Stephen Colbert began Thursday night’s episode of “The Late Show” on a sober note as, like other late night hosts, he reflected on the killing of U.S. citizen and Minnesota resident Renee Nicole Good by ICE this week. According to the CBS host, this “should be an alarm bell for the entire country.”
Though Colbert offered a bit of humor to kick off his monologue, joking that it was the kind of news day that made him want to “just wheel out the AV cart” and watch something comforting — in this case “Heated Rivalry,” which he admitted he’d have to censor — he quickly got serious, calling out the Trump administration for calling the killing an act of self-defense, despite video evidence showing otherwise.
“The message from this administration is clear: only they determine the truth, and when their forces come to your city, obey or die. And if you die, you clearly didn’t obey,” Colbert said. “This should be an alarm bell for the entire country, whether you live in a red state or a blue state.”
“Because, if we let this go on, regardless of who your state voted for, one day you’ll have unaccountable, armed government agents acting with impunity in your town,” he continued. “So, peacefully and non-violently, please, let your leaders know you don’t want that.”
Colbert called the shooting “a senseless yet entirely predictable tragedy,” and offered love and condolences to Good’s loved ones and community.
The late night host refused to play the video footage, given its graphic and widespread nature, but noted that video clearly shows Good backing up her car and then steering away from the agents around her, including the one that shot her (two of the three shots came while the agent was standing to the side of her car).
“It sure looks like a federal agent gunned down an American citizen without cause in front of witnesses on a city street, but the administration is telling you that you didn’t see that,” Colbert said. “They’re saying you saw him respond to an act of domestic terrorism. They’re telling you to believe them and not your eyes. And they told you that immediately, before there was any investigation.”
Colbert also pointed out that the killing of Good marks the ninth shooting involving ICE in just the last few months.
“So this feels less like an anomaly and more like a trend,” he said. “You don’t watch the ninth ‘Fast and Furious’ movie and say, ‘You know, I’m beginning to get the sense that Vin Diesel really cares about family,’” he joked.
You can watch Stephen Colbert’s full monologue in the video above.
