Vice President J.D. Vance held a briefing on Thursday at the White House where he defended the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent who shot a 37-year-old woman during an operation in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The agent shot Renee Good while she blocked the street with her vehicle and began to drive off when the officers approached. Vance criticized the media for framing Good as a peaceful protester who got murdered by the officer, indicating that the agent acted in self-defense.
“You people in the media, not everybody in this room, but many people in this room, have been lying about this attack … Everybody who’s been repeating the lie that this is some innocent woman who was out for a drive in Minneapolis when a law enforcement officer shot at her, you should be ashamed of yourselves.”
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Footage of the incident showed the officer standing directly in front of the vehicle firing shots when the vehicle began moving. The vice president, along with other members of President Donald Trump’s administration, argued that Good attempted to injure the officer with the car.
Democrats countered the administration’s response, claiming that the ICE officer wasn’t justified in using deadly force against Good. Democratic Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey called on ICE to “get the f*ck out” of his city, while Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz appeared to imply that his state was at war with the federal government.
Video of the incident showed at least four ICE agents approaching a maroon Honda SUV that was blocking the lane. One agent can be heard telling Good to “get out of the f*cking car.” The car then slightly backed up, and the officer fired shots once the car moved forward. Good died at the scene.
Vance accused the corporate media of becoming agents of propaganda in connection to the incident, suggesting that Good did not engage in “legitimate protest.”
“You guys are meant to report the truth. How have you let yourselves become agents of propaganda of a radical fringe that’s making it harder to enforce our laws. You just asked me a question that presumed that the reason why this woman died is because she was engaged in legitimate protest. She tried to run somebody over with her car and the guy defended himself when it happened,” Vance said.
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The vice president definitely argued that the ICE agent acted in self-defense and that Good was not innocent.
“Look, I don’t know what’s in a person’s heart or in a person’s head and obviously we’re not gonna get the chance to ask this woman what was going on. What I am certain of is she violated the law, what I am certain of is that officer had every reason to think that he was under very serious threat for injury or in fact, his life. What I am certain of is she accelerated in a way where she ran into the guy. I don’t know what was in her heart and what was in her head, but I know that she violated the law and that officer was acting in self-defense,” the vice president said.
“What’s not reasonable is for some of you to plaster all over the media that this was an innocent woman and that the ICE agent committed murder,” Vance continued.
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Vance said he believes that Good was a “victim of left-wing ideology” and “radicalized” by anti-ICE rhetoric.
“Look, there’s apart of me that feels very, very sad for this woman, not just because she lost her life, but because I think she is a victim of left-wing ideology,” Vance said. “What young mother shows up and decides they’re going to throw their car in front of ICE officers who are enforcing legitimate law? They’ve got to be a little brainwashed to get to that point where you’re willing, not just to protest, that’s fine, not to peacefully protest, but to throw your vehicle in front of legitimate law enforcement officers and drive your car into them. To get to that point, you have to be, I think, radicalized in a very, very sad way.”
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In response to the incident, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem and other members of the administration have defended the officer and federal immigration enforcement. Noem stated during a press conference on Wednesday that the ICE officer in question survived a vehicle attack in June, when an anti-ICE rioter rammed him with the car and dragged him along the street.
Trump stated on Truth Social that Good was “very disorderly” and blamed the “Radical Left” for “threatening” and “targeting” federal law enforcement.
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