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New Details about the Minnesota Shooting; Deepinder Mayell is Interviewed about the Minneapolis Shooting; Shapiro Launches Re- election Bid; Juno Berthelsen is Interviewed about Trump's Comments on Greenland. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired January 08, 2026 - 08:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: This morning we are watching a scene playing out that's developing in Minneapolis as protesters are gathering there this hour after a 37-year-old woman was shot and killed by an ICE agent. We've just received -- we're going to show you a photo. This is a photo of the victim from 2017. She's identified as Renee Good, a mother of three, a U.S. citizen who recently moved to Minnesota. We've also learned that she was with her partner at the time. They had just dropped off Renee's six-year-old son at school when they encountered the ICE agents.

I want to bring in CNN's Ryan Young and Priscilla Alvarez on this for us.

Ryan, what is the latest on the ground there?

RYAN YOUNG, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Protests have already started, Kate. People are angry, upset. They've traveled from all over the state to be here this morning. It's 7:00 a.m. and they're already starting to protest. You see the signs like this one, "get ICE out of Minnesota."

And as we walk down here, people said they really wanted to be here to express their frustration with what's going on after watching this video.

I met these ladies earlier.

I know I walked up to you guys and just wanted to know, like, seriously, what brought you here this morning and what compelled you after watching that video?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think most of us are here because we have the privilege to be here. We're Minnesotans, and we're here to stand up for every single person in our community because it's the right thing to do.

Anyone else?

YOUNG: Were you -- were you shocked and angered by the video that you saw?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, it was so sad. It was so sad. It was like, you have to do something. You can't just sit back on the sidelines. You have to do something. You've got to get out there and help your neighbors. God -- Jesus said, love one another. That's why we're here. And that -- I had this sign from 2017, the first time when the t-man went into office, and I thought, oh, I'll never need it again. Well, we're here again and again and again. This is not America.

YOUNG: I hear the pain in your voice. I see a lot of signs that say "no ICE." What would you want, if the president was listening this morning, to do about this situation?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Treat others the way you want to be treated. We are civil. We are not cruel. This is not America. This is not how we grew up. This is not -- this is not the Constitution. This is not democracy. This is not it.

YOUNG: Thank you.

When you saw that video, what was your initial reaction to it?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I wanted to vomit. That was awful. It was really hard to watch. I saw it -- right when they were released. So, before the news had even gotten to it. Because I had friends who were in the area. And I was shocked. I was absolutely shocked and abhorred that the lies that came out afterwards and the amount of people that choose to believe the lies instead of seeing things for themselves and to think for themselves. That's gone.

YOUNG: Is there a part of you that's saddened that we're in this situation that we're in right now? I mean there's a woman who lost her life. So many people here are upset. I've seen tears. Why is that so much emotion in this community in particular?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We -- Minnesota's a strong community. We love our neighbors. We know our neighbors. We care about one another. Truly care about one another. And we don't see each other as strangers or enemies. We see each other as our neighbors and our friends.

YOUNG: Are you disappointed in our country right now with what happened?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Very much so. We have lots of immigrant neighbors. Our church, our friends, and it's -- they're scared. Some are in hiding. And it's embarrassing.

YOUNG: When you see a protest like this at 7:00 a.m., what do you think that says about this community?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They don't want it anymore. They're resisting. So.

YOUNG: And last but not least, a lot of people are meeting for the first time here, but do you think this action will continue? Do you think people will continue to protest over the next few days? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think people are ready to stand up. I've never

been to this spot to protest, but I needed to be here. You know, we need to stand together, and everybody's ready to stand together.

YOUNG: I hear the pain in your voice. Can you tell me what your emotional feeling was when you witnessed the video and you've seen what's happened over the last few hours?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yesterday, after I saw the video, I was bawling in my kitchen and I needed to pick my son up from school. And it's like, you know, it hurts. It hurts us.

[08:35:03]

YOUNG: Yes, knowing another mother can't pick up their kid, did that sit with you a little differently as well?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It did. Yes. Even though -- even though, you know, I live a few towns away from Minneapolis, we are all neighbors. We're all Minnesotans. And we all feel it deeply.

YOUNG: Thank you. Thank you for sharing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.

YOUNG: Look, Kate, we wanted to bring you that. This is only a part of what the protesters have been telling us so far. This really just started in the last 20 minutes or so.

This is really stretching down the street here. And there's a federal building across the street. They're hoping the members of ICE hear this, and they want some action from D.C. in terms of what they saw yesterday.

BOLDUAN: Yes, and we've heard of the anger, we've seen the anger and outrage that has just exploded. But what I'm also seeing there is just a level of just sadness and disappointment in where this is all -- where this is all headed. So --

YOUNG: And when you pull into a parking lot and you see people crying -- yes, when you -- when you pull into a parking lot and you see people who've never met each other holding each other, hugging each other, it really strikes you. And there's signs all over this place, people coming together for the first time under the idea that they're all from Minnesota.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

Ryan, thank you so much for that.

Let's go now to Priscilla Alvarez.

Priscilla, I'm curious what you are hearing from your sources as you have, I mean, you're sort of deeply -- deep within DHS, especially within -- in Customs and Border Patrol. The DHS secretary has -- is very quickly came out blaming Renee Good for what happened, defending the ICE agent in the -- in the immediate aftermath of this shooting. What are you hearing from your sources?

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly, Kate, a lot of shock and surprise over the officer's conduct. That was the initial texts and calls I was getting from multiple of my federal law enforcement sources as they saw videos of how this incident unfolded.

Now, the Homeland Security secretary, Kristi Noem, did not identify the officer involved in the shooting, in statements or in her press conference in Minneapolis yesterday, only saying that he is, quote, "experienced." She also said that he was hospitalized, then discharged, and would now be spending time with family.

And the way the administration has described this is as, quote, defensive shots. And that is the part that a lot of my sources have been trying to see if there is justification for, because if you watch the video, or videos, of this incident, you see the woman backing up and then appearing to drive away. So that's going to be a question in the investigation that the Homeland Security secretary is underway by the FBI.

As a reminder, Kate, there are around 2,000 agents that have been deployed to the Minneapolis area and Minnesota writ large over recent days. Just 24 hours before this incident started, the acting ICE director, Todd Lyons, touted this as the largest immigration operation to date under President Donald Trump's second term. Well, that operation is now marked by this ICE officer involved shooting that killed that U.S. citizen.

The other question here is body cam footage. This often comes up with investigations. I will tell you that officers working with ICE are not required to wear body worn cameras while conducting operations in Minneapolis. That is what I have been told by my sources. Now, that doesn't mean that those that were there didn't have them on. It's just that it's not required in that particular region. There's been some whiplash over the policy as it relates to ICE officers over the last several months and years. So, that's something to note as, again, we try to gather more details and as the Homeland Security secretary said, they will be -- that the FBI will be conducting this investigation.

But as of now, Kate, we don't know more about the officer involved here, officers involved, other than the description by the secretary that he was an experienced officer and also one that she said was dragged by a vehicle last year in another operation.

BOLDUAN: Priscilla, thank you so much for bringing us your reporting. Ryan Young on the ground for us in Minneapolis. Much more to come, obviously, of this.

Sara.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, the ACLU of Minnesota is demanding immediate action be taken in light of the ICE killing.

Joining us now is the executive director of the ACLU of Minnesota, Deepinder Singh Mayell. Thank you so much for being here.

What immediate action are you demanding?

DEEPINDER MAYELL, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ACLU OF MINNESOTA: Well, thank you very much for having me.

I mean, I want to acknowledge that, starting with the acknowledgment of this horrible tragedy and this killing of Renee Nicole Good. You know, a family is without their daughter, without a mother, without a spouse and a community is really terrified right now and is grieving. And I really want to center that. And we respect that an investigation should happen here, as we always do.

[08:40:01]

But we know that this shouldn't have happened.

And I want to just -- it's important to note that -- that this is really part -- this killing is part of a broader pattern of brutality that has been documented in court after court across this country. And everyone is seeing it. This is not news to everyone. We are seeing arrests that look more like abductions, unlawful activity. And here in Minnesota, it really started at the end of November. The stuff that you saw in L.A., the stuff that you saw in Chicago, a real swath of unconstitutional activity that appeared here. And, you know, you know, it started with the force, the militarized mass, blocked license plates, the force showed up and immediately we have heard reports of racial profiling, community harassment, excessive force, the targeting of observers, of protesters, indiscriminate, pointing of semiautomatic weapons, wild spraying of pepper spray, the deployment of tear gas in residential neighborhoods.

Look, so it's really important to understand this killing as part of this broader pattern.

SIDNER: So, you talk about this pattern. You said that there have been a multitude of things the ACLU has seen in Minnesota since the surge of ICE there that have been unlawful. So, is the ACLU, which has a history of filing cases against police departments and other departments, do you plan to take any legal action in this case or others?

MAYELL: Absolutely. You know, look, at the end of the day, these ICE activities are not normal. And they should be really understood, as part of an unprecedented abuse of executive authority. This surge that we're seeing across the country and in Minnesota is endangering our community. It is violating our rights. And ICE's continued presence is dangerous and it is deadly.

So, again, this is not normal. The ACLU has filed -- the ACLU of Minnesota has filed a class action lawsuit in federal court seeking an injunction to stop the government from targeting observers and protesters with unconstitutional conduct and retaliation.

SIDNER: Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is giving a full- throated defense of the agent, saying that he acted in self-defense. She says the FBI will now investigate the incident. Do you trust the federal government to do a proper investigation when you hear the DHS secretary giving this full-throated defense before an investigation is finished? And if not, who should be investigating?

MAYELL: Well, I mean, look, the videos are going to speak for themselves. We do respect an investigation to be conducted. But look, you don't have to take my word for it. You know, in court after court, judge after judge has noted that the government has consistently pushed out widespread misinformation when they are reporting on these types of activities and widespread mischaracterizations. And it's just really important for us all to remember that these types of -- this activity, it really affects all of us, right? This is our First Amendment. Everyone's First Amendment right to free speech, to assembly. It's about the freedom of the press. It's about our right to be free of unlawful seizure and unlawful arrest. It's about due process, equal protection, and really about the right for us to be able to speak our mind, and people to speak their mind without fear of retaliation.

SIDNER: Deepinder, look, the -- Secretary Noem also called the victim here who was shot by an agent, she called her a domestic terrorist. Is there anything that you saw in any of those videos that would fit that definition?

MAYELL: Look, I mean, you know, I didn't -- I didn't see what Kristi Noem is seeing. But again, I'm going to, you know, bring it back again to the note that there is a widely noted widespread misinformation that has been noted by courts coming from the government. And that's been well documented.

SIDNER: Deepinder Mayell, thank you so much for joining us.

John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, breaking overnight, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro released a video officially launching his re- election campaign for governor. Now, I'm stressing that point because most political observers think this is not his ultimate goal here.

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GOV. JOSH SHAPIRO (D-PA): We cut through the red tape to get I-95 rebuilt in record time. We did it using materials from a Pennsylvania business and with the muscle and know-how of Pennsylvania union workers.

But it wasn't just there. We've gotten shit done all across our commonwealth.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: All right, with us now, CNN's senior reporter, Isaac Dovere.

There is the naughty words. There is the sort of the text and then there's the subtext here, Isaac. So, what's going on?

EDWARD-ISAAC DOVERE, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: You take me back to an English class in college. John. The -- this is Josh Shapiro running for his second term as governor of Pennsylvania. Obviously, there's a lot of eyeballs on him and have been for a long time.

But what he is stressing in this re-election launch video is that getting shit done mentality that has been there for his whole time as governor, talking about cutting through all the bureaucracy that -- if you remember when the I-95 overpass collapsed and people thought it would be closed for years, he got it open within a couple of weeks. And other things that he's done, like remove the college requirement for a lot of state government jobs, get breakfasts, universal breakfasts into public schools. This is, for him, a focus on just doing things day by day in Pennsylvania to try to make Pennsylvanians lives better, whatever the larger political conversation he very much knows is around him.

BERMAN: Yes, the -- whatever the political conversation, the larger political conversation.

Look, it's there. It's real. He knows what's going on. He's also got some specific goals, I imagine, while he's running for re-election. The size of the victory, running up scores in certain places. What have you learned about that?

DOVERE: Yes, certainly. Look, Shapiro actually is -- holds the record for receiving the most votes of anybody in the history of Pennsylvania. And that includes presidential candidates. He has done a lot to get himself to be very popular in the state. He's at -- one poll in the fall had him at 60 percent approval. So, what he's looking for here is a big win. A big win that would give him a mandate for more stuff that he would want to do in a second term, a big win that would have the coattails, he would hope, to carry a bunch of Democrats who are running for House seats around the state into victories, that would help, they hope, get Democrats into the majority.

And also, then, yes, look, this is a guy who has been talked about for running for president for a long time. He was considered by Kamala Harris to be her running mate in 2024. Passed over for that. But what we know from the 2016 election, the 2020 election, the 2024 election, is that Pennsylvania is a -- the keystone state in a lot of ways here. And winning there is hard for presidential candidates. It went in all three of those elections by not a large margin. And Shapiro has won big all those times. If he can show, in this race in 2026, that he can win Pennsylvania and win it big, that is something that I think will end up hearing a lot about should he decide to launch a presidential campaign for 2028.

BERMAN: All right, watching it very closely. Isaac Dovere, great to see you this morning. Thank you.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: I'm envisioning spending more time in Pennsylvania.

BERMAN: You know it well. You'll be back.

BOLDUAN: I will be back.

All right, so, we have CNN team -- a CNN team is now on the ground in Greenland. What people there are saying now about President Trump's push to take over their territory. And this time the president not ruling out military action to do so.

And a major shakeup to Nick Reiner's legal team. Why his high-profile attorney just removed himself from the case.

We'll be right back.

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[08:52:42]

SIDNER: One year after the devastating Eaton Fire ripped through Altadena, California, community members came together for a concert to benefit the ongoing recovery efforts. The concert was organized by the band Dawes, who co-founders lost their homes in the wildfires. Singers Brad Paisley and Aloe Blacc, who lost property in the fire, were in attendance as well.

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ALOE BLACC, SINGER: We celebrate life with music and we commemorate this, you know, horrific tragedy. We've got to remember that there are still folks who are suffering.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Officials say over 200 free tickets were given directly to the people in the community who lost everything in the fire.

John.

BERMAN: This morning, growing questions about whether the U.S. is preparing to buy Greenland or take it by force. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to meet next week with Danish officials about the territory. The White House says President Trump is actively discussing a potential purchase but keeping his options open. Many Republicans do not think the president will launch an invasion, but some are open to the idea.

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MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The White House is not ruling out military force to take on Greenland. Should they use the military if necessary?

REP. TROY NEHLS (R-TX): Why not?

We've got the guy that knows how to make the deals. Donald Trump will make that deal. I mean, what the hell? You don't have that many people in Greenland anyway. (END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: With us now is a member of Greenland's parliament, Juno Berthelsen.

Nice to see you, sir. Appreciate you being with us.

When you hear the president and his supporters talk about acquiring Greenland, what exactly do you hear? Do you hear it as a threat or a negotiation?

JUNO BERTHELSEN, MEMBER, PARLIAMENT OF GREENLAND: Well, first of all, thank you for having me on the show, John.

The first thing I want to say is that the Greenlandic people are united in the message to the U.S. and to Trump and to the world, that we don't want to be Americans. We don't want to be Danish. We want to be Greenlanders or (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE), as we're called in our own language. We're a people, according to international law, with the right to self-determination. So, that's a very important thing to say from the -- from the get go. And that's the first thing that all nations in the, in -- including the U.S., need to understand. So, all this heightened rhetoric and very tense rhetoric, we need everyone to calm down and start having a respectful dialog.

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So, the Greenlandic people are the rightful owners of Greenland no matter what anyone says. And we completely reject the idea of Greenland being bought or sold. Greenland is not for sale. We are a people, according to international law. You don't buy a people like that. And it is our land. We've had a process for almost a century, trying to become a sovereign state or trying to gain independence. And that's a political struggle that we are continuing to do, or continuing to pursue. And we will not give that up.

But we are open to cooperating with the -- with the U.S. We have a healthy defense partnership with them. And we are hopeful that -- and are pretty sure that we can continue a healthy dialog from here on.

BERMAN: What is it you think the United States is really after?

BERTHELSEN: Well, it's very important for the United States to make sure that Greenland is a partner in terms of security and defense. So, I think almost everyone knows that Greenland is a vitally important part of the defense, you know, in terms of defense for the North American continent and for the United States. So, it's both important for the United States and for Greenland that we have a healthy relationship in terms of security and defense.

And, of course, the U.S. wants to have a, you know, good relationship with all their allies and partners. We are confident that this will be sorted out and that we just need to have a healthy dialog and a respectful dialog initiated.

BERMAN: Yes, and you want a direct dialog, correct? You want, you know, Greenlandic officials, as you say, to be speaking directly with U.S. officials. Why is it important for you to have that rather than have, say, the Danish officials who are going to the United States next week?

BERTHELSEN: Well, we think that we need to take more action and show initiative from the Greenlandic side. And this is in the context of Greenland pursuing independence and becoming a sovereign nation state. So, in the future, in a future independent Greenland, we would need to deal with our -- all matters on our own. And that goes for foreign affairs, too, and security and defense.

And this is why I've pushed on behalf of my party, (INAUDIBLE), I've pushed for the Greenlandic parliament's foreign and security policy committee, of which I'm a member, that we go on a dialog/information visit to the U.S. and meet our counterparts on a parliamentary level as well.

So, even Danish security and defense advisers say it's important that we have a dialog with the U.S., with Congress and members because we've seen that many Republicans also say now that they reject the idea of any talks about military missions in Greenland. So, all these members of Congress and the Republicans and Democrats who do not support any talk about military invasion in Greenland, we need to have a dialog with them on a parliamentary level as well. So, that's what we're pushing for.

BERMAN: Member of parliament from Greenland, Juno Berthelsen, thanks for speaking with us this morning. Appreciate it.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: The Trump administration is pushing ahead with what it maintains is a make America healthy again agenda, rolling out some big changes to the recommendations for what you should eat. The update literally now inverts the food pyramid as you know it. Meats, cheese -- meats, cheese, vegetables, now the broadest, biggest category. The new guidelines urge Americans to prioritize protein and healthy fats and limit their consumption of ultra-processed foods and added sugar.

The arraignment of Rob and Michele Reiner's son, Nick Reiner, has been delayed now until late February. That is because of a surprise development in court yesterday. His high-profile attorney just withdrew himself from the case. Alan Jackson saying that circumstances beyond his or Nick Reiner's control made it impossible for him to continue representing Nick Reiner. Also saying that he couldn't explain it any further than that. Nick Reiner did not then enter a plea yesterday. He is facing murder charges for stabbing and killing his parents last month.

There's new video in, and we want to show you, showing a big fire just ripping through a Sacramento home. And it wasn't just a fire. There were also multiple reports of a large explosion. Fire officials say it blew out the back side of that home's roof. Video shows what is left of the home. We will show that to you. No injuries were reported.

A new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now SIDNER: This morning, a growing number of protesters gathering in

Saint Paul and Minneapolis after an ICE agent shoots and kills a 37- year-old U.S. citizen and mother of three.

[09:00:00]

Federal authorities out on the scene were live on the ground as narratives from federal agents diverge from local law enforcement.

Also, only time will tell.