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Gov. Tim Walz issued an order for the Minnesota National Guard to prepare to be deployed if necessary following the killing of a 37-year-old woman by a federal immigration agent Wednesday.
Dozens of members of the State Patrol’s response team have also been activated to respond to possible unrest, Walz said at a news conference at the State Emergency Operations Center.
Walz’s quick action is no doubt informed by his response to the uprising following the police murder of George Floyd in 2020, when critics said he was slow to marshal the state’s resources to restore order amid burning and looting, including of a Minneapolis police precinct.
An ICE officer fatally shot Renee Nicole Good, 37, through her car window in south Minneapolis. Videos of the Wednesday incident show the woman beginning to drive away from the officer as he shot into the car. Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said they have yet to see information indicating that the shooting was justified, though the Trump administration is accusing the deceased driver of “domestic terrorism.”
Walz said at a press conference at the State Emergency Operations Center that his administration “will stop at nothing to seek accountability and justice.” The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is jointly investigating the killing with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Walz urged the federal government to remove its presence from Minnesota: “To Donald Trump and Kristi Noem, you’ve done enough.”
Walz was asked whether the National Guard would ever be deployed against federal agents. He didn’t answer directly, saying the National Guard’s deployment would be for the protection of Minnesotans: “Whatever it is: if it’s an act of nature, if it’s a global pandemic, or in this case, if it is a rogue federal agent. I don’t know this time.”
Walz is already at the center of an explosive confrontation between state and federal authorities. A bevy of federal agencies are investigating Minnesota social service and other safety net programs for evidence of fraud in the wake of a right wing media frenzy kicked off in November.
Walz announced Monday he was ending his campaign for a third term in the face of withering attacks from the Trump administration and right-wing influencers.
Ready for civil unrest
The State Emergency Operations Center has been activated at level two out of three levels — meaning that state is monitoring the situation — as when Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark were killed and Sen. John Hoffman and Yvette Hoffman badly injured by a gunman, as well as after the mass shooting at Annunciation Church.
The Minnesota National Guard leadership has connected with Minneapolis and St. Paul Police Departments, the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, the Department of Natural Resources and Minnesota’s Homeland Security Emergency Management, Walz said.
The preparation of state and local law enforcement agencies appears to be in anticipation of possible civil unrest, though Walz did not explicitly answer a question about what threshold of demonstrations it would take for him to deploy the Minnesota National Guard.
The shooting has already drawn outrage from thousands of protestors who gathered at the scene of the killing on Portland Avenue near 34th Street Wednesday.
Minnesota Commissioner of Public Safety Bob Jacobson offered examples of what protestors are legally allowed to do: gather peacefully in walking spaces; march or walk, not on roadways; chant and make signs.
He then listed a slew of examples of actions that would result in fines or arrests: demonstrating on freeways on foot; walking on highways; throwing objects; starting fires; damaging or vandalizing property; using illegal fireworks; displaying or using illegal weapons; and reckless or dangerous driving.
“Minnesotans, do not take the bait. Do not allow them to deploy federal troops in the air. Do not allow them to invoke the Insurrection Act. Do not allow them to declare martial law. Do not allow them to lie about the security and the decency of the state. And let this investigation play itself out,” Walz said.
by Alyssa Chen, Minnesota Reformer
Minnesota Reformer is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Minnesota Reformer maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor J. Patrick Coolican for questions: info@minnesotareformer.com.
