Here’s where the rubber meets the road.
A masked federal agent kills an unarmed woman on a snowy neighborhood street in Minneapolis. Seconds before the shooting, she looks at the officer, smiles and says, “That’s fine, dude. I’m not mad at you.”
The officer, ICE agent Jonathan Ross, is said to have believed his life was in danger. Still, he casually walks in front of the vehicle to take a video with his cell phone.
That video shows Renee Good behind the wheel of her SUV, wearing a stocking cap, turning the vehicle away from the officers as she tries to leave the scene. Her dog is in the back seat. Her wife is watching on the street nearby.
Three shots ring out, the SUV crashes into a parked car and the mother of three is dead. A masked ICE officer is heard in the background calling her a “f—ing b—-.”
No federal investigation has been launched into the actions of Ross, the ICE agent who killed Good. The FBI refused to share evidence with authorities in Minnesota in a clear attempt to impede their efforts at good faith accountability.
The U.S. Department of Justice instead initiated an investigation of Good’s widow, Becca. Appalled, six career prosecutors refused to do it and resigned in protest.
Even after the horrors of the past year, Renee Good’s death stands out. It’s brazen, ruthless, shocking. This is not normal.
It may be this generation’s Kent State or Saturday Night Massacre. It might even be a Ralph Carr moment but, alas, only if somebody has that kind of courage.
And that’s a big if.
Still, this tragedy is not going to go away quietly.
The people of Minnesota are taking it hard. They have begun mobilizing labor unions, faith leaders and community organizers to protest the Trump administration’s effort to flood Minnesota with thousands of masked ICE officers who are rounding up Somali immigrants and others from their homes, regardless of legal status, and sending them to detention facilities around the country.
Minnesota organizers are calling for an economic blackout on Jan. 23. They are urging people to take the day off work, school or shopping. It’s called the Day of Truth and Freedom, and it’s conceived as an unambiguously peaceful protest.
Zeik Saidman from Coloradans for the Common Good said the grassroots organization “supports what local communities across the country are trying to do in response to ICE’s draconian measures.” Here the CCG leadership, concerned about workers’ vulnerability, “would support a more focused strategic approach.”
In cities from Denver to Durango and even tiny Fraser, demonstrators took to the streets calling for justice for Good.
At a march in Durango, Isaac Auerbacher told the Herald that no demonstration is too small. “I would hope they would see that there is resistance, and that there are a lot of people against the administration,” he said. “It’s not like everyone’s just letting this happen. We’re at least trying to do something.”
John Riedel, who joined a crowd in Fraser for a candlelight vigil for Good, told the Ski-Hi News that “more people are waking up … I’m watching my country, my democracy being taken … and I’ll be darned if I’m going to sit back and (let) it happen.”
Meanwhile, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser filed his 50th lawsuit — so far — against the Trump administration for what he calls the “revenge campaign” against the state. Weiser’s office has won an overwhelming majority of the legal actions, and he vows to continue to defend Coloradans.
U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette circulated a survey to her constituents to gauge support for impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for “violating the public trust by authorizing use of deadly force and warrantless arrests against U.S. citizens and lawful individuals, directing her agency to violate a federal court order (according to the Department of Justice), obstructing Congressional oversight when we tried to investigate, and approving $220 million in taxpayer funds for an ICE recruitment ad campaign that went to her close associates.”
And days after Good’s killing, Denver City Councilmembers Flor Alvidrez and Shontel Lewis proposed an ordinance to prohibit law enforcement officers from wearing masks in city facilities or concealing their identities while arresting, detaining or interrogating anyone.
The measure had been in the works for a few months, but the timing amid the intense reaction to Good’s killing drew impassioned vocal support across the city.
“The vast majority of people support it,” Alvidrez said. “People have said this should be the bare minimum, that this needs to happen right now. And why is this even in debate?”
Denver police overwhelmingly support the measure, she said, in large part because vigilantes wearing masks and impersonating ICE officers have been harassing people for months.
“There are hateful people preying on my constituents,” Alvidrez said. They even call business owners, demanding records and threatening them with visits from ICE.
While most of her constituents support the demonstrations that have occurred in response to Good’s killing, many tell Alvidrez they are afraid to join the marches.
“Everyone is terrified,” she said. “People see that in this administration, disagreeing makes you an enemy of the state. Up until now, most people thought that they won’t come after me or my family. After this, they realize no one is exempt from immigration enforcement. It’s not about your skin color, your immigration status, your language. It’s not about any of that. It’s about your political stance.”
Day after day, Alvidrez’s constituents stop her on the sidewalk to tell her about their fears for their safety, their families. They come to council meetings to testify about their anxiety.
“I pray this is a turning point,” she said.
Diane Carman is a Denver communications consultant.
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