Thousands of demonstrators have taken to the streets of Minneapolis to protest the fatal shooting of a 37-year-old mother, Renee Good, by a federal immigration officer. The incident has ignited a wave of anger and triggered hundreds of planned protests across the United States against large-scale deployments of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.
New Footage Fuels Controversy Over Shooting
The protest on Sunday, 11 January 2026, follows the release of new mobile phone footage capturing the moments leading to Good's death. The video was filmed by the agent who shot her, identified in US media as Jonathan Ross. It shows another ICE agent aggressively shouting at Good to "Get out of the f***ing car" while she was seated in her SUV.
In the footage, Ross is positioned at the driver's side front of the vehicle. Ms Good briefly reverses, then turns her steering wheel towards the passenger side as she moves forward. It is at this point that Ross opens fire. It remains unclear whether the vehicle made contact with the officer or narrowly missed him.
The Trump administration has characterised the shooting on Wednesday as an act of self-defence, claiming Good used her car as a weapon. However, state and local officials, alongside protesters and Good's family, vehemently reject this account. Supporters insist she was attempting to steer away from the officer.
Nationwide Protests and Escalating Tensions
The demonstration in Minneapolis was just one of hundreds coordinated in towns and cities across the US over the weekend. The central demand is an immediate end to the mass deployment of ICE agents, part of a Trump administration immigration crackdown that began in Minneapolis and St Paul just days before the shooting.
Tensions between federal and state authorities intensified further on Thursday when a separate incident saw a US Border Patrol agent in Portland, Oregon, shoot and wound a man and woman in their car. The Department of Homeland Security stated the driver had tried to "weaponise" the vehicle against agents.
In Minneapolis, protests turned violent on Friday night as roughly 1,000 people gathered outside a hotel believed to be housing ICE personnel. Police Chief Brian O'Hara reported that protesters threw ice, snow, and rocks at officers, resulting in one officer being injured by a chunk of ice. Twenty-nine people were arrested during the unrest.
Calls for Peace Amid Political Chaos
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, who has been critical of both the immigration agents and the shooting, urged demonstrators to remain peaceful. He warned that unlawful actions would play directly into the hands of former President Donald Trump.
"We will not counter Donald Trump's chaos with our own brand of chaos," Mayor Frey stated at a news conference. "He wants us to take the bait."
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz echoed this sentiment on social media, writing: "Trump sent thousands of armed federal officers into our state, and it took just one day for them to kill someone. Now he wants nothing more than to see chaos distract from that horrific action. Don't give him what he wants."
The case continues to develop as investigations proceed and the national debate over immigration enforcement reaches a new peak.
