MINNEAPOLIS – Minneapolis became a focal point of public outrage on Thursday as demonstrators took to the streets following the fatal shooting of a woman by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer. Meanwhile, a separate incident in Oregon involving federal officers resulted in two people being injured, intensifying scrutiny of ICE operations nationwide.
Braving the freezing rain, hundreds of protesters marched through a major Minneapolis thoroughfare at night, voicing their anger over the death of Renee Good. The chants of “ICE out now” echoed through the streets, accompanied by signs demanding “killer ICE off our streets.” Earlier in the day, the protestors gathered outside a federal facility that has become a center for the government’s aggressive immigration enforcement in the city.
The Oregon incident unfolded outside a hospital in Portland during the afternoon. A man and a woman were shot while inside their vehicle, though their conditions remain unknown. Investigations by the FBI and the Oregon Department of Justice are underway. In response, Portland’s Mayor Keith Wilson and the city council urged ICE to halt its operations in the city until the investigation concludes.
In both Minneapolis and Portland, the Department of Homeland Security has defended the officers’ actions. They claim the Portland incident involved a Venezuelan man, allegedly linked to gangs and a recent shooting, attempting to use his vehicle as a weapon against the officers. Whether video evidence supports this narrative remains unclear.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, along with President Donald Trump and other officials, have consistently framed the Minneapolis shooting as an act of self-defense, suggesting that Renee Good used her vehicle as a weapon against the officer who shot her.
Vice President JD Vance weighed in, asserting that the shooting was justified and labeling Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, as a “victim of left-wing ideology.”
“I can believe that her death is a tragedy while also recognizing that it is a tragedy of her own making,” Vance said, noting that the officer who killed her was injured while making an arrest last June.
But state and local officials and protesters rejected that characterization, with Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey saying video recordings show the self-defense argument is “garbage.”
An immigration crackdown quickly turns deadly
The shooting happened on the second day of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown on the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, which Homeland Security said is the biggest immigration enforcement operation ever. More than 2,000 officers are taking part, and Noem said they have made more than 1,500 arrests.
It provoked an immediate response in the city where police killed George Floyd in 2020, with hundreds of people turning up to the scene to vent their outrage at the ICE officers and the school district canceling classes for the rest of the week as a precaution.
Good’s death — at least the fifth tied to immigration sweeps since Trump took office — has resonated far beyond Minneapolis, as protests took place or were expected this week in many large U.S. cities.
“We should be horrified,” protester Shanta Hejmadi said. “We should be saddened that our government is waging war on our citizens.”
Protesters blocked the street where Good was shot with makeshift barricades constructed out of garbage cans, Christmas trees and canopies. People gave out coffee and water, while fires burned in metal drums to keep visitors warm.
Who will investigate?
The Minnesota agency that investigates officer-involved shootings said Thursday that it was informed that the FBI and U.S. Justice Department would not work with the it, effectively ending any role for the state to determine if crimes were committed. Noem said the state has no jurisdiction.
“Without complete access to the evidence, witnesses and information collected, we cannot meet the investigative standards that Minnesota law and the public demands,” said Drew Evans, head of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
Gov. Tim Walz demanded that the state be allowed to take part, repeatedly emphasizing that it would be “very difficult for Minnesotans” to accept that an investigation excluding the state could be fair.
Noem, he said, was “judge, jury and basically executioner” during her public comments.
Frey, the mayor, told The Associated Press: “We want to make sure that there is a check on this administration to ensure that this investigation is done for justice, not for the sake of a cover-up.”
Deadly encounter seen from multiple angles
Several bystanders captured video of Good’s killing, which happened in a neighborhood south of downtown.
The recordings show an officer approaching an SUV stopped across the middle of the road, demanding the driver open the door and grabbing the handle. The Honda Pilot begins to pull forward, and a different ICE officer standing in front of it pulls his weapon and immediately fires at least two shots at close range, jumping back as the vehicle moves toward him.
It is not clear from the videos if the vehicle makes contact with the officer, and there is no indication of whether the woman had interactions with agents earlier. After the shooting the SUV speeds into two cars parked on a curb before crashing to a stop.
Officer identified in records
The federal agent who fatally shot Good is an Iraq War veteran who has served for almost two decades in the Border Patrol and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to records obtained by The Associated Press.
Noem has not publicly named him, but a Homeland Security spokesperson said her description of his injuries last summer refers to an incident in Bloomington, Minnesota, in which court documents identify him as Jonathan Ross.
Ross got his arm stuck in the window of a vehicle of a driver who was fleeing arrest on an immigration violation. He was dragged roughly 100 yards (90 meters) before he was knocked free, records show.
He fired his Taser, but the prongs did not incapacitate the driver, according to prosecutors. Ross was transported to a hospital.
A jury found the driver guilty of assaulting a federal officer with a dangerous weapon.
Attempts to reach Ross, 43, at phone numbers and email addresses associated with him were not successful.
DHS assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin also did not confirm his identity but said the officer involved in the shooting was selected for ICE’s special response team, which includes a 30-hour tryout and additional training.
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Associated Press reporters Steve Karnowski and Mark Vancleave in Minneapolis; Ed White in Detroit; Valerie Gonzalez in Brownsville, Texas; Graham Lee Brewer in Norman, Oklahoma; Michael Biesecker in Washington; Jim Mustian in New York; Ryan Foley in Iowa City, Iowa; and Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed.
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