The Governor of Minnesota has called the administration of US President Donald Trump a “propaganda machine” for its response to the killing of a woman by an immigration officer in Minneapolis in which it accused her of “domestic terrorism.”
“I’ve seen the video. Don’t believe this propaganda machine. The state will ensure there is a full, fair, and expeditious investigation to ensure accountability and justice,” Tim Walz wrote on social media.
The 37-year-old woman was shot dead in her car by a US immigration agent in Minneapolis during an immigration enforcement surge yesterday, according to local and federal officials.
The Minnesota City Council identified her as Renee Nicole Good and said she was “out caring for her neighbours this morning [Wednesday] and her life was taken today at the hands of the federal government.”
The council statement also demanded that ICE leave the city immediately.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey adamantly rejected the Trump administration’s assertion that the agent fired in self-defence, saying video of the shooting directly contradicted what he called the government’s “garbage narrative.”
“They’re already trying to spin this as an action of self-defence,” the visibly angry mayor said at a press conference.
“Having seen the video myself, I want to tell everybody directly – that is bulls**t.”
Watch: Mayor Jacob Frey tells ICE to get out of Minneapolis
Mr Frey blamed federal immigration agents for sowing chaos in the city, telling ICE: “Get the f**k out of Minneapolis.”
But he also urged residents to remain calm, as Democratic leaders in Minnesota, Washington and elsewhere called the ICE operation an unnecessary provocation that resulted in tragedy.
As night fell, a large crowd gathered at the site of the shooting in a residential area of the city’s Central neighbourhood, TV images showed.
Candles placed at the site lit up the winter night.
Earlier, some protesters were met by heavily armed federal agents wearing gas masks who fired chemical irritants.
Protest were also held in other US cities.
Kristi Noem, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, told a press conference that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers were responding to a vehicle stuck in the snow when they were harassed by a “mob of agitators.”
One of the protesters, later identified as Ms Good, followed agents all day, Ms Noem said. She said Ms Good blocked their vehicle and refused orders to move out of the way.
“She then proceeded to weaponise her vehicle, and she attempted to run a law enforcement officer over,” Ms Noem told a news conference, saying the car struck the officer.
She characterised that as domestic terrorism and said the act was under investigation by the FBI. State officials said they would launch their own investigation.
One widely shared video on social showed a maroon Honda SUV partially blocking the road. As the clip begins, the driver inches forward before stopping to let another car pass.
The driver, with the window down, then appears to gesture to an approaching pickup truck to go ahead as well. Instead, the truck stops, and two officers exit and approach the car on foot.
As one of the officers orders the driver out of the SUV and grabs at the door handle, the vehicle reverses briefly, and a third agent moves to the front of the car from the passenger side.
The driver then advances, steering to the right in what appears to be an effort to drive away from the officers. The agent in front of the car pulls his weapon, steps back and fires as the moving car’s left front bumper comes close to his legs.
He fires three shots, with at least one shot after the car’s front bumper had passed him. It was not clear from the video whether the car made contact with the officer, who stayed on his feet throughout the encounter.
After the shots, the car accelerates and crashes into parked cars and a pole.
Watch: Eyewitness captures moment US immigration agent fatally shot woman
Ms Noem said the officer was experienced and “followed his training.” He was treated by a doctor at a hospital and released.
Ms Good’s mother told the Minnesota Star Tribune that her daughter was “extremely compassionate,” and she said she was not the type of person to confront ICE agents.
“She’s taken care of people all her life,” her mother, Donna Ganger, told the newspaper. “She was loving, forgiving and affectionate.”
The police chief said Ms Good, who was married, was not a target of immigration operations. A witness whose home is nearby told CNN that Ms Good lived in the neighbourhood.
The Department of Homeland Security has said it is conducting the “largest DHS operation ever” in Minnesota with 2,000 officers deployed to arrest “fraudsters, murderers, rapists, and gang members.”
The surge follows allegations of wide-scale welfare fraud involving Somali immigrants, whom Mr Trump has called “garbage.” Ms Noem said authorities had arrested 1,500 people in recent weeks.
The fraud allegations date to 2020 against some non profit groups in the Somali community that administer childcare and other social services programmes.
At least 56 people have pleaded guilty since federal prosecutors started to bring charges in 2022 under Mr Trump’s Democratic predecessor, Joe Biden.
Mr Walz told a press conference that he had put the National Guard on alert for possible deployment.
“What we are seeing is the consequences of governance designed to generate fear, headlines and conflict,” he said.”…Today that recklessness cost someone their life.”
In a social media post, Mr Trump said the video showed the woman “violently, willfully, and viciously ran over the ICE Officer, who seems to have shot her in self defense.”
Mr Walz announced this week he would not seek a third term as governor, saying he did not have time both to address the fraud scandal and to campaign.
