Minnesota and federal officials are no longer cooperating in ICE shooting investigation

In two different press conferences on Thursday, the White House and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz disagreed on the details of Wednesday’s fatal shooting in Minneapolis and how to investigate it.

Walz on Thursday told the federal government to “leave Minnesota alone” and allow state officials to conduct the investigation into the shooting by an immigration enforcement agent that left one woman dead and Minneapolis residents on edge.

Walz repeatedly expressed concerns about the federal government leading the investigation without Minnesota officials.

“It feels very, very difficult that we will get a fair outcome, and I say that only because people in positions of power have already passed judgment, from the president, to the vice president, to [Secretary of Homeland Security] Kristi Noem,” Walz said.

Officials within the Trump administration quickly defended the ICE agent’s actions as justifiable use of force, after civilian footage taken at the scene seemed to show Renee Good’s SUV attempting to drive away from masked ICE agents, one of whom subsequently fired three shots into the driver’s window, killing the 37-year-old wife and mother.

During Thursday’s White House press conference, Vice President Vance said “I don’t care what Tim Walz says” and added that the ICE agent’s life was in danger during the incident.

“You have a woman who was trying to obstruct a legitimate law enforcement operation… You have a woman who aimed her car at a law enforcement officer and pressed on the accelerator,” Vance said.

At the core of each press conference was a different understanding of the facts.

Governor Walz called the federal law enforcement presence in Minnesota “a reckless ICE mobilization” that “is not keeping us safe” and encouraged Minnesotans to support Good’s family.

At the White House, Vice President Vance said, “this is absolutely a tragedy, but it’s a tragedy of the making of the Far Left. They have radicalized a very small segment of the population, taught them that ICE agents are engaging in widescale violation of people’s rights.”

To get a better understanding of what happened, both men said an investigation would be necessary.

Walz said that Minnesota has the experience required to handle high-profile investigations such as this, pointing to the 2020 murder of George Floyd at the hands of former police officer Derek Chauvin.

“The only way we find the answers is a thorough investigation by nonpartisan professionals, Walz said. “We’ve delivered that. We’ve been able to do it.”

The state’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA), which was initially tapped to conduct a joint investigation with the Federal Bureau of Investigations, released a statement on Thursday. It states that the agency had been kicked off the search in favor of allowing the federal government to conduct the operation on its own.

Vance, however, said the federal government is better suited to handle it. “The Department of Justice is already investigating this. The Department of Homeland Security is already investigating this,” Vance said.

He added “But the simple fact is: What you see is what you get in this case.”