Minnesota protesters, agents repeatedly square off while prosecutors
quit after Renee Good's death
[January 14, 2026]
By MARK VANCLEAVE and TIM SULLIVAN
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Federal officers dropped tear gas and sprayed eye
irritant at activists Tuesday during another day of confrontations in
Minneapolis, while students miles away walked out of a suburban school
to protest the Trump administration's bold immigration sweeps.
Meanwhile, the fallout from the fatal shooting of a Minneapolis woman by
an immigration agent reached the local U.S. Attorney's Office: At least
five prosecutors have resigned amid controversy over how the U.S.
Justice Department is handling the investigation, according to people
familiar with the matter.
Separately, a Justice Department official said Wednesday there's no
basis for a criminal civil rights investigation. An FBI probe of Renee
Good's death is ongoing.
Strife between federal agents and the public continues to boil, six days
since Good was shot in the head while driving off in her Honda Pilot. At
one scene, gas clouds filled a Minneapolis street near where she died. A
man scrubbed his eyes with snow and screamed for help after agents in a
Jeep sprayed an orange irritant and drove off.
It’s common for people to boo, taunt and blow orange whistles when they
spot heavily armed immigration agents passing through in unmarked
vehicles or walking the streets, all part of a grassroots effort to warn
the neighborhood and remind the government that they’re watching.
“Who doesn't have a whistle?” a man with a bag of them yelled.
Brita Anderson, who lives nearby and came to support neighborhood
friends, said she was “incensed” to see agents in tactical gear and gas
masks, and wondered about their purpose.
“It felt like the only reason they’d come here is to harass people,”
Anderson said.
In Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, students protesting the immigration
enforcement operation walked out of school, as students in other
communities have done this week.
Later, a large crowd gathered outside a hotel in Minneapolis banging
drums and blowing whistles as officers wearing helmets and carrying
batons stood guard just inside. Meanwhile, confrontations erupted
between protesters and officers guarding the federal building being used
as a base for the Twin Cities crackdown.
Good's death has ripple effect
The departures in the U.S. Attorney's Office include First Assistant
U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson, who had been leading the sprawling
prosecution of public fraud schemes in the state, according to people
who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity to
discuss personnel matters.
With the Department of Homeland Security pledging to send more than
2,000 immigration officers into Minnesota, the state, joined by
Minneapolis and St. Paul, sued President Donald Trump’s administration
Monday to halt or limit the surge.
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A protester is sprayed with pepper spray by a Federal agent Tuesday,
Jan. 13, 2026, in Minneapolis.(AP Photo/Adam Gray)
The lawsuit says Homeland Security is violating the First Amendment
and other constitutional protections by focusing on a progressive
state that favors Democrats and welcomes immigrants.
“What we are seeing is thousands — plural — thousands of federal
agents coming into our city. And, yeah, they’re having a tremendous
impact on day-to-day life,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said.
A judge set a status conference for Wednesday.
Homeland Security says it has made more than 2,000 arrests in the
state since early December and is vowing to not back down.
Spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin, responding to the lawsuit, accused
Minnesota officials of ignoring public safety.
ICE tactics on docket
In a different lawsuit, a judge said she would rule by Thursday or
Friday on a request to restrict the use of force, such as chemical
irritants, on people who are observing and recording agents'
activities. Government attorneys argued that officers must protect
themselves.
The Trump administration has repeatedly defended the immigration
agent who shot Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, saying he acted
in self-defense. But that explanation has been widely panned by
Frey, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and others based on videos of the
confrontation.
State and local authorities are urging the public to share video and
any other evidence as they seek to separately investigate Good's
death after federal authorities insisted they would approach it
alone and not share information.
In Wisconsin, Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez is proposing that the state
ban civil immigration enforcement around courthouses, hospitals,
health clinics, schools, churches and other places. She is hoping to
succeed Gov. Tony Evers, a fellow Democrat, who is not running for a
third term.
“We can take a look at that, but I think banning things absolutely
will ramp up the actions of our folks in Washington, D.C.,” Evers
said, referring to the Trump administration. “They don’t tend to
approach those things appropriately.”
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Associated Press reporters Ed White in Detroit; Steve Karnowski in
Minneapolis; and Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin, contributed.
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