The shootings in Minneapolis and Portland sparked protests over federal law enforcement operations

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — As anger and outrage spread through the streets of Minneapolis over the shooting death of a woman by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer, a new shooting by federal officers in Oregon left two people injured, sparked additional protests and drawn greater scrutiny of enforcement operations across the United States.

Hundreds of people protesting the shooting of Rene Goode marched in freezing rain Thursday night on a major Minneapolis thoroughfare, chanting “Get Out of the Ice Now” and carrying signs that read “Deadly Ice Off Our Streets.” Protesters earlier expressed their anger outside a federal facility serving as the center of the administration’s latest immigration crackdown in a major city.

Read more: The woman killed by an ICE agent was a mother of three, a poet and new to Minneapolis

Early Friday, city crews removed temporary barriers made of debris including trash cans and Christmas trees that blocked off streets in the area where Wednesday’s shooting occurred to keep the streets open, but Minneapolis officials said they would not remove the community-created memorial there. An estimated 15 tons (13.6 metric tons) of debris including metal and tires were removed, officials said.

The shooting occurred in Portland, Oregon, outside a hospital on Thursday afternoon. A man and a woman were shot inside a vehicle, and their condition was not immediately known. The FBI and Oregon Department of Justice were investigating.

Portland Mayor Keith Wilson and the City Council called on ICE to end all operations in the city until a full investigation is completed. Hundreds of people protested Thursday night at the ICE building. Early Friday, Portland Police reported that a number of arrests were made after officers asked protesters to move to the sidewalk, as traffic remained open in the area.

Read more: What we know so far about the Minneapolis shooting

Just as it did after Wednesday’s shooting in Minneapolis, the Department of Homeland Security defended the actions of officers in Portland, saying they occurred after a Venezuelan man with alleged gang ties who was involved in a recent shooting tried to “arm” his car into ramming officers. It is not yet clear whether the witness’s video confirms this story.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, President Donald Trump and others in his administration have repeatedly called the Minneapolis shooting an act of self-defense and portrayed Judd as a villain, suggesting she used her car as a weapon to attack the officer who shot her.

Vice President J.D. Vance said the shooting was justified and that Judd, a 37-year-old mother of three, was a “victim of leftist ideology.”

He watches: Walz says Minnesota should play a role in the investigation into the killing of Renee Judd by ICE

“I can believe that her death was a tragedy while also recognizing that it was a tragedy of my own making,” Vance said, noting that the officer who killed her was injured during her arrest last June.

But state and local officials and protesters rejected that characterization, with Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey saying video recordings show the self-defense argument is “garbage.”

The immigration crackdown quickly turns deadly

The shooting in Minneapolis occurred on the second day of the Trump administration’s anti-immigration crackdown in the twin cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, which the Department of Homeland Security said was the largest immigration enforcement operation ever. More than 2,000 officers are participating, and Noem said they have made more than 1,500 arrests.

That sparked an immediate reaction in the city where police killed George Floyd in 2020, with hundreds of people showing up to the scene to vent their anger at ICE officers and the school district canceling classes for the rest of the week as a precaution.

Judd’s death — at least the fifth death linked to immigration crackdowns since Trump took office — resonated beyond Minneapolis, where protests broke out or were expected this week in several major American cities.

Who will investigate?

A Minnesota agency that investigates officer-involved shootings said Thursday it has been informed that the FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice will not work with it, effectively ending any role for the state in determining whether crimes have been committed. Noem said the state had no jurisdiction.

“Without full access to the evidence, witnesses and information collected, we cannot meet the investigative standards demanded by Minnesota law and the public,” said Drew Evans, chief of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has called for the state to be allowed to participate, repeatedly stressing that it will be “very difficult for Minnesotans” to accept that an investigation that excludes the state is fair.

A deadly confrontation from multiple angles

Several bystanders captured a video of Judd’s killing, which occurred in a neighborhood south of downtown.

The recordings show an officer approaching an SUV that stopped in the middle of the road, asking the driver to open the door and hold the handle. The Honda Pilot begins to pull forward and another ICE officer standing in front of it draws his weapon and immediately fires at least two shots at close range, then jumps back as the car moves toward him.

It is not clear from the videos whether the vehicle made contact with the officer, and there is no indication whether the woman had interacted with customers earlier. After the shooting, the SUV sped off, hitting two cars parked on the sidewalk before crashing and stopping.

The officer was identified in records

The federal agent who shot and killed Judd is an Iraq War veteran who served nearly two decades with the Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to records obtained by the AP.

Noem has not publicly named him, but a Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman said her description of his injuries last summer referred to an incident in Bloomington, Minn., in which court documents identified him as Jonathan Ross.

Ross stuck his arm in the window of the car whose driver was evading arrest for an immigration violation. Ross was dragged and his stun gun was fired. The jury found the driver guilty of assaulting a federal officer with a dangerous weapon.

Attempts to contact Ross (43 years old) at the phone numbers and email addresses associated with him were unsuccessful.

Associated Press reporters Steve Karnovsky and Mark VanCleave in Minneapolis; Ed White in Detroit; Valerie Gonzalez in Brownsville, Texas; Graham Lee Brewer in Norman, Oklahoma; Michael Biesecker in Washington; Jim Mustan in New York; Ryan Foley in Iowa City, Iowa; Haley Golden in Seattle contributed to this report.