How else would they be able to prevent entry by ICE 24/7 ?

Not understanding his reference to Tiananmen Square. Doesn't he know what happened there? The Chinese Military bought in large numbers of troops and tanks and retook it by force. The death toll was likely a couple thousand or more.

Is that the scenario Mayor Johnston is envisioning for Denver?

Withhold taxes that it sends to Washington. Trump can go eat shit!

By diverting all their residents federal tax payments and FICA contributions to the state?

The vast majority of these taxes paid by blue states are from tax withholding from individual taxpayers' paychecks. Currently, that means they are withheld by their employers and sent directly to the US Treasury through the IRS. The state would somehow have to be able to divert all those remittances towards themselves instead. Not sure how they would be able to do that.

Won't that mean that residents would be charged with tax evasion, as well as not making their Social Security and Medicare contributions, and thus affecting their future retirement? Would taxpayers be angry to have their federal taxes and FICA withheld from their paychecks, and kept by the state instead of being sent to the IRS?

Unconstitutional to me. Withholding tax dollars to punish certain states.

You are correct:

The vast majority of these taxes paid by blue states are from tax withholding from individual taxpayers' paychecks. Currently, that means they are withheld by their employers and sent directly to the US Treasury through the IRS.

It's the responsibility of the employer (or whomever is paying the recipient) to withhold and remit according to the law. Those funds are the property of the individual taxpayer and counted toward taxes owed when a return is filed (for income taxes, FICA and MED are similar).

If a state were to direct every employer to refuse to remit these withholdings, etc. to the US Treasury and instead send them to the State, the hammer would fall on the employer - the employer would still be liable for the money. What do people want to have happen, to have the State indemnify every single employer? The money would be paid out of whatever the State got, plus penalties and interest. The State would end up worse off, every employer would have an issue with the IRS, and every taxpayer would have their own issues.

The famous Tiananmen Square scene is of course the man blocking the line of tanks.

Detroit was taken over in 2013, regardless of the peoples' will.

But I can't see rolling over and letting traitor's fascists getting no pushback from anyone, anywhere. They are bullies. Aren't bullies supposed to fold if you confront them? Can we try? I appreciate Mike Johnston's comments. They are heartening.

They could very well arrest our city's Civil Authorities, but any Fed-Led Manhunt in Seattle would meet with physical Resistance on our streets; We will not stand aside while friends and neighbors are rounded up...