Protesters are venting their outrage following the fatal shooting of a woman in Minneapolis by a federal officer taking part in the US government’s latest immigration crackdown.
State and local officials demanded that the immigration agents leave Minnesota after the unidentified Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) officer shot 37-year-old mother-of-three Renee Macklin Good in the head on Wednesday. But Homeland Security secretary Kristi Noem said agents will remain.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has deployed more than 2,000 officers to the area in what it says is its largest immigration enforcement operation ever. Ms Noem said more than 1,500 people have already been arrested.
Dozens of protesters gathered early on Thursday outside of a federal building on the edge of Minneapolis that is serving as a major base for the immigration crackdown. They shouted “no more Ice”, “go home Nazis”, “quit your job” and “justice now” as US Border Patrol officers pushed them back from the gate, doused them with pepper spray and fired tear gas.
“We should be horrified,” protester Shanta Hejmadi said. “We should be saddened that our government is waging war on our citizens. We should get out and say no. What else can we do?”
The anti-immigration enforcement protests were not confined to Minneapolis, as demonstrations also took place or were expected to on Thursday in New York City, Seattle, Detroit, Washington DC, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Antonio, New Orleans and Chicago. Protests were also scheduled in smaller cities later this week in Arizona, North Carolina, and New Hampshire.
Bystanders captured video of Ms Macklin Good’s killing in a residential neighbourhood and hundreds of people turned up for a Wednesday night vigil to mourn her death and urge the public to resist the immigration crackdown.
The videos of the shooting show an officer approaching a four-wheel drive vehicle stopped across the middle of the road, demanding the driver open the door and grabbing the handle. The Honda Pilot begins to drive forward and a different Ice officer standing in front of it draws 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 Ice agents earlier. After the shooting, the vehicle speeds into two cars parked on a curb before crashing to a stop.
In another recording made afterwards, a woman who identifies Ms Macklin Good as her spouse is seen crying near the vehicle. The woman, who is not identified, says the couple recently arrived in Minnesota and that they had a child.
Ms 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”.
US President Donald Trump made similar accusations on social media and defended Ice’s work.
Ms 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.
But Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey called Ms Noem’s version of events “garbage”.
“They are already trying to spin this as an action of self-defence,” Mr Frey said. “Having seen the video myself, I want to tell everybody directly, that is bullshit.”
He also criticised the federal deployment and said the agents should leave.
The head of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) said on Thursday that the US attorney’s office had barred it from taking part in the investigation.
BCA Superintendent Drew Evans said in a statement that after the agency consulted with the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office, the US attorney’s office and the FBI following the shooting, it was decided that the BCA Force Investigations Unit would conduct a joint investigation with the FBI. But he said the FBI later informed the BCA that the US attorney’s office had changed the plan.
“The investigation would now be led solely by the FBI, and the BCA would no longer have access to the case materials, scene evidence or investigative interviews necessary to complete a thorough and independent investigation,” Mr Evans wrote.
“Without complete access to the evidence, witnesses and information collected, we cannot meet the investigative standards that Minnesota law and the public demands. As a result, the BCA has reluctantly withdrawn from the investigation. The BCA Force Investigations Unit was designed to ensure consistency, accountability and public confidence, none of which can be achieved without full co-operation and jurisdictional clarity,” he wrote.
The shooting marked a dramatic escalation of the latest in a series of immigration enforcement operations in major cities under the Trump administration. Wednesday’s is at least the fifth death linked to the crackdowns.
Minnesota has been on edge since the DHS announced the operation’s launch on Tuesday, at least partly tied to allegations of fraud involving Somali residents.
A crowd of protesters gathered at the scene after the shooting to vent their anger at local and federal officers.
In a scene reminiscent of crackdowns in Los Angeles and Chicago, people chanted “Ice out of Minnesota” and blew whistles that have become ubiquitous during the operations.
Minnesota governor Tim Walz said he was prepared to deploy the National Guard if necessary. He expressed outrage over the shooting but called on people to keep protests peaceful.
“They want a show,” Mr Walz said. “We can’t give it to them.”
There were calls on social media to prosecute the officer who shot Ms Macklin Good.
Commissioner Bob Jacobson of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety said state authorities would investigate the shooting with federal authorities.
