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Weekend of US protests after woman killed by immigration agent / Photo: © AFP
Weekend of US protests after woman killed by immigration agent
Hundreds of rallies were planned for Saturday and Sunday across the United States to protest actions of the federal immigration agency after the fatal shooting of a 37-year-old woman in Minneapolis.
Organizers said more than 1,000 events were planned under the slogan "ICE, Out for Good" -- referring to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency that is drawing growing opposition over its execution of President Donald Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration.
The slogan is also a reference to Renee Good, the motorist shot dead by an ICE agent in the midwestern US city of Minneapolis on Wednesday.
Her death has sparked strong emotions in this Democratic stronghold, and further afield. Protests are planned across the country, including around Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and Los Angeles.
The calls to protest are being amplified by the "No Kings" movement, a network of left-wing organizations that mounted nationwide demonstrations against Trump last year.
The Trump administration has sought to paint Good as a "domestic terrorist," insisting that the agent who fatally shot her was acting in self-defense. This narrative is strongly disputed by local officials, who say footage of the shooting shows Good's vehicle was turning away from the agent and did not pose a threat to him.
Cell phone footage apparently taken by the officer who fired the fatal shots shows him interacting with Good as he approaches and circles her car, and her saying, "I'm not mad at you."
After he passes in front of the car, another agent can be heard ordering Good to exit the vehicle before she tries to drive off and shots ring out.
The agent filming the video can be heard saying "fucking bitch" at the end of the clip.
The White House insisted the video gave weight to the officer's claim of self-defense -- even though the clip does not show the moment the car moved away, or him opening fire.
On Friday evening, hundreds of people gathered noisily in front of Minneapolis hotels believed to be housing ICE agents, equipped with whistles, loudspeakers, and musical instruments.
Several people were arrested and then quickly released, according to city police.
Officials and residents in Minnesota have expressed concern that local law enforcement agencies have been shut out of the FBI investigation into Minneapolis shooting.
"When the FBI, when the federal agencies, say they won't share evidence with the local authorities, the public can't trust that it's going to be a true, transparent investigation," Patrick O'Shaughnessy, a 43-year-old unemployed resident interviewed by AFP on Friday.
According to The Trace, a media outlet focusing on gun violence, reported that Good was the fourth person killed by federal immigration agents since the launch of the Trump administration's deportation policy, and seven others have been injured.
In a separate incident, two people were injured on Thursday in Portland, Oregon, by shots fired by federal border police during a traffic stop.
C. de Fatima--JDB
