects new Venezuela election until US can “rebuild the oil”

Jelinda Montes
WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 8: U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) speaks alongside Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-CA) (R) and Rep. Katherine Clark (D-MA) during a news conference after a vote on healthcare subsidies at the U.S. Capitol on January 8, 2026 in Washington, D.C. The House of Representatives passed legislation for a three year extension of expired health care subsidies for those who get coverage through the Affordable Care Act. The legislation will now go to the Senate. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

House passes bill to renew health care subsidies with rogue Republican support

Jelinda Montes
The Wyoming state Supreme Court building is in downtown Cheyenne Wyoming not far from the state capitol. The building also houses the state library. (Photo by Don and Melinda Crawford/Getty Images)

GOP’s anti-Obamacare push helps overturn Wyoming abortion ban

Jelinda Montes
Ilulissat, Greenland (Getty/Sean Gallup)

“We want to take action”: France gears up for Greenland showdown with Trump

Jelinda Montes
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. testifies before the Senate Finance Committee. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

“Meant to confuse”: Public health advocates slam RFK Jr.’s vaccine schedule changes

Jelinda Montes
Nicolas Maduro is seen in handcuffs after landing at a Manhattan helipad, escorted by heavily armed Federal agents as they make their way into an armored car en route to a Federal courthouse in Manhattan on January 5, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by XNY/Star Max/Getty Images)

Department of Justice quietly admits “terrorist” cartel isn’t real

Jelinda Montes