Police arrested several demonstrators outside a federal building south of Minneapolis on Saturday, breaking up a protest on the one-month anniversary of the Minnesota woman’s death. Death at the hands of an immigration officer.
Renee Good was murdered on January 7 while walking away from immigration authorities in a Minneapolis neighborhood. Her death and the slaying of another Minneapolis resident, Alex Pretty, a few weeks later, sparked nationwide outrage. Donald TrumpImmigration crackdown of.
Protesters gathered across the street from the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in the early afternoon, throwing bottles and sex dolls at a line of police guarding the property. The Minnesota The Star Tribune reported that authorities arrested some of the protesters after the crowd started throwing ice cubes. A deputy was struck in the head and the windshield of the squad vehicle was smashed, according to a statement obtained by the newspaper from the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office.
The police declared the assembly illegal and ordered the protesters to leave. Most agreed, the Star Tribune reported, but remained at a standoff with about 100 deputies, state troopers and state conservation officers.
The video is doing the rounds Social media It shows several protesters being forcibly dragged to the ground and taken into custody. One man, who appears to be handcuffed, says: “I’m here delivering pizza for the protesters. I didn’t know this was going to happen. I went to the sidewalk when they started rushing everyone and now they’re arresting me. I’m a peaceful protester delivering pizza and they’re arresting me.”
No one from the sheriff’s office responded to email, voicemail and text messages from The Associated Press Saturday afternoon requesting a copy of the statement and how many people were arrested, whether anyone was injured and what led to the arrests.
Meanwhile, hundreds of people gathered on the snow-covered ground on Saturday Minneapolis A park to honor the Good and the Pretty. Event organizers echoed recent criticism of the immigration crackdown across Minnesota, describing it as a federal occupation.
A Lakota spiritual leader, Chief Orvol led a ceremony before an audience filled with people holding looking horses, signs and American flags. Others shared music and poetry to honor two men who have become central figures in the polarizing immigration debate in recent weeks.
A federal immigration officer shot and killed Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, in her car in Minneapolis on Jan. 7. Three agents surrounded her Honda Pilot SUV on a snowy street a few blocks from Goodes’ home. Bystander video shows an officer approaching an SUV parked in the middle of the road, seeing the driver open the door and grab the handle.
The vehicle began to pull forward, and another ICE officer standing in front of it drew his weapon, jumped back as the vehicle moved toward him, and immediately opened fire at close range. The Trump administration has portrayed Good as a domestic terrorist who tried to run over the officer with his vehicle. State and local officials have denied that role.
Pretti was killed on January 24 in a street brawl with immigration officials. A bystander video shows half a dozen officers taking Pretty to the ground. One spotted Pretty’s gun, got a license to carry it, and said, “He’s got a gun.” The two officers then opened fire.
The Trump administration’s border czar, Tom Homan, announced Wednesday that he will pull 700 immigration officers from Minnesota — nearly a quarter of the officers deployed to the state — after state and local officials agreed last week to cooperate by turning away arrested immigrants. But Homan did not say when the administration would end its crackdown in the state.
Good’s wife, Becca Good, released a statement Saturday saying the immigration effort is hurting people in Minneapolis and no one knows their names.
“You know my wife’s name and you know Alex’s name, but there are so many people in this city who are vulnerable that you don’t know — their families are suffering just as much as I do, even though they may not be visible,” Becca Good said in the statement. “They are neighbors, friends, co-workers, classmates. And we need to know their names, too. Because this shouldn’t happen to anyone.”
Marina Dunbar contributed reporting.
