Mayor Jacob Frey renewed his call Saturday for the Trump administration to cease ICE operations in Minneapolis after a second person was shot to death by agents in the city.
“How many more residents, how many more Americans need to die or get badly hurt for this operation to end?” Frey asked at an impromptu Saturday press conference.
The operations in the city are distinctly anti-American, Frey insisted.
“I’m done being told that our community members are responsible for the vitriol in our streets. I’m done being told that our local elected officials are solely responsible for turning down the temperature,” he explained. “Just yesterday, we saw 15,000 people peacefully protesting in the streets, speaking out, standing up for their neighbors. Not a single broken window, not a single injury. Those peaceful protests embody the very principles that both Minneapolis and America was founded upon.”
Frey continued: “Conversely, the mass militarized force and unidentified agents who are occupying our streets, that is what weakens our country. That is what erodes trust in both law enforcement and in democracy itself. So to everyone listening, stand with Minneapolis. Stand up for America. Recognize that your children will ask you what side you were on. Your grandchildren will ask you what you did to act to prevent this from happening again. To make sure that the foundational elements of our democracy were rock solid.”
The mayor also questioned the purpose and result of the ongoing operations.
“This is not what America is about. This is not a partisan issue. This is an American issue. This administration and everyone involved in this operation should be reflecting. They should be reflecting right now and asking themselves, ‘What exactly are you accomplishing?’ If the goal was to achieve peace and safety, this is doing exactly the opposite.”
“Are you standing up for American families right now, or are we tearing them apart? The invasion of these heavily armed mass agents roaming around on our streets of Minneapolis emboldened with a sense of impunity it has to end. This is not how it has to be,” Frey also said.
The mayor then turned his focus to the shooting. “I just saw a video of more than six masked agents pummeling one of our constituents and shooting him to death. How many more residents, how many more Americans need to die or get badly hurt for this operation to end? How many more lives need to be lost before this administration realizes that a political and partisan narrative is not as important as American values? How many times must local and national leaders must plead with you, Donald Trump, to end this operation and recognize that this is not creating safety in our city?”
ICE agents shot and killed a man early Saturday morning. Video appears to show five or six agents assaulting the man before one took out their weapon and shot him three times. The victim was reportedly carrying a gun; Minnesota is a permit-based open carry state, though it was not clear whether the man was legally armed.
Minneapolis police chief Brian O’Hara identified the victim as a “37-year-old white male resident of the city” Saturday. “What I can tell you, is we have identified this person. 37-year-old white male, resident of the city. The only interaction that we are aware of with law enforcement has been for traffic tickets. We believe he is a lawful gun owner with a permit to carry,” O’Hara explained.
The shooting comes three weeks after agents also shot and killed Renee Good.
