Protests Erupt After ICE Shooting as Calls Grow (Full Transcript)

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: But where you see these cars coming now last hour, that was not the case. Many of these protesters were actually in the street blocking or at the very least confronting vehicles that were either coming out or into that federal facility. And you see sort of the law enforcement officers strategizing. They do seem to be going back at this point. Not sure the exact strategy, but you see them now retreating back. A big law enforcement presence. But again, as they swelled quickly, they seem to be shrinking back. But a show of force, no doubt, that these protesters do not seem to be intimidated by, for whatever reason, they are still yelling. They've gotten even louder. And so this just represents, I think, a little bit of the anger that we've seen in various parts of the Minneapolis area over the last few days since the day of the shooting.

[00:00:55] Speaker 2: And of course, we're not hearing the dialogue from the federal law enforcement there or any representation from. But just as you described, seeing them shrinking back, I wonder if that is simply representative of an attempt to de-escalate what is a very heightened, tenuous moment here.

[00:01:15] Speaker 1: It really is. You know, I think it's hard to know their exact strategy. But depending on jurisdictions, for example, I'll compare what we just saw there with what we saw last night with local law enforcement out in the streets of downtown Minneapolis, where there was not a police presence at all, it seemed like, for portions of the protests. And then all of a sudden, we couldn't really look anywhere without seeing law enforcement at the state and local level as well. So it was a little bit of a similar strategy here. And now you sort of see what has become the, I guess, the standard protection here at this point, federal protective service police sort of guarding this entrance. But prior to this, when these vehicles were coming in and out of this federal facility, there was not any visible security presence, at least to what we're seeing right now. Now, it does seem that tempers have calmed a little bit. But as soon as they left, you see people are now getting right back into the street as well. And some of that similar posturing that we saw before federal law enforcement sort of had that show of force. So this is something, again, we've seen flare-ups here come in and out over the course of the day at various portions of entrances to this federal building. There was one that even a few days ago forced us to have to run because of an agent sprinting into the crowd to sort of arrest people. We haven't seen that here. But that's sort of the range of what we've seen. Crowd repellent used at points, pepper balls. And what protesters have done is at the most we've seen is throw snowballs as well. So that's kind of what we've been seeing here as cars sometimes honk in support.

[00:02:56] Speaker 2: Yeah. Interesting moment, yet still very tense moment. Omar Jimenez, we'll check back with you there outside that federal building in the Minneapolis area. Thank you. Hundreds of protests are underway or planned nationwide today in response to the deadly Minneapolis shooting of Renee Good by an ICE agent. Protests are already happening at a federal building near Minneapolis where some ICE detainees have been held. And overnight, hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside a hotel they believe was housing federal agents. Police declared an unlawful assembly and arrested more than two dozen people. And today, the mayor of Minneapolis urged demonstrators to keep the protests peaceful and warned that those who don't will be held accountable.

[00:03:45] Speaker 3: The vast majority of people have protested peacefully to the few that have caused damage to property and or harm to others. We need to be very clear. We're not going to let that happen. You cause damage to property or put others in danger, you're going to be arrested. We are a safe city. We will not counter Donald Trump's chaos with our own brand of chaos here.

[00:04:14] Speaker 2: CNN's Omar Jimenez is joining us now from outside that federal building near Minneapolis. Omar, tell us what's happening there.

[00:04:24] Speaker 1: Yeah, so we're here at what is really a small protest at the moment, but this has really been where a lot of the protests have happened over the course of the past few days since Renee Good was shot and killed. What you're seeing right now is it seems like a group of people walked up to sort of the entrance to this federal facility and they're speaking to some federal agents. And kind of what's happening is every time agents pull out, as you're seeing here, protesters get especially angry, yell at the vehicles as they're leaving this particular area. You see how close they're getting, actually, as these vehicles are pulling out. And that has sort of been what we have seen at least today and pretty similar to what we've seen over the past few days. Now, I will say that just by sheer numbers, what we're seeing at the moment is a little bit lighter than what we had previously seen. But earlier today, we had three members of Congress, including Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, who represents the Minneapolis area, try to come and do an oversight visit here to this federal facility. And they said they were let in, but only briefly because not long after they received notification that they had to leave. But they said that they observed 20 detainees there as they described it. And so that just adds to a little bit of the back and forth that we've seen here. Again, you have members of Congress coming in here trying to do some of that oversight. They say they weren't allowed to do so in the way that they deemed appropriate, Fred.

[00:05:50] Speaker 2: And then what about last night? What are officials saying about the protests that have continued?

[00:05:57] Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, we've been seeing protests pop up in places all across the Minneapolis area. So you have this one outside this federal building, as you see them still shouting as vehicles come in and out. But last night, we were in downtown Minneapolis. And that's where we saw firsthand hundreds of protesters in the streets marching, centering on hotels where they believed federal agents may have been staying at points. And there was a point when we were out there, we didn't see any law enforcement as they were sort of banging on drums, singing, blowing whistles. And then they showed up almost all at once. And so the police chief in Minneapolis was asked about that dynamic today. Take a listen to what he said.

[00:06:38] Speaker 4: What you saw last night was a disciplined and restrained response. I think it was highly professional. And I'm thankful for the members of the community who understand our need to keep things peaceful. And I'm thankful for those officials and others that are continuing to call for peaceful protest.

[00:07:00] Speaker 1: And to that point, while there was damage done to some property, as we understand from police, it really wasn't until law enforcement then showed up what seemed like all at once, not only Minneapolis police, but state police, even the Department of Natural Resources, as was described as well. And they made 29 arrests, but not before making multiple warnings that we heard over the loudspeaker ourselves, declaring those an unlawful assembly. And so the mayor is encouraging more peaceful protests. But as we understand over the course of today, there will be a number of protests in the Minneapolis area, channeling that same anger we've seen since the day of the shooting. And even before that, wanting federal immigration enforcement agents out of Minneapolis, Fred.

[00:07:46] Speaker 2: Yes. And in that area, as well as across the country, there are people who are gathering for what many are calling a weekend of action. Omar Jimenez, we'll check back with you there in the Minneapolis area. All right. More than a thousand protests are expected this weekend nationwide, as folks are rallying against ice in their communities. A coalition of advocacy groups coordinated the ice out for good events in response to both the fatal shooting of Renee Good and the quote, pattern of unchecked violence in marginalized communities, end quote. CNN's Camila Dichalos is joining me right now from outside the White House. Very rainy Washington, D.C. there, but it doesn't appear to be much of a deterrent for a lot of people who have gathered. What's happening?

[00:08:34] Speaker 5: That's right. We're outside in D.C. We're walking with protesters. I spent just a few hours just talking to some of the protesters I came out to here today. And a lot of them said that despite the weather, it was very important for them to come out, show their support of this protest, and most importantly, send a message that what just transpired in Minneapolis with an ice agent shooting and killing Renee Good is unacceptable. Now, I talked to some protesters, one of which was actually from Minnesota, and he said simply that he was shocked when he heard the news. Now, I asked other protesters that came out in attendance today what their thoughts is and what do they want lawmakers to do in light of what just happened. And they said something pretty notable. They said that what they witnessed in these past few months since Trump, President Trump has came into office, they say that they really do think that lawmakers need to do more and implement more reform when it comes to federal agencies that handle law enforcement. And they think that this really, what just happened, has really shown a light, that it's more important now than ever for members of Congress, not just Democrats, but Republicans as well, to band together now and implement more reforms when it comes to federal agencies that play a big role in what's happening in this country right now.

[00:09:44] Speaker 6: The Republicans are just spineless, spineless. They're kowtowing to Trump, and I don't understand why. He's out of control, and we need to put these agencies, I mean, Kristi Noem needs to be chucked, and everybody needs to be, there needs to be some control and some rules and the rule of law. They need to listen to the courts.

[00:10:13] Speaker 5: Now, as you can see, there's more people that are joining this protest now. And a lot of them are holding up signs saying, Agus must go, saying that President Trump himself must go. And a lot of them feel that attending this protest today is really sending a clear message, not just in Washington, but across the country where these protests are happening, that what has happened is unacceptable and that they will no longer really stand by and just witness what has happened, that they really want to feel that they are taking a movement, joining a movement to really spark change.

[00:10:43] Speaker 2: All right, a boisterous and voluminous crowd right there in Washington, D.C., as it continues to rain, but certainly not stopping the protests and their feelings right there. Camila Deshales, thank you so much.