Blame games after deadly Minnesota anti-ICE incident

In October, I wrote a column about how the anti-ICE incidents that have been happening since the start of President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigrants had taken a deadly turn.

The incident in question, which followed other ambush-style attempted actions against federal immigration enforcement officers, involved a suspect who, in late September, climbed a building near an ICE field office in Dallas and opened fire in the early morning hours.

In the aftermath, FBI Director Kash Patel said the suspect’s goal was to murder ICE agents. But he ended up killing two detainees and seriously wounding a third one instead, using bullets that contained language similar to what Democrats have uttered about the agents. The suspect, 29-year-old Joshua Jahn, later turned the gun on himself.

The latest incident happened last Wednesday in a Minneapolis neighborhood where ICE was conducting an operation. As per the norm, anti-ICE agitators who were likely tipped off by a larger network were attempting to impede the agents who were trying to do their jobs in taking criminal illegal immigrants off the streets.

At least one of them, 37-year-old Renee Good, tried to set up a blockade using her Honda SUV to prevent the agents from being able to get to where they needed to go. A verbal altercation ensued. At one point, Good is seen in video clips putting her car in reverse, then putting it in drive, after which an ICE agent was hit. The agent then fired three shots, killing Good.

In the eyes of DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, it was a clear case of self-defense.

“It’s very clear that this individual was harassing and impeding law enforcement operations,” Noem stated during a press briefing.

“Our officer followed his training, did exactly what he’s been taught to do in that situation, and took actions to defend himself and defend his fellow law enforcement officers.”

Without having any evidence in hand to back up their claims, Democrats immediately rushed to blame the Trump administration and ICE, with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz — who had previously referred to ICE as “Trump’s modern-day Gestapo” — at one point suggesting his state was “at war with the federal government.”

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey went so far as to call what happened “murder” and demanded ICE “get the f—” out of the city. He also implied that the injury the ICE officer sustained after getting hit by the vehicle wasn’t that bad, which almost sounded like a suggestion that it was OK for purported “protestors” to strike them as long as they didn’t kill them.

“He was not injured,” Frey proclaimed. “Give me a break. No, he was not ran over. He walked out of there with a hop in his step.”

The incendiary rhetoric coming from Walz, Frey and other Democrats is having what many feel is its intended effect, with hotels in Minneapolis where agents were rumored to be staying now being stormed by other anti-ICE agitators.

Instead of fanning the flames, maybe it’d be a good idea for Democrats to take a deep breath and reflect for a second on how making comparisons between ICE and the Gestapo could motivate agitators to escalate things by taking matters into their own hands, as we’ve seen in states like Texas and now Minnesota, where there were deadly consequences in both cases.

After all, criticizing actions and policies is one thing. Equating them to a murderous dictator and his regime is something else entirely.

North Carolina native Stacey Matthews has also written under the pseudonym Sister Toldjah and is a media analyst and regular contributor to RedState and Legal Insurrection.