President Donald Trump has made an official response to the tragedy in Minneapolis, where an ICE agent opened fire on Renee Nicole, leading to her death. The president alleges that Nicole “violently, willfully, and viciously ran over” an ICE agent, but Democrats have instead placed blame on DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and are contemplating impeachment proceedings, as reports reveal federal agents prevented medical assistance from reaching Nicole.
Trump blamed the latest tragic event on “the radical left,” an allegation the president has laid at the doorstep of just about every one of his critics, from late actors to television networks that air shows of comedians he doesn’t like. Trump’s politicization of the shooting is based on his perception of why Nicole resisted arrest. He also defended the ICE agent, saying the shooting was an act of self-defense and accusing Nicole of being a “professional agitator.”
CNN brought on former FBI agent Josh Campbell to break down the incident in accordance with law enforcement training in a TikTok video. Campbell revealed that agents are not permitted to fire at a moving vehicle solely for the purpose of disabling it. In the video showing the sequence of events, Nicole appears to be trying to turn right and away from the ICE agent in front of her, but she still made contact while attempting to leave the scene. That is when the agent opened fire. According to Campbell, the situation is very complex even by training standards, but he does question whether this ultimately comes down to an issue of judgment by the agent.
The news of Minnesota being flooded with over 2,000 ICE agents was first announced by ICE Director Todd Lyons. Lyons was speaking in the immediate aftermath of a viral video by Nick Shirley, in which he went to multiple childcare facilities and demanded they open up for inspection. Lyons announced that the operation would be seeking “fraud suspects” and other criminals with uncertain immigration status.
A report released by The Atlantic revealed that a witness tried to reach the woman who was shot but was blocked by agents. Later, an ambulance arrived on the scene attempting to reach Nicole, but it was also blocked by law enforcement vehicles, forcing paramedics to proceed on foot.
In the immediate aftermath of the chaos brought on by ICE agents flooding the Twin Cities, Mayor Jacob Frey made an emotional and angry plea, saying, “To ICE — get the f**k out of Minneapolis. We do not want you here. Your stated reason for being in this city is to create some kind of safety, and you are doing exactly the opposite.”
Democratic Congresswoman Robin Kelly of Illinois has publicly stated that she is now considering impeachment proceedings against DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. Nicole is survived by her wife and 3 children. As the Trump administration scrambles to find words to justify her death at the hands of federal agents, Americans of good will are fundraising on her GoFundMe. So far, it has raised more than $410,000, over 700% of the original goal.
Published: Jan 8, 2026 10:33 am