Geoff Bennett:
Welcome to the “News Hour.”
There were protests in Minnesota today over ICE and the fatal shooting of a 37-year-old woman, Renee Nicole Good, on Wednesday, while, at the White House, Vice President J.D. Vance strongly defended ICE, saying the officer was defending himself and called Good’s death a tragedy of her own making.
Amna Nawaz:
Local officials, including Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, are hammering ICE and its aggressive presence in the community. State officials also said that federal investigators were effectively shutting them out of the shooting inquiry and blocking them from accessing evidence.
Many in the community were reeling from the events of the past 48 hours.
Special correspondent Fred de Sam Lazaro has the story from Minneapolis.
Fred de Sam Lazaro:
This morning, protesters clashed with federal agents in front of the Whipple Federal Building outside of Minneapolis, a city on edge after an ICE agent fatally shot U.S. citizen Renee Nicole Good yesterday.
The shooting, caught on camera by bystanders, shows a chaotic scene on the residential street, ending with an agent firing three shots into Good’s SUV.
Woman:
No! No! Shame! Shame!
(Gunshots)
Woman:
Oh, my (expletive deleted) God. What the (expletive deleted)?
J.D. Vance, Vice President of the United States: This was an attack on law and order.
Fred de Sam Lazaro:
At a press conference this afternoon, Vice President J.D. Vance reiterated the administration’s defense of the agent’s actions.
J.D. Vance:
What I am certain of is that she violated the law. What I am certain of is that officer had every reason to think that he was under very serious threat for injury or in fact his life. What I am certain of is that she accelerated in a way where she ran into the guy. I don’t know what was in her heart and what was in her head, but I know that she violated the law and I know that officer was acting in self-defense.
Fred de Sam Lazaro:
But state and local officials sharply disagree about what the video evidence shows. They say Good was trying to get away from ICE, not to run down the officer.
Vance says, ultimately, the blame falls on what he calls the far left.
J.D. Vance:
I can believe that her death is a tragedy while also recognizing that it’s a tragedy of her own making and a tragedy of the far left, who has marshaled an entire movement, a lunatic fringe, against our law enforcement officers.
Fred de Sam Lazaro:
The officer, who local media identified as Jonathan Ross, is described as having 10 years of experience with the force and was involved in a separate incident in which he was dragged by a car and deployed a Taser, according to a criminal complaint from June of last year.
Dieu Do is an activist with the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee.
Dieu Do, Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee:
To hear Kristi Noem and other federal leaders not show any empathy, but to start a smear campaign against Renee and Minnesotans, is abhorrent and disgusting.
Fred de Sam Lazaro:
A vigil and a makeshift memorial grew Wednesday evening near the site of the shooting, honoring Good, whose family and friends describe her as a Christian who participated in mission trips, a poet who loved to sing, and a loving mother of three.
At the memorial today, where protesters have put up makeshift barricades, Somali immigrant Deqa Adan came to pay her respects.
Deqa Adan, Minnesota Resident:
If you see a kid being bullied, you stand up for them. You say something. Renee did that. She stood up. She stood up for the rights for people being captured in the streets like herd of animals, and she lost her life because of that.
Fred de Sam Lazaro:
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz urged accountability for Good’s death.
Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN):
People in positions of power have already passed judgment. From the president, to the vice president to Kristi Noem have stood and told you things that are verifiably false, verifiably inaccurate.
It feels to me like we’re at one of those inflection points, that simply asking our government to give us accountability, listen to local leaders, ratchet down the rhetoric, let people feel safe in their person, and let’s let our kids go to school without fear.
Fred de Sam Lazaro:
Minneapolis schools were closed today in the wake of the shooting and after immigration agents clashed with people near one high school yesterday afternoon.
For now, the city, no stranger to civil unrest, anxiously awaits what’s to come while mourning one of its own.
Dieu Do:
The place that Renee was killed yesterday was six blocks away from where George Floyd was murdered. The law enforcement response is the same, to lie, to cover up and to spin a different story on really what actually happened.
Fred de Sam Lazaro:
As of late this afternoon, a GoFundMe campaign set up for Renee Good has raised close to $900,000 — Geoff.
Geoff Bennett:
And, Fred, what more have you seen on the streets and heard as you have talked to people there?
Fred de Sam Lazaro:
Geoff, anywhere you go in this city, there is palpable tension and a sense of deja vu. I’m standing near the site of yesterday’s incident, and it’s not far from where George Floyd was murdered.
One person here, however, told me that, unlike George Floyd, which was a one-off, this seems unrelenting. The federal enforcement surge began several days ago, and it is targeting not just immigration enforcement or immigration, but, rather, also the expanding fraud investigation involving Minnesota state programs, which the administration has vowed to crack down on and which targets specifically the Somali immigrant community in this city.
Geoff Bennett:
We know the mayor and other Democrats are urging ICE to leave this city. Based on your reporting, what’s expected of the immigration enforcement effort in the days ahead?
Fred de Sam Lazaro:
If anything, Geoff, word is that they are going to escalate. The man in charge of Border Patrol, Greg Bovino, has been sighted in several locations in this city. More officers are being dispatched here, so there’s no sense that it’s going to diminish in any way.
For their part, the protesters say they do not plan to let up in any of their activities and their vigilance. We take winter in our stride here in Minnesota, but this one is one that is not going to be forgotten soon.
Geoff Bennett:
Fred de Sam Lazaro in Minneapolis for us tonight.
Fred, our thanks to you.
After Renee Good
We report from the Minnesota protests against ICE and the killing of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good. Local officials, including Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, are hammering ICE and its aggressive presence in the community. State officials also said that federal investigators were shutting them out of the inquiry and blocking them from accessing evidence in the shooting.
