On Friday, Minneapolis law enforcement detained 30 protesters outside two downtown hotels believed to be housing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, following a fatal shooting involving an ICE officer earlier that week.
The Daily Caller reported that the protest, which began at the Canopy Hotel at 8:00 p.m. CST and later moved to the Depot Renaissance Hotel, involved property damage and disruptive behavior, leading to citations and dispersal orders after Minneapolis PD declared an unlawful assembly by 9:45 p.m. CST, as reported by CBS affiliate WCCO.
The demonstration follows the tragic shooting of Renee Good by an ICE officer on Wednesday, January 7, 2026, during an encounter where Good appeared to drive her vehicle toward the officer.
Viral footage from Alpha News shows the officer approaching Good’s car, issuing repeated commands to exit, before Good reversed and then accelerated forward, prompting the officer to fire multiple shots, resulting in the vehicle crashing into a parked car.
The FBI has taken over the investigation from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, which stepped aside on Thursday, January 8, 2026, while the incident continues to fuel public outrage.
Critics argue that the protesters’ actions, including banging drums, clanging wooden planks, and forcing entry into the Canopy Hotel, crossed a line from free expression into outright harassment of federal agents simply doing their jobs.
Video from independent reporter Brendan Gutenschwager on X captures a crowd chanting “no justice, no peace” in the Depot Renaissance Hotel atrium, with alarms blaring, suggesting a deliberate attempt to intimidate rather than dialogue.
While frustration over the shooting is understandable, targeting hotels with property damage and noise disruptions risks alienating those who might otherwise sympathize with calls for accountability.
The Minneapolis municipal government stated on Friday, January 9, 2026, noting it “recognizes the pain and anger that the presence of federal immigration agents is causing in the city,” while urging restraint to avoid further escalation.
That’s a noble sentiment, but one wonders if the city’s open hostility toward ICE—promising to impede operations—might be fanning the flames of unrest rather than cooling them.
With the Department of Homeland Security reporting 275 assaults on officials last year, including 66 vehicular attacks, it’s clear federal agents are already operating in a pressure cooker without local governments piling on.
Adding to the complexity, Renee Good’s wife, Rebecca, was heard in the Alpha News footage taunting the ICE agent before the shooting, saying, “That’s okay. We don’t change our plates every morning, just so you know. It will be the same plate when you come back to us later.”
She continued, “You want to come at us? I say go get yourself a big lunch, big boy,” before appearing to shout, “Drive, baby drive,” moments before Good accelerated toward the officer, per the same footage.
While grief can drive raw emotion, such words raise tough questions about whether de-escalation was ever an option in those heated final seconds, or if confrontation was the chosen path.
