Minneapolis officials today accused federal authorities of "hiding the facts" regarding the shooting death of a US citizen by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer, and called for state investigators to join the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) investigation, The Guardian reports.
The Democratic mayor of the Minnesota city, Jacob Frey, criticized the Donald Trump administration's response to the shooting, speaking at a news conference two days after the death of Renee Nicole Good, who was killed in her car during a confrontation with federal officers, amid protests and heightened public scrutiny over the immigration raid.
Donald Trump, J.D. Vance, and Kristi Noem, the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which is also responsible for ICE, quickly accused Goode of engaging in "domestic terrorism," without any evidence and before a formal investigation had even been fully launched.
The shooting and the statements coming from Washington have drawn angry reactions from Frey, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, as well as other local officials, including at least one prominent Republican.
“This is not the time to hide from the facts,” Frey said today, referring to the FBI’s decision to take over the investigation entirely and exclude officials from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Investigation. “If you have nothing to hide, then don’t hide,” he added.
"They're calling the victim a domestic terrorist. They're portraying the actions of the agent involved as some kind of defensive action. We know they've already concluded a large part of the investigation in advance."
He added: "Even if they didn't, there's an impression that the conclusion was made from the beginning. If you're not hiding from the facts, why don't you accept them? Our demand is that the truth be accepted. Our demand is that the Bureau of Criminal Investigation be involved in this process, because we in Minneapolis want a fair investigation."
Frey spoke as Minnesotans, at the urging of Volk, observed a "day of unity" today, including a moment of silence for Goode, after a second night of peaceful protests in Minneapolis and other cities against the Trump administration's harsh anti-immigration policies.
City officials were removing makeshift barricades left by protesters this morning and reopening streets near the scene of the shooting, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported. The large gathering Thursday night, despite freezing temperatures, was peaceful, with only a few minor scuffles.
Citizens continued to leave flowers and other tributes. The bright red, yellow and green of the bouquets stood out against the snow and ice on the ground, as did rainbow flags commemorating Goode's relationship with her husband, brightly colored balloons and a simple wooden cross placed next to a tree, the Guardian reports.
Vigils and protests were also held in several other cities, including New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Portland, Oregon.
"The citizens of Minnesota have responded to this moment. Thousands of people have peacefully raised their voices. Minnesota: thank you. We have seen a powerful peace. We have every reason to believe that peace will endure," Volz said in a statement.
He said he had ordered members of the Minnesota National Guard to be ready "if necessary" to "preserve the peace, ensure public safety, and facilitate peaceful demonstrations."
The situation in the city became extremely tense on Wednesday and Thursday, as residents feared a repeat of the uncontrolled riots of 2020, after a police officer killed George Floyd, just about a kilometer from where Goode was killed, on the south side of Minneapolis.
The political fallout from the death of Renee Nicole Goode, during a major immigration raid by ICE and other federal agencies in Minneapolis, continued Friday. The New York Times reported that 100 more federal agents were being deployed to the city. At the same time, authorities in Portland, Oregon, another city hit by the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, were dealing with a shooting in which border agents wounded two people, whom the Department of Homeland Security has identified as members of the Tren de Agua gang — again without any publicly available verifiable evidence.
The FBI is investigating both incidents, but it sparked outrage in Minneapolis on Thursday when it took over the investigation and denied the state of Minnesota access to evidence.
Vance claimed at a White House briefing that the agent who shot Goode had “absolute immunity” from prosecution. He was later identified as Jonathan Ross, a police officer with ten years of experience.
Frey rejected such a claim today.
"That's not true at any law school in America, whether it's Yale, Villanova or any other. That doesn't apply if you break the law, if you do things that are outside the scope of your official authority," Frey said.
He said he stands by his earlier statement that Goode's murder was a "reckless abuse of power" and that ICE should "get the f**k out" of Minneapolis.
"I said the narrative that the administration pushed immediately after the shooting was garbage, a lie, and pure s**t. And it was. I stand by every word I said," he said.
"And this story about inflammatory statements – come on, people. I swore. They killed someone. What's more inflammatory than that? I say – murder."
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison acknowledged that without the cooperation of federal authorities, it could be difficult to bring charges against Ross under state law.
"For there to be real trust in this investigation, it would be ideal to leave it to the state," he told NPR.
"But if that doesn't happen, then at least it should be joint, with full state participation."
Former Minnesota federal prosecutor Tom Hefelfinger, a Republican appointee, called the FBI's takeover of the investigation "disgusting," in an interview with local radio, Axios reported.
"This decision essentially guarantees that there can be no fair and complete investigation into this shooting," Hefelfinger said, according to The Guardian.
Some US states “can and do prosecute federal employees” if they commit illegal acts not authorized by federal law, Brina Goddard, an associate professor at the University of Wisconsin School of Law, told Axios in an interview.
On Thursday, Volz also criticized the exclusion of state authorities from the investigation.
"Now that Minnesota has been removed from the investigation, it seems very, very difficult that we will reach a just outcome," said Waltz.
"I say that because people in positions of power have already ruled – from the president, to the vice president, to Kristi Noem – and made public claims that are verifiably inaccurate and untrue," he said at a press conference.
The Trump administration has sought to portray Goode, a mother of three who had reportedly just dropped off her son at school, as someone “infused with leftist ideology,” arguing that the officer who fired the fatal shots acted in self-defense after her car allegedly crashed into him. The administration says she tried to run over the agent, while critics say she was trying to get away from the officer.
Video footage of the incident cast doubt on the White House's claims, as it appears that the wheels of Rene Goode's SUV were facing away from Ross as the vehicle moved forward, and that he was able to quickly move away, but apparently paused to shoot, with the car barely grazing him while he remained on his feet.
Bonus video:
