Cecilia Nowell (now); Shrai Popat, Lucy Campbell and Amy Sedghi (earlier)
2026-01-07 22:21:00
‘Don’t believe this propaganda machine’: Walz slams DHS justification for Minneapolis shooting
Minnesota governor Tim Walz has slammed the Department of Homeland Security’s justification for the shooting in Minneapolis today that killed a 37-year-old woman.
Homeland security secretary Kristi Noem claimed that federal agents were acting out of self-defense.
Walz was quick to push back. “I’ve seen the video. Don’t believe this propaganda machine,” he wrote on social media. “The state will ensure there is a full, fair, and expeditious investigation to ensure accountability and justice.”
Eyewitness videos seem to refute DHS’s argument. The maroon SUV is shown backing away from ICE officers as they approach the car, and attempt to open the driver’s door. One ICE officer that can be seen partially in front of the car as the driver moves forward and then away from the officers. That same ICE officer is seen firing his gun as the car appears to drive by him.
Key events
Lucy Campbell
Meanwhile, our international blog is covering this news on the Trump administration’s moves around Venezuela:
Donald Trump has said in a post on his Truth Social platform that Venezuela will be buying American-made products with the money it receives from the new deal arranged with his administration.
I have just been informed that Venezuela is going to be purchasing ONLY American Made Products, with the money they receive from our new Oil Deal. These purchases will include, among other things, American Agricultural Products, and American Made Medicines, Medical Devices, and Equipment to improve Venezuela’s Electric Grid and Energy Facilities.
In other words, Venezuela is committing to doing business with the United States of America as their principal partner – A wise choice, and a very good thing for the people of Venezuela, and the United States.
Trump proposes $1.5tn trillion military budget
Donald Trump has proposed a massive increase to the defense department’s budget to a record $1.5tn for 2027, citing “troubled and dangerous times”. The proposal would mark a 66% increase over the $900bn the Pentagon was authorized to spend this fiscal year.
In a post on his social media website, Trump wrote: “This will allow us to build the ‘Dream Military’ that we have long been entitled to and, more importantly, that will keep us SAFE and SECURE, regardless of foe.”
He added that he was able to suggest the $1.5tn budget because of “the tremendous numbers being produced by Tariffs from other Countries, many of which, in the past, have ‘ripped off’ the United States at levels never seen before”.
Trump’s announcement of increased military spending came just days after a military operation which captured the president of Venezuela, and as Trump has floated taking military action in Greenland, Colombia and Cuba.
Minneapolis shooting leads to political split-screen
In the hours following the fatal shooting of a 37-year-old woman in Minneapolis by ICE agents, political leaders on both sides of the aisle responded to news of the killing.
On the right, members of Donald Trump’s cabinet and Republican congressmembers shared statements in support of the Department of Homeland Security, denounced the victim as a terrorist and called for the arrest of Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey.
In social media posts, the White House, Department of Homeland Security and press secretary Karoline Leavitt all said they “stand with ICE”. Senator Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma wrote: “ICE agents aren’t Disney villains. They’re our neighbors, friends, and loved ones. These immigration and customs enforcement officers are red-blooded American patriots doing a tough job to keep our nation safe. Assaults against ICE are up 1,300%. I stand with @DHSgov.”
Trump advisor Stephen Miller, meanwhile, called the incident – apparently referring to the victim’s behavior – an act of “domestic terrorism” and added that “Democrats continue to lend aid and comfort to domestic terrorism.”
Other Republicans, as we previously reported, including congressmembers Nancy Mace and Randy Fine, called for the arrest of Minneapolis’s mayor.
Meanwhile, on the left, Minneapolis state leadership and congressional representatives called the White House’s response “propaganda” and a lie.
“I’ve seen the video. Don’t believe this propaganda machine. The state will ensure there is a full, fair, and expeditious investigation to ensure accountability and justice,” governor Tim Walz wrote on social media.
In a response to a post by Homeland Security, Minnesota congresswoman Ilhan Omar wrote, “You’re lying. There was no attempt to run the officer over and no ICE agents appear to be hurt. Get out of our city.”
Republican lawmakers are calling for the arrest of Minneapolis’s mayor, Jacob Frey.
In a post on social media, South Carolina congresswoman Nancy Mace wrote “Arrest the mayor” alongside a screenshot of Fox News coverage showing Frey telling ICE to leave the city.
In a separate post, reacting to a statement Frey made saying he was aware of the shooting, congressman Randy Fine of Florida wrote: “This scumbag POS should be arrested right now.”
Immigrant rights group to hold vigil Minneapolis on Wednesday
An immigrant rights group will hold a vigil for the 37-year-old woman fatally shot by ICE agents in Minneapolis on Wednesday.
“We witnessed an atrocious attack on our community today,” the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee wrote on Facebook. “Community members were taken from us and an observer was shot dead. ICE OUT OF MINNESOTA NOW.”
Walz also said that he has not had any communication with the victim’s family. Earlier, Minneapolis’s mayor, Jacob Frey, said that a 37-year-old woman was fatally shot, but did not provide any more details on her identity.
“We do not have a definitive ID on this individual,” Walz said at today’s press conference, before questioning claims by Trump officials who expounded the alleged intentions of the victim.
“It’s it’s beyond me that apparently, from the federal government, from the homeland security director herself, has already determined who this person was, what their motive was, and they hadn’t even been taken out of the vehicle,” the governor said. “We’re not living in a normal world.”
Walz added that today’s shooting was “totally predictable” and “totally avoidable”. He noted that local law enforcement received no coordination with federal agents.
He also implored Minnesotans to demonstrate peacefully, and not “take the bait” from the administration.
“Do not allow them to deploy federal troops into here. Do not allow them to invoke the Insurrection Act. Do not allow them to declare martial law. Do not allow them to lie about the security and the decency of the state, and let’s let this investigation play itself out,” he said.
Minnesota governor issues ‘warning order’ to prepare state’s national guard following fatal shooting by ICE agent
At a press conference, Minnesota’s governor, Tim Walz, said that he’s “issued a warning order” to prepare the state’s national guard. “We have soldiers in training and prepared to be deployed if necessary,” he noted. “I remind you, a warning order is a heads up for folks.”
Walz added: “I have a very simple message: we do not need any further help from the federal government. Donald Trump and Kristi Noem, you’ve done enough.”
Trump blames victim who was fatally shot by ICE agent in Minneapolis
Donald Trump has taken to Truth Social following the fatal shooting of a 37-year-old woman in Minneapolis.
He notes that he’s watched the video of the shooting, before calling the victim “a professional agitator”, without providing any evidence for his claim.
He added:
The woman driving the car was very disorderly, obstructing and resisting, who then violently, willfully, and viciously ran over the ICE Officer, who seems to have shot her in self defense.
The president wrote that “it is hard to believe” that the agent who killed the woman is alive, noting that he is “now recovering in the hospital” before saying that the reason for these incidents “is because the Radical Left is threatening, assaulting, and targeting our Law Enforcement Officers and ICE Agents on a daily basis”.
A reminder that the video shows the woman driving appears to be backing away from ICE officers as they approach the car, and attempt to open her door.
As the driver moves forward and then away from the officers, another ICE officer is seen firing his gun as the car appears to drive by him.
After the fatal shooting of a 37-year-old woman by an ICE agent in Minneapolis, the state’s lieutenant governor, Peggy Flanagan, called for federal immigration officers to leave Minnesota “immediately”.
“ICE has committed an unspeakable act of violence today,” she said in a statement. “These masked agents are out of control and creating real chaos in our state.”
Flanagan urged Minnesotans to remain “remain peaceful, calm, and united” in the “face of their violence”.
“Minnesotans will not allow Trump and his thugs to turn our communities into war zones,” she added.
Dispatch from the scene of the Minneapolis shooting
Rachel Leingang
Reporting from Minneapolis
I was at the scene of the shooting soon after it occurred, shadowing constitutional observers who have trained for months to monitor and respond to ICE activity in the state.
ICE vehicles, unmarked, lined the street, and yellow police tape cordoned off the area. By the time we arrived, many dozens of protesters and community members were outside, shouting at ICE agents and at the local police. More agents arrived.
People yelled at Minneapolis police to arrest the ICE agent who shot the woman in a car. “What were you taught by your parents?” one woman yelled at the agents. A man on a bullhorn led some in a chant of “Say it loud, say it clear, immigrants are welcome here.” People repeatedly yelled for ICE to leave, to go home – to get out of Minneapolis.
This is the second day of an expected 30-day surge, which ICE has called its largest operation to date.
Trained observers went to the houses that looked out on to the streets, asking residents if they had any video they could share. One woman moved through the crowd quickly, telling people more were needed at a nearby school, where ICE had been seen.
City council members, the mayor and the police chief all came to the scene. Eventually, Minneapolis police took over, and ICE agents left. As agents left, people yelled and threw snowballs at their vehicles. The agents sprayed irritants and some pellets at those who followed the vehicles. Once they left the area, volunteer medics helped those who were hit with spray to clear their eyes.
After ICE left, observers heard more whistles blowing nearby – a sign that ICE had moved to another part of south Minneapolis. Dozens took off toward the direction of the whistles. I jumped into a car with the observer I was shadowing to a scene a few blocks away, where ICE was outside a dollar store in a strip mall.
“This is just sad,” a man watching at the mall said to me.
For some wider context on the state of immigration custody in the US, my colleagues Maanvi Singh, Coral Murphy Marcos and Charlotte Simmonds have reported on the record number of deaths in ICE custody.
They report that 2025 was the deadliest year in more than two decades, as the Trump administration moved to detain a record number of people.
The number of deaths, 32, matched the previous record, set in 2004. These deaths occurred as the Trump administration ramped up its immigration operations, detaining a record number of people in December. The agency was holding 68,440 people in detention in mid-December; nearly 75% of them had no criminal convictions.
You can read their full report here:
‘Don’t believe this propaganda machine’: Walz slams DHS justification for Minneapolis shooting
Minnesota governor Tim Walz has slammed the Department of Homeland Security’s justification for the shooting in Minneapolis today that killed a 37-year-old woman.
Homeland security secretary Kristi Noem claimed that federal agents were acting out of self-defense.
Walz was quick to push back. “I’ve seen the video. Don’t believe this propaganda machine,” he wrote on social media. “The state will ensure there is a full, fair, and expeditious investigation to ensure accountability and justice.”
Eyewitness videos seem to refute DHS’s argument. The maroon SUV is shown backing away from ICE officers as they approach the car, and attempt to open the driver’s door. One ICE officer that can be seen partially in front of the car as the driver moves forward and then away from the officers. That same ICE officer is seen firing his gun as the car appears to drive by him.
Noem says ‘act of domestic terrorism’ spurred Minneapolis shooting
While speaking at an unrelated press conference in Brownsville, Texas, Kristi Noem said today’s shooting in Minneapolis was provoked by an “act of domestic terrorism”.
The homeland security went on to say that the immigration agents on the scene were “attempting to push out their vehicle” due to the snow in the city. “The woman attacked them and those surrounding them and attempted to run them over and ram them with her vehicle. An officer of ours acted quickly and defensively shot to protect himself and the people around him,” Noem said.
O’Hara provided more details about today’s shooting and how the events unfolded. After Minneapolis police officers arrived on the scene, they found the woman with a gunshot wound to the head.
Life-saving measures were performed at the scene, including CPR, before the woman was transported to the Hennepin county medical center, where she was pronounced dead.
O’Hara added that the information they have indicates the woman was in her vehicle and was blocking the roadway. “At some point, a federal law enforcement officer approached her on foot, and the vehicle began to drive off,” the chief said. “At least two shots were fired, the vehicle then crashed on the side of the roadway.”
Related reading
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- Bennie Thompson Urges DHS to Cancel $915 Million “Project Homecoming” Self-Deportation Contract
- Mayor Mulvaney-Stanak Updates Burlington City Council on Community Search Results (news-usa.today)
- Robert Reich: Trump’s Failed Iran Diplomacy and the Crisis in the Strait of Hormuz (archyde.com)