The Empty Seats

From the shooting of Renee Nicole Good to the "weaponization" of DHS, the 2026 World Cup is turning into a global masterclass in how to ruin a festival of unity.

WASHINGTON — Mohamad Safa bought his tickets to the FIFA World Cup the way a million other people did, which is to say he went online and paid too much money and figured he’d worry about the hotel later. He’s a diplomat from Lebanon, works with the United Nations on economic development, the kind of guy who spends his life in conference rooms trying to make things better. Soccer’s his thing. Always has been.

Then on January 7th, an ICE agent shot Renee Nicole Good three times during a traffic stop in Minneapolis. She was 37, American citizen, mother of three, wrote poetry. Her car moved forward—witnesses say barely—and the agent fired. Homeland Security called it a “weaponized vehicle.” The mayor of Minneapolis, Jacob Frey, said get the fuck out of our city.

Safa watched the video. Then he cancelled his tickets.

“The ICE may decide that I am a gang member,” he wrote, “and I’ll be locked in prison for a year with no charges, no hearing, no trial, no right to consult a lawyer, no phone cal…