Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) led Democratic attacks against the Trump administration’s characterization of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent’s fatal shooting of a woman in her car during an immigration enforcement operation.
A woman, described as a legal observer, tried to drive away after ICE officers attempted to enter her car. One of the officers was near the front of the vehicle when she began turning down the street, with the first gunshot being seen going through the front windshield, and the next two through the side window after the car had cleared the officer. The Department of Homeland Security declared that the woman had “weaponized her vehicle” and was investigating the incident as an act of domestic terrorism, with Democrats near unanimously rejecting the characterization.
“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,” Walz said in response to DHS’s statement.
“What we’re seeing is the consequences of governance designed to generate fear, headlines, and conflict. It’s governing by reality TV, and today that recklessness cost someone their life,” Walz said at a news conference, describing the shooting as “predictable” and “totally avoidable.”
On Tuesday, he declared that Minnesota was “at war with the federal government,” a comment he reiterated on Wednesday.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey used more inflammatory rhetoric, telling ICE to “get the f*** out of Minneapolis,” and said the purpose of ICE in Minneapolis isn’t to provide safety, but now “literally killing people.”
“They are already trying to spin this as an action of self-defense. Having seen the video myself, I want to tell everybody directly: That is bulls***,” he said.
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) also replied directly to DHS’s comment on the incident: “You’re lying. There was no attempt to run the officer over and no ICE agents appear to be hurt. Get out of our city.”
Omar released a longer statement extending her condemnation to ICE overall, saying its officers are not law enforcement but purveyors of “state violence,” calling for a legal investigation into the agency and for ICE agents to be removed from Minnesota.
“ICE’s actions today were unconscionable and reprehensible. I am beyond outraged that their reckless, callous actions led to the killing of a legal observer in Minneapolis. My heart breaks for the victim’s family, who will have to forever live with the pain caused by the Trump Administration’s reckless and deadly actions,” she wrote.
“This administration has shown, yet again, that it does not care about the safety of Minnesotans. Instead of protecting our communities, they are unleashing violence–terrorizing neighborhoods and now killing a civilian. For weeks, ICE’s so-called ‘Operation Metro Surge’ has spread fear, chaos, and violence across our state,” Omar added.
Fellow Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN) also used the incident to call for ICE to be removed from her state.
“President Trump, [DHS Secretary Kristi Noem], hear me loud and clear: ICE must leave Minnesota – NOW. The horrific tragedy we saw today is the result of President Trump’s misguided, illegal, and outright dangerous immigration policies,” she said.
Republicans almost unanimously stood by ICE and the officer’s actions, viewing it as a case of self-defense. They were led by President Donald Trump himself, who sided with the agent and reflected other Republicans’ criticisms in blaming inflammatory rhetoric from Democrats as the reason behind the violence.
“I have just viewed the clip of the event which took place in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is a horrible thing to watch. The woman screaming was, obviously, a professional agitator, and the woman driving the car was very disorderly, obstructing and resisting, who then violently, willfully, and viciously ran over the ICE Officer, who seems to have shot her in self defense,” Trump said.
“Based on the attached clip, it is hard to believe he is alive, but is now recovering in the hospital,” Trump added, though video shows the officer walking around the scene afterward.
“The situation is being studied, in its entirety, but the reason these incidents are happening is because the Radical Left is threatening, assaulting, and targeting our Law Enforcement Officers and ICE Agents on a daily basis. They are just trying to do the job of MAKING AMERICA SAFE. We need to stand by and protect our Law Enforcement Officers from this Radical Left Movement of Violence and Hate!” he concluded.
Republican representatives of Minnesota gave similar statements, blaming Democratic rhetoric for the incident.
WOMAN SHOT DEAD IN MINNEAPOLIS WHILE ATTEMPTING TO RUN OVER ICE OFFICERS WITH HER VEHICLE: DHS
“When Twin Cities politicians spew hateful rhetoric about our law enforcement for months, it gives their constituencies permission to violently attack my brothers and sisters in uniform. The events of today are the result. Minnesotans deserve leadership that respects the rule of law and encourages deescalation and cooperation,” Rep. Pete Stauber (R-MN) said in a post on X.
“Today’s targeted assault on ICE agents in Minneapolis is the direct result of the dangerous rhetoric from sanctuary policies and the politicians who back them. No officer should have to face a weaponized vehicle while performing their duties, yet our officers are facing a 1,300% surge in assaults and an 8,000% spike in death threats. I stand with the officer who acted in self-defense to save lives, and I will continue to fight for the men and women who keep our communities safe,” Rep. Michelle Fischback (R-MN) said.