Minnesota Officials Claim FBI Obstruction in Critical ICE Shooting Investigation

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Tensions between Minnesota and federal officials have deepened over a United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer’s fatal shooting of a woman in Minneapolis.

State and federal officials have offered starkly different accounts of the shooting, in which an ICE agent shot US citizen Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, in a residential neighbourhood.

The incident in question has ignited a firestorm of criticism from local officials and triggered widespread protests not only within the state but across the nation. The community’s reaction underscores the gravity of the situation, with demonstrations erupting at the site of the shooting and throughout the city of Minneapolis.

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said on Thursday it had initially agreed with the FBI to conduct a joint investigation into the shooting, but that the federal agency had “reversed course” and taken sole control of the probe.

The decision, according to the BCA’s superintendent, Drew Evans, means the state bureau will no longer have access to the scene evidence, case materials or interviews.

In light of these developments, the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) has made the difficult decision to step back from the investigation, as stated by Evans. This withdrawal adds another layer of complexity to an already tense and scrutinized situation.

A person in police uniform sprays an orange liquid onto a person, who is wearing a helmet and bracing. The person is standing among a group in a line facing the officer.

Images capturing the unrest show officers responding to demonstrators, further emphasizing the charged atmosphere that has enveloped the city. The protests, fueled by calls for justice and accountability, reflect a broader demand for change in how such incidents are handled.

In response to the unfolding events, Keith Ellison, Minnesota’s Democratic attorney general, expressed his concerns over the FBI’s choice to disengage from the investigation. Speaking with CNN, Ellison described the federal agency’s decision as “deeply disturbing.” He reassured the public that state authorities are prepared to pursue the investigation independently, with or without federal support, highlighting their commitment to uncovering the truth and ensuring justice is served.

Agents with FBI uniforms and other law enforcement gather near a crashed vehicle in a snowy area surrounded by police tape.

The FBI is investigating the fatal shooting in Minneapolis, a major city in the state of Minnesota. Source: Getty / Stephen Maturen

“And I say that only because people in positions of power … from the president to the vice president to Kristi Noem have already passed judgement and told you things that are verifiably false,” he said.

The FBI declined to comment on the BCA statement.

The ICE agent who shot Good was among 2,000 federal officers that President Donald Trump’s administration had announced it was deploying to the Minneapolis area in what the Department of Homeland Security described as the “largest DHS operation ever.”

DHS officials, including Noem, defended the shooting as self-defense and accused the woman of trying to ram agents in an act of “domestic terrorism”.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, a Democrat, called that assertion “bulls–t” and “garbage” based on bystander videos taken of the incident that appeared to contradict the government’s account.

Both Frey and Walz have called on Trump, a Republican, to withdraw federal agents from the city, saying their presence is sowing chaos in the streets.

But the New York Times reported that the administration was deploying more than 100 additional Customs and Border Patrol personnel from other cities in the wake of the shooting.