Seattle anti-ICE protesters block streets, burn American flag after Minneapolis shooting
- WGON
- Jan 8
- 2 min read
Approximately 200 protesters gathered at the Henry M. Jackson Federal Building in Downtown Seattle to protest the death of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good, who was shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent after she allegedly tried to hit him with her car in Minneapolis.
DHS said that during "targeted operations" in Minneapolis, "rioters began blocking ICE officers and one of these violent rioters weaponized her vehicle, attempting to run over our law enforcement officers in an attempt to kill them—an act of domestic terrorism."
"An ICE officer, fearing for his life, the lives of his fellow law enforcement, and the safety of the public, fired defensive shots. He used his training and saved his own life and that of his fellow officers. The alleged perpetrator was hit and is deceased. The ICE officers who were hurt are expected to make full recoveries."
The Seattle Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (SAARPR), the Seattle Against War (SAW), and the Legalization 4 All Network announced an “emergency press conference” to protest ICE.
The organizations demanded an immediate end to ICE raids in Seattle, a halt to mass deportations, justice and accountability for the woman killed in Minneapolis, the release of the shooting officer’s name, and disclosure of ICE agents active in Seattle communities.
Activists held makeshift signs and waved a giant Palestinian flag behind a banner that read “Abolish ICE.” According to Frontlines reporter Jonathan Choe, “Many of these people are the same far-left activists behind Black Lives Matter, pro-Hamas, and other marches.” Antifa militants were also part of the group and harassed Choe as he covered the event.
After the speeches, the crowd shrank to about 100, as many activists did not feel comfortable with the radicals running the event. Protesters set small fires on the federal grounds: torched an American flag, then smashed a piñata of a man wearing an ICE vest. Seattle police blocked off parts of Second Avenue when the protesters marched into the street.
After nearly two hours of rallying and marching in downtown Seattle, the far-left activists dispersed without causing major chaos or damage. They were trailed by multiple police officers all evening.
Familiar activist groups protested in other cities across the US on Wednesday. According to Fox News, the far-left National Alliance against Racist and Political Repression announced an "emergency rally" in New York City's Foley Square. Indivisible, the Democratic Party-aligned nonprofit and PAC that led the "No Kings" and anti-Tesla protests, also called for direct action.
Refuse Fascism, a socialist organization active in protests against Israel and the Trump administration, and the Party for Socialism and Liberation in Columbus, Ohio called for emergency protests, as did the Palestinian Youth Movement, which organized campus protests following the Oct. 7 massacre of over 1,200 Israelis by Hamas.
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