Thousands of demonstrators turned out in Minneapolis on Saturday to protest an ICE officer’s killing of Renee Nicole Good, whom the White House vilified as a “leftist insurrectionist” and blamed for the fatal shooting.
“This woman was not ‘an innocent mother dropping off her child at school,’” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on X, citing new video that purports to show Good blocking the street with her car before the deadly encounter with the ICE official. The video has not been independently verified by MS NOW.
“She was a leftist insurrectionist who was purposefully and illegally obstructing law enforcement operations,” Leavitt added.
Demonstrators gathered in Minneapolis and in other cities across the country on Saturday to protest the Trump administration’s immigration tactics, with more than 1,000 events expected to be held on Saturday and Sunday, according to Indivisible, a grassroots progressive organization.
Minneapolis police said at least 30 people were detained during a Friday night protest.
“Over the course of the night, individuals threw snow, ice, and rocks at officers, police vehicles, and other vehicles in the roadway,” according to a Minneapolis Police Department statement.
Police said property was damaged and that one officer sustained minor injuries that did not require medical attention as a large crowd moved between two hotels where ICE agents were believed to be staying. Several people “were detained, cited, and released.”
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said Saturday morning that demonstrators were largely peaceful, and that he saw footage of what he described as an “agitator, clearly from the far right” who was trying to rile up the crowd.
“It was so awesome that not only was the crowd not taking the bait, they were basically blowing them off. They were grinning down the bear,” Frey said. “And I think that is emblematic of what’s happening in Minneapolis right now.” He added, “We are meeting a whole lot of despair with a lot of hope.”
Minneapolis officials say federal agents have caused chaos in the city and endangered residents. Police Chief Brian O’Hara said Saturday federal immigration officers are conducting raids “across all parts of the city” in which people are arrested and their vehicles abandoned — including one with dog left inside.
Frey called those operations “reckless,” citing an incident in which ICE officials detained a person and left their car “in the middle of the street.”
“The car wasn’t even in park and so you’ve got this vehicle that is just rolling down the street with nobody in it,” he said. “So this is not about safety, clearly. If this was about safety, you wouldn’t do stupid things like that. Somebody’s going to get hurt, somebody has gotten killed.”
The Trump administration has deployed a surge of federal agents to Minnesota this week as part of an immigration enforcement operation focused on the state’s Somali community, sparking intense criticism from lawmakers.
On Saturday, three Minnesota Democrats — Reps. Ilhan Omar, Angie Craig and Kelly Morrison — tried to access an ICE facility in St. Paul to conduct congressional oversight but said they were denied entry. At a news conference afterward, Craig called on Republicans to “stand up” to Trump.
“This is beyond the pale. This administration continues to use Minnesota as a political stunt, and earlier this week, it got a woman killed,” Craig said. The Minneapolis shooting has become a heated political flashpoint. The Trump administration has doubled down on a narrative of self-defense, claiming that Good tried to run over the ICE officer, identified as Jonathan Ross. On Friday, President Donald Trump claimed on social media that the slain mother of three “violently, willfully, and viciously ran over the ICE officer,” who then shot her in self-defense. That claim is contradicted by multiple videos showing that Good appeared to be turning to the right to drive away from Ross, who positioned himself in front of the car before shooting and killing Good. Vice President JD Vance said at the White House on Thursday that Ross is “protected by absolute immunity.” But Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said on MS NOW’s “The Weekend” show Saturday that his state has every right to prosecute the ICE agent. Anger over federal agents’ presence and their documented use of excessive force in cites nationwide has also grown after a Customs and Border Patrol agent shot two people in Portland, Oregon, on Thursday. The Department of Homeland Security labeled the two people shot as “suspected Tren de Aragua gang associates” and said that they “weaponized their vehicle” against the agents, fled the scene, then called emergency medical services. Portland Police Chief Bob Day said Saturday that the two people shot there are in stable condition and in federal custody. He also said they “do have some nexus to involvement” with Tren de Aragua. The shootings in Minneapolis and Portland have reinvigorated calls among congressional Democrats to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Noem, who has been the face of Trump’s mass deportation efforts.
Clarissa-Jan Lim is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW. She was previously a senior reporter and editor at BuzzFeed News. Recommended
