Minneapolis was on edge Thursday after a woman was fatally shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer during the Trump administration’s latest immigration crackdown. This led to the protest in the city.
Protesters clashed with law enforcement agents on Thursday as anger mounted over the shooting, AP reported.
State and local officials demanded ICE leave Minnesota after 37-year-old Renee Nicole Macklin Good was shot in the head Wednesday morning. However, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said agents would not be leaving.
The Department of Homeland Security deployed more than 2,000 officers to the area in what it said was its largest immigration enforcement operation ever. Noem said more than 1,500 people were already arrested.
Bystanders captured video of Macklin Good’s killing in a residential neighbourhood south of downtown. Hundreds of people attended a Wednesday night vigil to mourn her and urge the public to resist the immigration crackdown. Some then chanted as they marched through the city, but there was no violence.
“I would love for ICE to leave our city and for more community members to come to see it happens,” said Sander Kolodziej, a painter who came to the vigil to support the community.
3 protestors arrestedThree people were arrested at an anti-ICE protest near the Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis, where ICE operated from, after several hundred people gathered at the site in the south metro, CBS news reported.
WCCO's Beret Leone said the crowd split into three groups, blocking agents from entering or leaving the building. Shortly after 8 a.m., three people from the crowd were taken away in handcuffs.
Federal agents also deployed chemical irritants at the crowd.
Hundreds of people gathered in Minneapolis and neighbouring St. Paul, chanting, marching and holding signs urging ICE agents to get out of their city. The demonstrations were ongoing since news of the shooting broke yesterday.
A live feed of the protests showed some confrontations breaking out between law enforcement and protesters.
Some protesters were treated after it appeared a chemical agent was deployed.
What DHS and Trump say about death of woman?Noem called the incident an “act of domestic terrorism” against ICE officers, saying the driver “attempted to run them over and rammed them with her vehicle. An officer of ours acted quickly and defensively, shot, to protect himself and the people around him.”
President Donald Trump made similar accusations on social media and defended ICE’s work.
Noem alleged that the woman was part of a “mob of agitators” and said the officer followed his training. She said the FBI would investigate.
However, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey called Noem’s version of events “garbage.”
“They are already trying to spin this as an action of self-defense,” Frey said. “Having seen the video myself, I wanna tell everybody directly, that is bullshit.”
What witness said?The Department of Homeland Security claimed Good “weaponised her vehicle” and attempted to run over officers, prompting an agent to fire what it described as defensive shots. However, multiple eyewitnesses strongly dispute this account.
Neighbours say Good posed no threat and appeared to be trying to drive away when gunfire erupted, sending her vehicle crashing into parked cars.
Witnesses described chaos, fear and helplessness as federal agents ordered residents to stand back and allegedly did not attempt to render aid.
Viral videos and frame-by-frame analyses circulating on social media also challenge the official version, suggesting the agent was not in immediate danger. The shooting has left the community shaken and grieving, deepening public concern over aggressive immigration enforcement tactics.
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