Anti-ICE protesters assemble across US
Thousands of people have converged on a Minneapolis park to decry the fatal shooting of a woman by a federal immigration officer in that city and the shooting of two protesters in Portland, Oregon. The Minneapolis gathering on Saturday was one of hundreds of protests planned in towns and cities across the country over the weekend. It came in a city on edge since the killing of Renee Good on Wednesday.
On Friday night, a protest outside a Minneapolis hotel that attracted about 1,000 people turned violent as demonstrators threw ice, snow and rocks at officers, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said during a news conference Saturday.
One officer suffered minor injuries after being struck with a piece of ice, O’Hara said. Twenty-nine people were cited and released, he said. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey stressed that while most protests have been peaceful, those who cause damage to property or put others in danger will be arrested. He faulted “agitators that are trying to rile up large crowds”.
“This is what Donald Trump wants,” Frey said of the president who has demanded massive immigration enforcement efforts in several US cities. “He wants us to take the bait.” Minnesota Gov Tim Walz echoed that call for peaceful demonstrations. “Trump sent thousands of armed federal officers into our state, and it took just one day for them to kill someone,” Walz posted on social media.
“Now he wants nothing more than to see chaos distract from that horrific action. Don’t give him what he wants.” The demonstrations across the country come as the US Department of Homeland Security pushes forward in the Twin Cities with what it calls its biggest-ever immigration enforcement operation. Trump’s administration has said both shootings were acts of self-defence against drivers who “weaponised” their vehicles to attack officers. Protesters marching during a rally for Renee Good in Minneapolis.
