The peace-loving Twin Cities of Minnesota are under siege as forces from the Immigration Control Enforcement agency (ICE) continue their illegal occupation of our law-abiding community. President Trump, in his worst petulant and insolent behavior, has decided to inflict his wrath on a community that has already experienced too much tragedy in the past year.
Our crime? A governor (Tim Walz) who has stood up to this insecure bully consistently pointing out the president’s misinformation, false claims, and over exaggerations. An ongoing scandal involving state oversight of several social services programs was the pretext for the invasion. But make no mistake about it, this is sheer Brutus power politics using ICE to impose Trump’s will on the innocent residents of this area.
ICE Stormtroopers Invade a Midwestern
ICE invaded the Twin Cities during the first week of January, prompted by a video made by a right-wing agitator that attacked Minnesota’s immigrant communities. This agitator coordinated directly with the Republican Speaker of the Minnesota House, Lisa Demuth. The allegations made by this agitator have been debunked, but they gave the president the ammunition he needed to deploy 2,000 ICE agents to the Twin Cities. Shortly after their arrival, tragedy struck.
While peacefully observing an ICE action in South Minneapolis, 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good attempted to exit the area by turning right as instructed by an agent at the scene. As she tried to leave the area, ICE agent Jonathan Ross stood in front of her vehicle with gun drawn. As she was turning to avoid Good, he shot four times into her front windshield, eventually causing her to crash her vehicle just slightly down from the scene. A doctor tried to administer first aid, but another agent prevented him from assisting Ms. Good.
Good’s wife, Rebecca, who was at the scene, ran to check on her and when ICE agents arrived at the crash, a blood-soaked Rebecca said, “You’ve killed my wife.” Renee Good was pronounced dead at a local hospital a short time later. And as my colleague Gabriella Dobson reported yesterday, A Venezuelan immigrant who legally resides in the Twin Cities was shot in the leg Wednesday night in North Minneapolis after an altercation with another ICE agent. He suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
More Incidents and Trying to Keep the Peace
And there are countless other examples of illegal activity by these federal agents. On Sunday, a man was arrested by federal agents after they used a battering ram to knock down the door to his home. Unfortunately, the agents lacked a judicial warrant to enter the building, and his lawyer is demanding his immediate release, which was granted yesterday.
And a family of eight was traveling in a vehicle in North Minneapolis on Wednesday when an ICE agent shot a flashbang stun grenade into their vehicle, injuring three children, including a six-month-old baby. Thankfully, witnesses at the scene poured milk on the children to mitigate the effects of the tear gas. while others called paramedics and coached the mother through CPR on her infant child.
Across the Twin Cities, restaurants and other businesses remain closed or are opening for limited hours because customers and staff are reluctant to leave their homes. Even some schools in the Metro area have resorted to online learning this week. Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey has been trying to diffuse the situation by telling people, “Not to take the bait,’ meaning do not agitate the federal agents. He has heralded the numerous peaceful protests that have occurred since the occupation.
Other Related Items
In response to the shooting of Ms. Good, most leaders would attempt to diffuse a tense situation. But not our president. Instead, he has deployed 1,000 additional ICE agents to Minnesota, adding gasoline to the fire. In response to the Justice Department’s push to investigate Ms. Good’s widow and the department’s reluctance to investigate the shooter, six federal prosecutors in Minnesota resigned on Tuesday. This included Joe Thompson, who was the lead prosecutor in the expansive, developing fraud case.
And now Mr. Trump is threatening to incorrectly and illegally invoke the Insurrection Act, which would bring federal troops to Minnesota in an effort to quell a situation of his making. This situation will, unfortunately, get much worse before calm returns to the Twin Cities.
