Protests have erupted across the nation following the deadly shooting of 37-year-old Renee Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent in Minneapolis.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — This past Wednesday, a tragic incident occurred in Minneapolis when Renee Good lost her life at the hands of an ICE agent. This event has sparked widespread demonstrations, with protests spanning from New Orleans and Boston to New York City and now reaching the First Coast.
In response, an anti-ICE protest took place outside the federal courthouse in Downtown Jacksonville on Thursday evening. Protesters gathered, fervently chanting, “Justice for Renee,” to voice their demands for accountability.
Renee Good was fatally shot while inside her vehicle in Minneapolis. According to federal authorities, the agent involved claimed self-defense, alleging that Good attempted to hit him with her car during an ICE operation in the vicinity.
However, dissenters argue that the available video footage tells a different story, suggesting that Good was merely trying to steer her car away, and that the agent’s response was excessively forceful.
“Reading the headlines and watching the videos has been completely devastating,” shared Vanessa Alvarez from the Jacksonville Immigrant Rights Alliance. She, alongside dozens of Jacksonville protesters, joined the national call for justice and accountability.
“We’re stronger in numbers. We see all these people here fighting, but they’re not fighting just for themselves. They’re fighting for people all over the country. We’re in complete solidarity with the people of Minneapolis, and we’re here to say that we will serve justice,” she said.
In a news conference on Wednesday, the mayor of Minneapolis said he wanted ICE to leave the city, where it has been conducting one of its largest immigration enforcement operations under the Trump Administration.
In Jacksonville, chants echoed through the crowd calling for an end to ICE operations altogether.
“My thoughts is the only threat that we pose to these agents is fear of us winning. They fear that justice will be served,” said Alvarez.
First Coast News reached out to Florida State Representative Dean Black, who sent us this statement:
“Citizens should never interfere with law-enforcement officials carrying out their duties. Period. The situation in Minnesota, while tragic, could have easily been avoided by complying with law-enforcement requests, not interfering with law-enforcement in the performance of their duties, and not driving away and apparently attempting to run down a law-enforcement officer with a vehicle. We should respect the law and law enforcement officers.”
The FBI is now leading the investigation into the fatal shooting.
