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Following the tragic shooting of Renee Good by an ICE agent in Minneapolis, protests erupted across the United States.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — On Wednesday, a Minneapolis resident, 37-year-old Renee Good, was fatally shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer, sparking demonstrations from New Orleans to Boston and New York City, reaching even the First Coast.
In Downtown Jacksonville, protesters gathered outside the federal courthouse on Thursday evening. The crowd chanted “Justice for Renee,” demanding accountability.
Good was killed while sitting in her car during an ICE operation in Minneapolis. According to federal authorities, the agent fired in self-defense, claiming Good tried to strike him with her vehicle.
However, others who have reviewed the video footage argue that Good was attempting to steer away, suggesting the use of force by the agent was unwarranted.
“Reading the headlines and watching the videos has been completely devastating,” said Vanessa Alvarez, with the Jacksonville Immigrant Rights Alliance. She and dozens of Jacksonville demonstrators joined others across the country calling for accountability.
“We’re stronger in numbers. We see all these people here fighting, but they’re not fighting just for themselves. They’re fighting for people all over the country. We’re in complete solidarity with the people of Minneapolis, and we’re here to say that we will serve justice,” she said.
In a news conference on Wednesday, the mayor of Minneapolis said he wanted ICE to leave the city, where it has been conducting one of its largest immigration enforcement operations under the Trump Administration.
In Jacksonville, chants echoed through the crowd calling for an end to ICE operations altogether.
“My thoughts is the only threat that we pose to these agents is fear of us winning. They fear that justice will be served,” said Alvarez.
First Coast News reached out to Florida State Representative Dean Black, who sent us this statement:
“Citizens should never interfere with law-enforcement officials carrying out their duties. Period. The situation in Minnesota, while tragic, could have easily been avoided by complying with law-enforcement requests, not interfering with law-enforcement in the performance of their duties, and not driving away and apparently attempting to run down a law-enforcement officer with a vehicle. We should respect the law and law enforcement officers.”
The FBI is now leading the investigation into the fatal shooting.