Deputy AG Suggests FBI Won’t Investigate Shooting by ICE Agent

A top Department of Justice (DOJ) official indicated on Sunday that the FBI would not be investigating the shooting of a woman in Minneapolis earlier this month that sparked protests against the Trump administration in the city.

“We don’t just go out and investigate every time an officer is forced to defend himself against somebody or putting his life in danger,” Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche told Fox News in an interview on Sunday, adding that the woman who was shot and killed, Renee Good, was rioting and engaged in an “act of terrorism” against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.

Earlier in January, Good was seen in viral video footage in an SUV as she was stopped by federal agents in Minneapolis. The footage shows her moving her vehicle toward an agent before he opens fire with his weapon, killing her and sparking near-daily protests in the city.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and other officials have said that the agent was injured during the incident and was hospitalized.

“We investigate when it’s appropriate to investigate, and that is not the case here; it wasn’t the case when it happened, and it’s not the case today,” Blanche said in his interview Sunday. “If circumstances change, and there’s something that we do need to investigate around that shooting or any other shooting, we will,” he also said before adding that the DOJ will not “bow to pressure from the media” or “bow to pressure from politicians.”

The video footage of the shooting has already “been reviewed by millions and millions of Americans because it was recorded on phones when it happened,” he added.

Blanche, a personal attorney to President Donald Trump during his New York City business records trial, also said that characterizations from some politicians or media outlets that ICE has engaged in illegal acts is false, saying that protesters and rioters in Minneapolis are not engaging in peaceful protest activities.

“They are throwing rocks at ICE officers. They are standing in the roadway when they try to drive by. They are putting their vehicles in the roadway as they try to drive by,” he said.

The Trump administration, he added, won’t tolerate any attempts to obstruct or commit violence against ICE agents. He called on local Minnesota officials to stop what he said were attempts to encourage violence or demonstrations.

“You cannot impede a federal officer doing their job” under federal law, Blanche said.

Activists disrupted a church service in Minneapolis on Sunday amid reports that a local pastor who serves at the church works for ICE, drawing condemnation from Attorney General Pam Bondi.

Saying she spoke with the pastor, Bondi said that “attacks against law enforcement and the intimidation of Christians are being met with the full force of federal law.”

“If state leaders refuse to act responsibly to prevent lawlessness, this Department of Justice will remain mobilized to prosecute federal crimes and ensure that the rule of law prevails,” she warned.

The mayor of Minneapolis said on Sunday that sending active duty soldiers into Minnesota to help with an immigration crackdown is unconstitutional, as he urged protesters to remain peaceful so the president won’t see a need to send in the U.S. military. This past week, Trump warned he may use the Insurrection Act to quell unrest in the city, but later indicated on Jan 16 that he currently has no reason to do so.

“It’s ridiculous, but we will not be intimidated by the actions of this federal government,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey told CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday. “It is not fair, it’s not just, and it’s completely unconstitutional.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.