Bondi Warns Minneapolis ICE Protesters Not to Cross ‘Red Line’ After Shooting

Attorney General Pam Bondi warned on Jan. 8 that protesters responding to the shooting death of a woman in Minneapolis or demonstrating against the immigration operation in Minnesota should not “cross that red line.”

A day earlier, a viral video showed an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent shooting at a woman inside a vehicle as it drove towards the official during a traffic stop in Minneapolis, prompting outrage among some local Democratic leaders and leading to demonstrations.

“MINNESOTA: Peacefully protesting is a sacred American right protected by the First Amendment,” Bondi wrote on X.

“Obstructing, impeding, or attacking federal law enforcement is a federal crime. So is damaging federal property. If you cross that red line, you will be arrested and prosecuted. Do not test our resolve.”

Footage shows an officer approaching an SUV stopped across the middle of the road, demanding the driver open the door and grabbing the handle. The Honda Pilot vehicle begins to pull forward, and a different ICE officer standing in front of it pulls his weapon and immediately fires at least two shots at close range, jumping back as the vehicle moves toward him.

It is unclear from the videos whether the vehicle makes contact with the officer. After the shooting, the SUV speeds into two cars parked on a curb before crashing to a stop.

In response to the shooting, Vice President JD Vance said that the ICE officer was justified in shooting the woman, and he’s not worried about prejudging an investigation that is just getting underway. The officer, he added, was clearly firing at the driver in self-defense.

During remarks in the White House press briefing room on Thursday afternoon, the vice president criticized some news media outlets for their coverage of the incident, saying that the way the shooting is being framed “puts our law enforcement officers at risk.”

“This was an attack on law and order. This was an attack on the American people,” Vance said, maintaining it has not been portrayed that way by many journalists. The ICE officer who fired at the woman was previously injured in a car attack, the vice president said.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), on multiple occasions last year, has said that attacks targeting ICE and other immigration agents are up 1,000 percent year-over-year as the Trump administration pursues its policy of deporting large numbers of illegal immigrants.

In October, a man armed with a rifle opened fire at an ICE office in Dallas, killing two detainees before killing himself.

Vance, in his White House remarks, said that the woman shot in the incident was herself a “victim of left-wing ideology,” describing her as an individual who was cajoled by a “broader left-wing network” into demonstrating against and doxxing ICE agents.

“A group of left-wing radicals have been working tirelessly … sometimes using domestic terror techniques” to obstruct immigration enforcement activities, he said.

The woman who was shot was identified by her mother and on a GoFundMe page as Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother of three who had recently moved to the state. Her mother, Donna Granger, told the Star Tribune that she had lived in the Twin Cities area and said the woman may not have been involved in the local anti-ICE protests.

“Renee was one of the kindest people I’ve ever known,” Ganger told the local Minneapolis paper.

“She was extremely compassionate. She’s taken care of people all her life. She was loving, forgiving and affectionate. She was an amazing human being.”

Earlier this week, DHS said it launched what it described as the largest immigration enforcement operation ever carried out by the agency, with around 2,000 federal agents and officers expected in the Minneapolis area.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.