Daijiworld Media Network - Washington
Washington, Jan 12: US President Donald Trump on Sunday justified the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent in Minneapolis last week, claiming that the woman was “radical”, “violent” and showed disrespect towards law enforcement.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump referred to video clips of the incident and said law enforcement personnel should never be treated disrespectfully. “Everyone’s seen it. And the woman was very violent. She’s a very radical person. Very sad what happened. Her friend was very radical,” he said.
Emphasising support for security forces, Trump added, “You can’t be treating law enforcement that way, whether it’s ICE or Border Patrol or our police — the men and women who protect us.”
The President also took a swipe at his predecessor Joe Biden, blaming him for weak border controls. Accusing Biden of allowing an influx of criminals, Trump said that despite this, crime statistics under his administration were the best on record. “We’ve gotten a lot of them out,” he claimed.
Reiterating his stance, Trump said the woman had shown “extreme disrespect” towards officers and insisted that such behaviour could not be tolerated. “You can’t do that with law enforcement — ICE, Border Patrol or anyone else,” he added.
The remarks come days after Renee Nicole Good, a US citizen, was shot dead by an ICE agent during an encounter in south Minneapolis. She was reportedly sitting in her car when the shooting took place. Multiple videos of the incident, filmed from different angles, quickly went viral and sparked widespread outrage across the country.
Minnesota state leaders described the shooting as an unjustified use of lethal force against a civilian who appeared to be trying to leave the scene. However, the Trump administration defended the action, claiming that Good attempted to run over law enforcement officers with her vehicle.
The administration further labelled her alleged actions as domestic terrorism, maintaining that the shooting was a response to an immediate threat faced by ICE agents.