More federal agents sent to Minneapolis

MINNEAPOLIS:

US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Sunday that hundreds more federal agents were heading to Minneapolis, brushing aside demands by the city's Democratic leaders to leave after an immigration officer fatally shot a woman protester.

In multiple TV interviews, Noem defended the actions of the officer who shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good, whose death has sparked renewed protests nationwide against President Donald Trump's aggressive immigration crackdown.

Noem reiterated her claim that Good's actions in the Midwestern city on Wednesday amounted to "domestic terrorism," and that the agent acted in self-defense when he fatally shot Good in her car.

Prominent Democratic officials, including Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, have strongly disputed this narrative, saying viral footage from the scene shows Good's vehicle turning away from the agent and posing no threat to his life.

Noem, when pressed repeatedly by CNN about how she could make such definitive statements while an investigation into the incident had just begun, insisted she and the administration were in the right.

"Why are we arguing with a president who's working to keep people safe?" she said.

Speaking separately to the conservative Fox News network, Noem said hundreds more officers will arrive Sunday and Monday, to allow immigration agents "that are working in Minneapolis to do so safely."

If protesters "conduct violent activities against law enforcement, if they impede our operations, that's a crime, and we will hold them accountable to those consequences," Noem told "Sunday Morning Futures."