- Gov. Tim Walz has prepared the Minnesota National Guard in case they need to be called on.
- State officials report being blocked from investigating the shooting incident.
- Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said she is prepared to send more immigration officials to Minnesota.
Protests continue across Minnesota Thursday after a woman was shot and killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Minneapolis on Wednesday.
State and local authorities appear at odds with federal officials who say the agent acted in self-defense. Those claims have been rejected by Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who are calling for ICE to leave Minneapolis.
Minneapolis Public Schools canceled classes for Thursday and Friday because of “safety concerns,” according to The New York Times.
Here’s a look at some of the latest developments related to the death of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good.
Protesters gather in Minneapolis on Thursday morning
Crowds of Minnesotans took to the streets of Minneapolis early Thursday, with homemade signs in hand, protesting shooting Wednesday in which Good was killed.
Crowds have gathered outside Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building and were facing off with federal agents. Videos of the protest show federal agents periodically pushing crowds back as the protesters are heard chanting.
According to CNN, federal agents also deployed a gas-like substance on the crowd of protesters in an attempt to move people across the street.
While protesters gather in Minnesota, similar protests have also taken place in other cities across the country such as Los Angeles and New York City, per The New York Times.
JD Vance calls the incident an ‘attack on federal law enforcement’
Vice President JD Vance has also stepped in to defend the federal government’s argument that the ICE agent who shot Good was acting in self defense. During Thursday’s White House press briefing he said that the incident was an “attack on federal law enforcement.”
“This was an attack on law and order. This was an attack on the American people,” he added, according to USA Today.
The vice president also called the media’s coverage on the incident an “absolute disgrace.” Earlier Thursday, Walz had thanked the media for their coverage of the incident.
Vance also said that the killing of Good was “a tragedy of her own making.” He called her both “radicalized,” “a little brainwashed” and a victim of “left wing ideology.”
“Nobody wants an American citizen to be killed,” Vance added, according to CNN. “This is absolutely a tragedy. But it’s a tragedy of the making of the far left. They have radicalized a very small segment of the population, taught them that ICE agents are engaging in an wide-scale violation of people’s rights.”
Gov. Walz prepares the Minnesota National Guard
In a news conference on Wednesday, Walz said: “To Donald Trump and Kristi Noem, you’ve done enough.”
He added that his state “doesn’t need any further help from the federal government,” per CBS News.
The Minnesota governor has issued a “warning order” to the Minnesota National Guard to be prepared in case it is needed to assist state and local officials during the fallout from the shooting. Walz also urged Minnesotans to keep their protests peaceful.
“I want Minnesotans to hear this from me: The desire to get out in the protest and to speak up to this administration of how wrong this is, that is a patriotic duty at this point in time, but it needs to be done safely,” he said, according to ABC News.
“I feel your anger, I am angry. They want a show, we can’t give it to them,” Walz added.
A spokesperson for the Minnesota National Guard said that it is “conducting necessary preparations to assist state authorities in protecting property and ensuring public safety if so ordered.” There has not yet been an official request for support.
According to CNN, in a press conference on Thursday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said she is “not opposed to sending more” immigration authorities to Minneapolis in order to “keep people safe.”
These comments came in response to state and local leaders calls for ICE agents to leave the area.
Minneapolis police chief said tensions had been building for weeks
On Thursday, Minneapolis Police Department Chief Brian O’Hara said that tensions had been building in the city for several weeks before the fatal shooting on Wednesday.
He told CNN that he had been concerned “that either a federal law enforcement officer or a civilian member of the community would get seriously hurt or killed.”
O’Hara added that “such heightened tensions and so many emotions around these issues could lead to civil unrest.” He also spoke about how the city was at the center of strong civil unrest after the death of George Floyd approximately five years ago.
It is unknown whether the ICE officer was wearing a body camera
A number of videos of the shooting from different angles have been circulating the internet, but it is still unknown whether the officer who shot Good was wearing a body camera.
While conducting operations in Minneapolis, ICE officers are not required to wear body cameras, according to CNN. When asked if there was body camera footage for the shooting, O’Hara said he didn’t have any information on it.
“I can tell you this much, there were not any Minneapolis Police officers on the scene when the use of deadly force occurred,” he said.
He added that with so many videos of the incident circulating, a full story will be pieced together.
“Out of respect for the deceased, we should be willing to go as far as possible to gather all of the evidence and follow the evidence to its logical conclusion,” O’Hara said to CNN.
Minnesota state officials say they have been blocked from investigating the shooting
On Thursday morning, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension released a statement saying it no longer has access to the investigation of the shooting of Good.
The statement said shortly after the shooting occurred, the bureau was informed that its Force Investigations Unit would be conducting a joint investigation with the FBI. But it said later it was removed from the investigation.
“The FBI informed the BCA that the U.S. Attorney’s Office had reversed course: 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,” reads the statement from the BCA.
The statement added that without complete access, the bureau cannot meet the standards necessary for an investigation, so it has to withdraw from the investigation.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said that he is concerned by the decision to block state authorities from investigating.
“What I have seen is deeply disturbing and there is sufficient basis for further investigation and potential charges,” Ellison said about the case while speaking to CNN. “There’s basis to move forward. There’s basis to, at some point, present it to a prosecuting authority to make it to charging.”
In response to the BCA claims of being blocked from the investigation, Noem said, ”They have not been cut out. They don’t have any jurisdiction in this investigation,” according to CBS News.