US protesters hold signs as they march from Powderhorn Park in Minneapolis against Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the fatal shooting of Renee Good by an Ice agent. Photo / Octavia Jones, AFP
US protesters hold signs as they march from Powderhorn Park in Minneapolis against Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the fatal shooting of Renee Good by an Ice agent. Photo / Octavia Jones, AFP
Thousands of demonstrators chanting the name of the woman killed by a United States federal agent in Minneapolis have taken to the city’s streets, amid widespread anger at use of force in the Trump Administration’s immigration crackdown.
Organisers said more than 1000 events were planned across the US under theslogan “Ice, out for Good” – referring to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency that is drawing growing opposition over its execution of US President Donald Trump’s effort at mass deportations.
The slogan is also a reference to Renee Good, the 37-year-old mother shot dead in her car by an Ice agent in the midwestern city of Minneapolis earlier this week.
Thousands braved frigid weather and streamed towards a snow-covered park to mobilise near the scene of the shooting. They carried signs demanding “ICE OUT” of Minnesota.
At the start of the protest, a voice called out, “Say her name!” The crowd shouted back: “Renee Good!”
Her death has sparked strong emotions in this Democratic stronghold, and further afield.
Renee Nicole Good. Photo / Facebook
In Philadelphia, protesters marched in the rain from City Hall to the Ice field office. Others mobilised in New York, Washington and Boston. More protests were planned for tomorrow.
The calls to protest were being amplified by the “No Kings” movement, a network of left-wing organisations that mounted nationwide demonstrations against Trump last year.
The Trump Administration has sought to paint Good as a “domestic terrorist”, insisting the agent who fatally shot her was acting in self-defence.
This narrative is strongly disputed by local officials, who say footage shows Good’s vehicle was turning away from the agent and did not pose a threat.
Cellphone footage apparently taken by the officer who fired the fatal shots shows him interacting with Good, who had blocked the road with her car in an apparent effort to impede the agents.
WARNING: Distressing content. FOX has obtained cell phone video taken by the ICE officer who shot Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis, showing the moments leading up to the shooting. pic.twitter.com/RcDNLdcmlb
He approaches and circles Good’s car, as she says to him: “I’m not mad at you”.
After he passes in front of the car, another agent can be heard ordering Good to exit the vehicle before she tries to drive off and shots ring out.
The agent filming the video can be heard saying “f***ing b***h” at the end of the clip.
The White House insisted the video gave weight to the officer’s claim of self-defence – even though the clip does not show the moment the car moved away, or him opening fire.
‘Our rights are being taken away’
Drew Lenzmeier, 30, said he joined the protest in Minneapolis “because I feel our rights are being taken away from us and we are turning into an authoritarian dictatorship”.
“No one is stopping the Trump Administration from now murdering citizens and stealing, kidnapping human beings. It’s time to stop,” he said.
Yesterday, hundreds gathered noisily in front of Minneapolis hotels believed to be housing Ice agents, equipped with whistles, loudspeakers and musical instruments.
Several people were arrested and then quickly released, according to police.
Officials and residents in Minnesota have expressed concern that local law enforcement agencies have been shut out of the FBI investigation into Minneapolis shooting.
According to The Trace, a media outlet focusing on gun violence, Good was the fourth person killed by federal immigration agents since the launch of the Trump Administration’s deportation campaign. Seven people have been injured.
In a separate incident, two people were injured on Thursday local time in Portland, Oregon, by shots fired by federal border police during a traffic stop.
