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(Minneapolis) Three people were arrested Thursday for participating in a demonstration against the American immigration police (ICE) in a church in Minnesota, where Vice President JD Vance went saying he wanted to “lower the temperature”.
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ICE has been carrying out a major operation in the state for several weeks, where the death of Renee Good, a 37-year-old American woman killed in her car by an agent on January 7 in Minneapolis, has crystallized tensions.
On Sunday, protesters disrupted service at a church in the capital Saint Paul, where they believed the deputy director of the local ICE office was serving as pastor.
On Thursday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and FBI Director Kash Patel posted images on X of the arrests of three of them, civil rights lawyer Nekima Levy Armstrong, as well as two other people, a woman and a man.
All are accused of “obstructing the rights” of the faithful, in meetings, for having tried to “prevent them from practicing their religion”, writes Mme Noem.
In an interview with CNN on Wednesday, Nekima Levy Armstrong believed that the Trump administration was “trying to turn a peaceful, non-violent protest into a crime.”
Accused by the Democratic opposition of having added fuel to the fire by defending the immigration police officer responsible for the fatal shooting of Renee Good, JD Vance went to Minneapolis to meet ICE agents and “lower the temperature,” he said during a press conference.
“Yes, you can demonstrate,” he said to city residents who protest daily against the operations of federal agents, “but do it peacefully.”
The American vice-president also placed the blame for the violence during operations carried out by the immigration police on the lack of cooperation from the local police.
“We can very well enforce immigration laws without causing chaos, but that really requires the cooperation of state and local authorities” Democrats, he argued, deploring in particular that federal agents are not “protected”.
Based on videos, demonstrators and elected Democrats contest the official thesis according to which the police officer was in self-defense.
“Of course, we are investigating the shooting of Renee Good,” but “in a way that respects people’s rights,” Mr. Vance said, adding that “if someone did something reprehensible, yes, they will face disciplinary sanctions.”
The state of Minnesota has asked the federal courts to suspend the ICE operation. A hearing on the matter is scheduled for Monday.
The Department of Homeland Security also launched a new major immigration police operation on Tuesday in another state, Maine (north-east).
