Some insiders at the White House are taken aback by the swift reaction of the Trump administration to the tragic shooting in Minneapolis and are worried that it may jeopardize trust in the investigation, as per a new Politico report.
Just hours following the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good by an ICE agent in Minneapolis on Wednesday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem labeled the 37-year-old mother as engaging in “domestic terrorism,” which has raised alarms among officials within the administration as well as current and former ICE personnel, according to the report.
Insiders fear Noem's statement could ‘undermine public confidence in probe’
Insiders are concerned that her statement could “undermine public confidence in the ongoing investigation” and “widen the credibility gap between the public and the immigration agency.”
“Do I think it’s domestic terrorism? Yeah, I do,” an insider close to the White House told Politico. “But it might not have been wise to say that at the outset, how [Noem] said it.”
{{/usCountry}}“Do I think it’s domestic terrorism? Yeah, I do,” an insider close to the White House told Politico. “But it might not have been wise to say that at the outset, how [Noem] said it.”
{{/usCountry}}Shortly after the shooting incident, Noem conducted a press conference in which she stated that Good had “weaponized her vehicle” against the ICE agents present at the scene, referring it to as an “act of domestic terrorism.”
Democrats blast Noem's claim
Democrats, along with several local officials, swiftly condemned the shooting and countered the Trump administration’s portrayal of the event. In a post on X on Thursday, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey referred to the claims of “domestic terrorism” as “bulls***”.
Since then, several videos of the incident have been released, including footage shared by the DHS on Saturday, which seemingly depicts the moments leading up to the fatal shooting. In a social media post that accompanied the video, the agency claimed that Good was “STALKING and IMPEDING a law enforcement operation”.
Another official from the administration informed Politico that the starkly contrasting interpretations of the footage presented by Democrats and Republicans will only serve to heighten political tensions.
“I don’t know how we recover from this,” an unnamed official from the administration stated to Politico.
The government representative also referenced the incident that occurred on Thursday in Portland, Oregon, where Border Patrol agents shot two individuals. According to Politico, the representative expressed greater sympathy towards the Portland shooting as it took place during a focused operation. However, they acknowledged that the two events will probably be linked to one another.
DHS official reacts to concerns
In response to these concerns, Politico spoke to Tricia McLaughlin, the DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs, who pointed to videos of the incident that were shared online by Trump officials. She stated: “If you weaponize a vehicle, a deadly weapon to kill or cause bodily harm to a federal law enforcement officer, that is an act of domestic terrorism and will be prosecuted as such.”