Minneapolis mayor accuses federal authorities of ‘hiding facts’ in ICE killing | Minneapolis
Authorities in Minneapolis accused federal officials Friday of “hiding the facts” regarding the death of a U.S. citizen by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer and demanded that state investigators be included in the FBI investigation.
Jacob Frey, the Democratic mayor of the Minnesota city, criticized the Trump administration’s response to the shooting, speaking at a news conference two days after Renee Nicole Good died in her car during a confrontation with federal officers amid protests and community scrutiny during the immigration crackdown.
Donald Trump, J.D. Vance, and Kristi Noem, the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), ICE’s parent agency, quickly accused Good of participating in “domestic terrorism” before he presented evidence and before the official investigation had fully begun.
The shooting and statements from Washington, D.C., sparked angry reactions from Frey and other local figures, including Minnesota governor Tim Walz and at least one prominent Republican.
“This is no time to hide from the truth,” Frey said Friday, referring to the FBI taking full control of the investigation and the exclusion of Minnesota criminal apprehension bureau officials, adding: “If you have nothing to hide, then don’t hide.”
“They’re calling the victim a domestic terrorist. They’re calling the actions of the agent involved a kind of defensive posture. We know they’ve already determined most of the investigation.”
He added: “And even if it wasn’t, there seems to have been a conclusion drawn from the very beginning. If they’re not hiding from the facts, why shouldn’t we embrace them? What we want is to embrace the truth. What we want is to include the criminal arrest bureau in this process, because we want a fair investigation in Minneapolis.”
Frey spoke as Walz asked Minnesota residents to observe a “day of unity” on Friday, including a moment of silence for Good, following a second night of peaceful protests in Minneapolis and elsewhere against the Trump administration’s harsh anti-immigration crackdown.
By Friday morning, city crews were clearing impromptu obstacles left by demonstrators and reopening streets near the scene. The Minneapolis Star Tribune reportedBut a large meeting in the city on Thursday night passed peacefully, save for some minor scuffles, in the petrifying cold weather.
Well-wishers continued to pay tribute. Vibrant bouquets of red, yellow and green flowers appear above layers of snow and ice on the ground; So are the rainbow flags placed to mark Good’s relationship. with his wifealso brightly colored balloons and a simple wooden cross placed next to a tree.
Vigils and demonstrations were also held in many other cities, including New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Portland, Oregon.
“Minnesotans have met right now. Thousands of people have made their voices heard peacefully. Minnesota: thank you. We have seen a strong peace. We have every reason to believe that peace will continue,” Walz said in a statement.
Walz said he had instructed the state’s national guard troops to be ready “if needed” to “keep the peace, ensure public safety and allow for peaceful demonstrations.”
The situation in the city had become very tense Wednesday and Thursday as locals feared a repeat of the somewhat out-of-control backlash against authorities in 2020 after a police officer killed George Floyd on Minneapolis’ south side, about a mile from where Good was killed.
The political fallout from Good’s death amid massive immigration enforcement action by ICE and other federal agencies in Minneapolis continued Friday. It came like this The New York Times reported He said 100 more federal agents were sent to Minneapolis. And authorities in Portland, Oregon, another city subject to the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigrants, responded to the shooting by Border Patrol agents of two men identified by the Homeland Security Department as: Agua gang members in the trainagain without provision for public verification of evidence.
The FBI is investigating both cases but sparked outrage in Minneapolis on Thursday after it took over the investigation and cut off Minnesota’s access to evidence.
Vance maintained at the White House briefing that the agent who shot Good had “absolute immunity” from prosecution. He was later given the name Jonathan Ross, a 10-year law enforcement veteran.
Frey disagreed with that assessment on Friday.
“That’s not true of any law school in America, whether it’s Yale or Villanova or anywhere, if you break the law, if you do things outside the scope of your job responsibilities, that’s not true,” Frey said.
He said he stood by his previous comments that Good’s killing was a “reckless abuse of power” and that ICE should “get the hell out” of Minneapolis.
“I said the narrative put forward by the administration in the immediate aftermath of this attack was absurd and false. [bullshit]. It happened. “I stand with each of them,” he said.
“And this concept of inflammatory comments. Come on guys, I dropped an F-bomb. They killed someone. Which of these is more inflammatory? I’d rather someone be killed.”
Minnesota attorney general Keith Ellison acknowledged that it might be difficult to bring state charges against Ross without federal cooperation.
“Ideally, the investigation would be handed over to the state so that there can be real confidence in this investigation.” he told NPR.
“But if that doesn’t happen, at least it should be a partner and the state should be a full partner.”
Tom Heffelfinger, a former federal prosecutor in Minnesota and a Republican appointee, called the FBI takeover “disgusting” in a local speech. radio interviewAccording to Axios outlet reporting.
“This decision ultimately ensures that this shooting cannot be fairly and fully investigated,” Heffelfinger said, according to reports.
Bryna Godar, a staff attorney at the University of Wisconsin School of Law, said in an interview with Axios that each U.S. state “can and does sue federal officials” if they engage in illegal actions not permitted by federal law.
Walz also criticized the exclusion of state officials on Thursday.
“Now that Minnesota is out of the investigation, we find it very, very difficult to get a fair outcome,” Walz said.
“I say this because people in power, from the president to the vice president to Kristi Noem, have already passed judgment and told you things that are verifiably false, verifiably false,” he said at a news conference.
The Trump administration sought to portray Good, a mother of three who had reportedly just dropped off her son at school, as someone brainwashed “by left-wing ideology” and insisted that the officer who fired the fatal shots was acting in self-defense as Good’s car swung toward him. Management says he is trying to overwhelm the officer, while critics say he is trying to distance himself from the officers.
Video of the incident cast doubt on the White House’s claim; It appeared to show that the wheels of Good’s SUV were moving away from Ross as he drove forward, and Ross was able to quickly move out of the way, but appeared to pause to fire his gun, and brushed against the car but remained standing.
