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What We Know with Max Foster
Woman Shot, Killed By ICE Officer In Minneapolis; U.S. Seizes Russian-Flagged Oil Tanker Linked To Venezuela; Minnesota Officials Hold News Conference After Fatal Shooting By ICE. Aired 3-4p ET
Aired January 07, 2026 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:00:25]
MAX FOSTER, CNN HOST: Outrage in Minneapolis after an ICE agent shot and killed a woman.
This is WHAT WE KNOW.
Graphic video showing the moments a woman was shot by a federal officer in Minnesota. She was in a vehicle. She was 37 years old. We're about to show
you that video and warning you. It may be hard to watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, no. Shame. Shame.
(GUNFIRE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my god.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: The Department of Homeland Security releasing a statement saying this shooting was in self-defense, is exactly what the U.S. Department of
Homeland Security said about this. An ICE officer fearing for his life, the lives of his fellow law enforcement, and the safety of the public fired
defensive shots. He used his training and saved his own life and that of his fellow officers.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey isn't buying it. He had this blunt message for federal agents.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR JACOB FREY, MINNEAPOLIS: They are already trying to spin this as an act of self-defense.
Having seen the video of myself, I want to tell everybody directly, that is (EXPLETIVE DELETED). This was an agent recklessly using power that resulted
in somebody dying, getting killed.
There's little I can say again, that will make this situation better, but I do have a message for our community, for our city. And I have a message for
ICE.
To ICE, get the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) out of Minneapolis.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Well, that was the mayor, Mr. Frey. The governor of Minnesota, Tim Walz, is due to speak this hour. We'll bring you that live, as soon as it
happens.
First, chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst John Miller is with me.
John, that video, we've just had it all verified and everything. It's very hard to watch. How does it match to what we're hearing from the Department
of Homeland Security?
JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Well, the Department of Homeland Security and so far, the key statements have been
made by the secretary of homeland security herself on a visit to the southern border. When she was asked about this, that this was an assault on
federal officers, that that this officer acted to save his life and the lives of those around him, and that this was an act of domestic terrorism.
When you see that video, it does not seem to comport with that statement. But let's -- let's break it down, Max. What she's saying is the car was
driving towards the officers. He thought the other officer might be dragged by it, or it might, you know, run him over. So he took defensive action by
opening fire. Now we're suggesting a lot, pretending to know what was in that officers mind, but if you take her statement, that seems to be what
she's indicating was the reason for the shots.
Now, if you look at it another way, it appears they're trying to get the woman out of the car. They appear to want to take her into custody for
either following them or blocking them as they are out on their operations. As a protester, she is not an illegal immigrant. She's not a migrant. She's
a U.S. citizen who was apparently following the agents on a targeted operation. And it appears they were trying to arrest her when she decided
to try and drive away.
This is going to be enormously controversial, and this is going to be an incident that raises questions about who's in charge of this investigation.
The FBI typically would take this up, but the Minneapolis state authorities are also looking into it. Their bureau of criminal apprehension, according
to the mayor and the governor, are going to enter the case. But what happens if the state tries to bring charges and the federal government says
he was acting in his lawful capacity?
FOSTER: It is difficult to watch, but we are going to show it again. John, if you could just talk us through the video, obviously we as you point out,
we don't know what the officer was seeing when he looked inside the car. But talk us through it.
MILLER: So this is the officers. Now, she's waving them to drive by. Instead, they stop. They get out. Now, these two officers approached this
one, you see. He puts one hand on the door, the other on the mirror, and another officer who is in front of the car fires. What, according to the
audio, is three shots.
That car goes a short distance, crashes into another car, and then is stopped by a telephone pole, and shortly thereafter the woman is deceased.
That is the entire length of just a few seconds that it took for this incident to unfold.
[15:05:03]
It is going to take a few months or years to untangle all that comes with it, and the death of this woman.
FOSTER: Let's also bring up the pictures of the protests that followed, because they were they were pretty sudden. They showed a lot of emotion.
And I mean, obviously, you know, with camera footage, it's always difficult, isn't it? A small crowd can feel a lot bigger, but some of the
close ups, it almost feels like a war zone when you look at what the ICE officers were wearing, those big-armored suits, the masks, and they were
firing chemicals. What did you make of that moment that followed?
MILLER: Well, I mean, you've got to set the context, Max, which is we're in Minneapolis. This is the city where the George Floyd death spurred a
police reform and protest movement that went on literally for years after that occurred in 2020. The scene of this shooting of a woman who was shot
by federal agents and killed is probably a mile from where George Floyd died at the hands of Minneapolis police.
This is a community that has already had its anger against law enforcement, its own police. Theres been a couple of years of healing, of outreach that
has taken a long time and a lot of effort to build towards some kind of understanding. And this is a spark today that the mayor, I think, couldn't
have been clearer.
This is not about us, the Minneapolis City, the Minneapolis police. This is the federal authorities. And we think the best thing they could do to
remedy this situation, to start with, would be to leave. It's going to be very interesting to see what the reaction is of the federal government to
that call, especially given, you know, the administration and its voice on this issue.
FOSTER: When you hear what the mayor had to say and you look at these live pictures from above, the scene right now, it does feel like tensions are
reaching a boiling point in that city. When we look ahead to what might happen next, we don't want to speculate. But really, this is turning into a
bit of a microcosm, isn't it, about the sentiment around the immigration raids?
MILLER: Well, it is, and it is not the first time that there's been a shooting. There have been a couple of other incidents where ICE agents have
either blocked in, cars or tried to pull people out of cars where those cars have moved forward and shots have been fired. One notably in Chicago.
If I recall, the woman driving that car was shot six times, charged with attempting to murder the federal agents by driving at them. Those charges
were dropped. It's -- it is a thing that is causing tension, not just between the federal government and communities that was there, absent the
shootings. That increases it.
But it's something that's causing tension. And you could clearly see that today. Max, between federal law enforcement agents and their agencies and
their local law enforcement counterparts who used to work hand in glove for years on these things and now have to do things to separate themselves in
the eyes of the community, to say they're law enforcement. We're law enforcement, but they're not us, and we are not them.
FOSTER: I was going to ask you about that, because when the mayor was giving that very impassioned speech earlier on, he was flanked by local law
enforcement, when they spoke, they were very measured and sticking to the facts as much as possible. But they were almost acknowledging some of what
he had to say just by keeping those straight faces. I mean, how damaging is it when you have that breakdown between law enforcement agencies?
MILLER: Well, it's never good, but it is. It couldn't be any more damaging in any place that I could think of in the United States than Minneapolis,
considering how damaged their local law enforcement relationships were with the community, how much work went into rebuilding it, and how they really
run the risk of people painting with the wide brush saying, well, law enforcement is law enforcement. And we're angry at all of them for this.
FOSTER: Okay. John Miller, appreciate it. Thank you so much. We'll be hearing from the governor later on as well.
Seeing barricades being set up now in Minneapolis.
We also want to bring us -- bring you the other breaking news this hour, and that is that the U.S. has seized two oil tankers it says are linked to
Venezuela.
The first was a Russian-flagged oil tanker intercepted in the North Atlantic. The Marinera, formerly known as Bella 1, had been under U.S.
sanctions since 2024 for allegedly transporting illicit oil. The U.S. Coast Guard tried to seize the tanker last month when it was near Venezuela, but
was unable to board at some point whilst being pursued. The vessels crew painted a Russian flag on its hull, claiming it was sailing under Russian
protection.
[15:10:05]
The Trump administration hasn't recognized that status and Moscow is now demanding the return of Russian citizens on board the ship.
A second vessel was seized in the Caribbean. The U.S. Southern Command says it's considered to be stateless and was conducting illicit activities.
Our senior national security reporter, Zachary Cohen, is following developments from Washington. If I could ask you about this, the first ship
I was talking about here, I mean, what was it status, because a lot of the language from Russia sounds defensive. And yet we're told it's not a
Russian ship.
ZACHARY COHEN, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yeah, Max, it is a bit confusing, in part because the U.S. claiming that this ship was
stateless, that it despite painting a Russian flag on its hull and despite appearing subsequently on the official Russian registrar, that it was not a
Russian vessel. Of course, Moscow claiming the opposite, Moscow claiming that, yes, this was in fact a Russian vessel, and accusing the United
States effectively of modern day piracy by seizing it today in this military operation that we saw.
And it really does highlight how this interdiction and this ongoing sort of focus on what is the so-called shadow fleet of tankers the U.S. says is
carrying illicit oil from Venezuela to U.S. adversaries like Russia and China and Iran and Cuba. It is goes beyond just Venezuela itself. And I
know it's happening in the context of being right in the immediate aftermath of that operation to remove Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.
But at the same time, clearly this stoking fresh tensions between Moscow and Washington at a time when the U.S. is still continuing to push for some
sort of a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine and Russia continuing to effectively not play ball in a sincere sort of way there. That's from
criticism that we've heard from us and Ukrainian officials.
Ukrainian officials today, meanwhile, applauding the seizure, saying that this is exactly how Russian actions like the illicit transfer of oil and
their other actions on the high seas should be treated, that tankers like this should be -- should be interdicted and seized rather than essentially
reprimanded verbally.
So, it remains to be seen how this sort of new strategy that is being born out of the operation to remove Nicolas Maduro, one that's hyper-focused on
stemming the illicit flow of oil around the world, how that could impact U.S. relations --
FOSTER: Zachary, I'm sorry to interrupt on that. Thank you for that. We will be coming back to you.
But we just want to take people back to Minneapolis because protests are really gathering pace there. After the shooting by ICE agents of a female
driver.
We showed you the video earlier on. There's one view coming from Homeland Security saying that it was in self-defense, a very different view coming
from many people on the ground about what exactly happened there and very strong words coming from the local mayor.
Tensions at boiling point, certainly, if you saw the mayor's speech, but look at what's currently happening in Minneapolis right now. Protesters
protesting specifically against ICE agents and what they're doing in the city on these immigration raids, throwing snowballs at ICE agents and
actually making progress with that. You can see how the local officers are being pushed back. I don't know if you can hear me, John Miller, if you're
still with us I don't want to miss identify who they're throwing snowballs at. I'm assuming it's representatives of ICE.
MILLER; Well, it's hard to tell from this angle. You see, a marked local Minneapolis police car going behind it, but it appears that those were
unmarked vehicles that were moving ahead of it. And you can see, a group of Minneapolis police officers dressed in their bright fluorescent yellow,
uniforms moving ahead of those cars and the protesters moving behind it. This is -- this is what we were talking about a moment ago, which is if the
anger of protesters is directed at the federal government and the federal agency involved, that's one thing.
But the Minneapolis police have to be the referee in this to ensure safety and order, and they're going to end up coming between those protesters and
the federal agents. They're not going to stop enforcing the law. And that's going to, you know, contribute to what police and the mayor were worried
about, which is getting the authorities in Minneapolis caught up in the fallout from an operation that didn't originate as their own.
So it's --
FOSTER: Yeah.
MILLER: As we look at these unmarked vehicles, it's hard to tell whether they are escorting the federal agents out of the area or that is their own
people leaving from the work they had done at the crime scene.
FOSTER: As you can see, as you know -- yeah, from this angle, it's clear that they are local police. You've talked about the tensions between local
law enforcement and the local community ever since George Floyd, which happened in the same city as well.
[15:15:08]
His death, which sparked the Black Lives Matter protests. But they have rebuilt relationships, haven't they? Do you think there's a risk that the
protesters will just look at all authority and target their anger towards them?
MILLER: Well, you know, that is the risk. There are people who are going to look at this in black and white, which is, you know, whether you're a
federal law enforcement or local law enforcement, you're all in cahoots, which is not really representative of the facts in Minneapolis. The police
don't work with ICE on any immigration, purely immigration related matters.
On the other hand, if ICE agents and members of the public get involved in a fight or some violent confrontation in the street, you know, police will
be called to respond and try to sort it out. These are the kinds of things that drive the mayor to, you know, toss out four letter words about how he
feels about the ICE operation in town. This started today. This is, you know, part of a massive effort where they talked about, you know, sending
hundreds of ICE agents, you know, maybe as many as a couple of thousand into Minneapolis, to, you know, launch a major operation.
And, you know, Max, you have to put all of this in a political context as well as a law enforcement or immigration context, which is this came a week
after social media bloggers, you know, posted stories about alleged massive fraud by members of the Somali community. That was followed up right away
by federal authorities in Washington and comments from the White House saying that ICE was going to descend and round up all the illegals there.
Of course, there is a vibrant, large Somali community in Minneapolis. And there may be illegal migrants among them. But there are also a large number
of them who have been here for years, who are American citizens, who are in second generations or more. So, this -- this started before this incident
as a high tension exercise between city, state officials, communities and the federal government. This just brought the temperature up by multiple
degrees.
FOSTER: And we're seeing that tension really boil over into the streets. It was good to get that wide shot. There's clearly hundreds of people. It's
not a mass protest quite yet, is it? They're pretty angry, though, and these things can blow up pretty quickly.
We are expecting to hear from Governor Tim Walz. You can see the podium at the bottom of our screen. So, we're going to bring that to people as soon
as we have it. But as you say, this is -- this has to be looked at from a political lens as well as law enforcement.
What can he do to calm things down and support the local law enforcement officers who are now dealing with this?
MILLER: Well, that is the one thing in this really dark situation where Minneapolis has a tremendous advantage, which is they have spent the last
five years doing community outreach and building relationships on the idea that that was the repair work that they had to do after the George Floyd
incident, but they also understand clearly that the time to start building those relationships is not when the next crisis arrives. Those -- those
have to be lined up and solid ahead of time.
So, you will see that the mayor and look at the people standing behind the mayor at today's press conference community members and people from
organizations outside the city. The same with the police department, their community outreach people are literally working the streets, working the
phones with the contacts that they have developed with the allies or the allegiances they've made, including with those who are opposed to the
police, but with whom they have a dialog to say, how do we bring the temperature down?
And it's not just Minneapolis. Protests are already scheduled for Times Square in New York City for the federal building tomorrow. Other cities are
having organizers put together protests, and in Minneapolis, the protests probably will not stay at the scene of or near the scene of this shooting
today. It will probably move to the downtown area, either to law enforcement, the city, or more likely, wherever the federal building is in
Minneapolis. And this is not going to be a one-day thing, Max.
FOSTER: Okay. Thank you so much for joining us.
We're looking at those images. I mean, they're moving at a pretty good pace, so we'll wait to see where they end up. We are going to keep
following this, and we are going to also catch the governor's speech. He's to speak any moment now, but well be back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:23:05]
FOSTER: For more news on developments out of Minneapolis. These are the scenes where U.S. federal agents shot and killed a woman who was inside her
car earlier today, leading to even more tension on the streets there. A makeshift memorial starting to develop. You can see some flowers there at
the center of the screen being propped up in the snow.
And this is an impromptu vigil, if you like, for the lady who died. We're still need some more facts about exactly what happened. But you saw the
video earlier on the show, and you heard from homeland security who said that officers acted in self-defense. The narrative on the ground is
starting to develop into something very different, but we are waiting for confirmation and lots of calls for an investigation.
On the right you can see a protest taking place through the streets there. An ICE officer, fearing for his life and the lives of his fellow law
enforcement and the public safety of the public, fired defensive shots, according to homeland security, he used his training and saved his own life
and that of his fellow officers.
But the Minneapolis mayor, Jacob Frey, isn't buying any of that. He had this very blunt message for federal agents.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR JACOB FREY, MINNEAPOLIS: They are already trying to spin this as an act of self-defense.
Having seen the video of myself, I want to tell everybody directly, that is (EXPLETIVE DELETED). This was an agent recklessly using power that resulted
in somebody dying, getting killed.
There's little I can say again, that will make this situation better, but I do have a message for our community, for our city. And I have a message for
ICE.
To ICE, get the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) out of Minneapolis.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[15:25:01]
FOSTER: Whitney Wild is in Minneapolis to talk us through the mood there around what looks like a makeshift vigil, Whitney.
WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: Max, earlier today, this perimeter had been pushed out quite far. It was only in the last few
moments that members of the public were able to actually see where this 37- year-old woman died. This is the spot. It's right here.
And this scene is still so fresh, Max, that you can't see it from our camera angle. And, you know, there's a question about whether or not it's
even appropriate to show you, but there is still blood in the snow beneath where some of these flowers are. That is how fresh this scene is.
This is the, again, the first time that the Minneapolis public is getting a chance to see actually where this happened and how it happened. We are now
working on, you know, there's multiple angles of video here. We have played some of it. There's some of it available online. It is graphic, but it
shows really the moments leading up to when this woman was shot and the aftermath of it.
We do not yet know her name, and we really know very little about her other than she was 37 years old. She was a U.S. citizen, and she was white.
That's all the information that we have from law enforcement at this time.
Earlier today, this was a very, very angry crowd. A lot of that frustration was directed toward the Minneapolis police department, who had attempted to
secure the scene. Now, it is -- it is calm. The -- most of the people here are embracing, holding hands, their hands together in prayer, their heads
bowed. Just taking a moment to pay their respects to this woman who lost her life today.
And when I've spoken to people here in the crowd, you know what they point out, Max, is that they did not ask for ICE to descend on their city. They
were worried that something terrible would happen. And now they say, look, this is the proof.
There's a lot of anger. People do not want to see these ICE agents here. As you heard, Mayor Jacob Frey in a -- in a profanity press conference say he
wants ICE to leave. That is the mood here. It really oscillates between intense anger and the opportunity to pay their respects to a woman that
they may or may not know, Max.
FOSTER: It does seem like a calm scene there. We're also seeing protesters pounding through the streets of another part of the city, who are clearly
intent on. We saw them throwing snowballs at local law enforcement.
The anger is growing there. I think in a lot of people's minds, the back of people's minds is this is a city where the Black Lives Matters protests
sparked a global campaign. And, in memory of George Floyd, of course. I mean, how concerned are you about the vibe there right now and where it
will go?
WILD: Well, I'll tell you, earlier today in the crowd, I heard people saying, if you thought George Floyd was bad, this city is going to erupt.
We are four blocks from where that happened.
This is right in the heart of Minneapolis. That incident is not far from anyone's mind here. It is an ever present -- ever present moment. The city
has done a lot to try to heal after that, to try to grow. The Minneapolis police department has done a lot to try to change their practices and to
move forward from that and build a police department that the city and the citizens here can get behind and support.
And one man I was talking to said that he worries that the pressure that DHS agents are putting on the city threatens all of that, threatens all of
that healing, all of that rebuilding. And that is one of his biggest fears, Max.
FOSTER: Whitney, we're waiting for Tim Walz to speak, the governor of the state. That's the image in the bottom left of the screens for people
watching.
What can he -- I mean, I think he's delayed, isn't he? But he's got to get this right because he's got to calm tensions. What do people want to hear
from him?
WILD: That's a good question. I think they want to hear a moment of leadership. Certainly, they are asking their elected leaders to tell the
federal government what they feel, which is they do not want ICE and other DHS agents here. The context here is there's this ramped up immigration
enforcement here. We saw it earlier in December. We're seeing it again.
The Minnesota has become really the target of the administration's ire and particularly Governor Walz. This all comes as he has elected not to run for
a third term.
So, you know, Max, this is all the context here is, is significant because this is a city that, again, as I said, has really drawn the ire of
President Trump. Federal funds have been frozen to the city now because the president, you know, says that there's rampant fraud here and they don't
want to see one more federal dollar go to the city until they can verify that that federal dollar doesn't go to any kind of fraud.
That is, again, that is the administration's perspective. Minnesotans here expecting that money and the Trump administration will not give it to them.
[15:30:01]
So that -- that is where they are here. And well hear from Governor Walz.
I think he has spoken a couple of times. Earlier this week, it was more about his decision not to run for a third term for governor and more about
these fraud cases that have been going on in Minnesota for quite some time.
Now, the question is going to be, what are you going to do about a situation like this? Max?
FOSTER: Whitney, I appreciate it. Thank you so much for your reporting.
We're waiting to hear from the governor there. John Miller is with us as well.
I'm just seeing, John, that city council member is calling for ICE agents who shot the woman to be arrested. It does feel, from what Whitney saying,
you know, there needs to be something substantive here, at least in terms of investigation. And to really question what the ICE officers did here,
whether they did it rightly or wrongly, it feels as though they're almost immune from any sort of comeback right now.
MILLER: So, the way this would normally go is the FBI would take over this investigation. Why? Two reasons. One, the FBI investigates shootings by
federal agents in the line of duty. Secondly, because this shooting, according to the Department of Homeland Security, was as a result of what
the secretary said was an assault on a federal officer. The FBI also investigates those.
The question is going to be, Max, what will the effect of local authorities be on this from a criminal standpoint? Will there -- will their
investigation be able to charge an agent from a federal agency who was, according to the government, acting in the line of duty?
That's going to be a rub here because the federal government, in a case like this normally would, not make that arrest until after that
investigation was done. Only if that investigation determined that the officer, the agent acted unlawfully. And a lot of that, Max, has to do with
what was in his mind.
And I'm watching that press conference develop below. So if I need to stop, just let me know.
What was in his mind if he articulates that he feared for his life and can articulate why, and that was his belief that he's within the policy of
agents are allowed to fire their weapons when they are in reasonable watch that word, reasonable fear of serious bodily injury or death.
So, if the claim is she was driving towards me, I thought she was dragging my fellow agent along with the car. I thought she was going to run me over
and I fired my weapon to save us both. That is going to be something they're going to have to investigate. Was that a reasonable thought by
someone in the same position?
The counter to that would be if he had gotten out of the way of the car. And the other agent had let go? Would deadly physical force be needed or
even appropriate?
But we're a long way from that, and I suspect were a long way from an arrest even if criminal culpability is found, because these are the kinds
of things that the federal government, even though they move faster than they used to. Those wheels still turn slowly and deliberately.
FOSTER: Yeah. I'm just wondering what legal authority the governor has in this situation. What can he do? When he comes to that podium in a moment.
MILLER: So that's -- that is a real question, because under the U.S. Constitution, the federal government, you know, it's the supremacy clause,
Max. It's the federal government has supremacy over state authorities and local authorities. And there will be arguments that the state has business
here.
If a violation of law, a violation of state law occurred by a federal agent who was acting outside his capacity. So that argument is going to happen.
We just don't know how it's going to turn out.
FOSTER: We're looking at the protesters on the right. You know, what would you say in terms of scale? This is perhaps expected. But at what point do
these things snowball? I don't want to speculate too much, but that's the fear on the ground anyway.
MILLER: Well, it is, and I think they'll rely on their relationships. But what you're seeing now is spontaneous. And, you know, in the -- in the
protest model between protesters and police there is -- you know, with notice and compliance with -- you know, authorities about how the protest
will unfold. And then, you know, you can -- you can do a lot.
Then there's without notice, spontaneous and then there's without compliance. And that's where it gets complicated.
How will it snowball, Max? It'll snowball. Because once we get past spontaneous into planned protests, which are usually more orderly because
they are organized by organizers, we will probably see much bigger crowds tomorrow at locations like the federal building in Minneapolis or other
symbolic places, perhaps the courthouse, because they will have time to reach out on social media.
[15:35:12]
They'll have time to reach out beyond the city of Minneapolis to other interested parties. And that's when you could see bigger crowds. But the
less -- the more planned and less spontaneous protests can be more orderly than these things that are thrown together out of passion, anger and
emotion and are moving without leaders.
FOSTER: Okay, John, back with you in a moment as we wait to hear from Minnesota Governor Tim Walz on that incident in Minneapolis today, which
has prompted those protests you see on the right
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: Tonight's breaking news, U.S. federal agents shot and killed a woman who was inside her car earlier today, leading to even more tensions
on the streets of Minneapolis. As you can see there on the right of your screen, protesters walking through the streets.
Earlier, we saw them throwing snowballs at law enforcement. We've just heard from the president as well. He said he's just viewed the clip of the
event, which took place in Minneapolis. We showed that to you earlier of the actual shooting. It's a horrible thing to watch, he says. The woman
screaming was obviously a professional agitator.
Let's hear from the governor, though.
GOV. TIM WALZ (D), MINNESOTA: Good afternoon.
Today, I'm joined by Department of Public Safety Commissioner Bob Jacobson, Colonel Schaefer of the Minnesota National Guard, and Colonel Bogojevic of
the Minnesota state patrol.
This morning, we learned that an ICE officer shot and killed someone in Minneapolis.
[15:40:07]
My deepest condolences to the family, to the loved ones who had to learn about this tragic event on national television. We have been warning for
weeks that the Trump administration's dangerous, sensationalized operations are a threat to our public safety, that someone was going to get hurt. Just
yesterday, I said exactly that.
What we're seeing is the consequences of governance designed to generate fear, headlines and conflict. It's governing by reality TV. And today, that
recklessness cost someone their life. I've reached out to Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, and I'm waiting to hear back.
Let me be clear. The Trump and his -- Donald Trump and his administration may not care much about Minnesota. That's been pretty evident. But we love
this state. We won't let them tear us apart. We will not turn against each other.
To Minnesotans, I say this. I feel your anger. I'm angry. They want to show. We can't give it to them. We cannot.
If you protest and express your First Amendment rights, please do so peacefully, as you always do. We can't give them what they want. The hearts
and minds of the people in this state are on our side.
To Americans, I ask you this. Please stand with Minneapolis.
To Minnesotans know that our administration is going to stop at nothing to seek accountability and justice. The state bureau of criminal apprehension
are working on the investigation. We have activated the state emergency operations center, state patrol, Minnesota National Guard leadership is
connected with the Minneapolis Police Department. The St. Paul police department, Hennepin County sheriff's office, the DNR, and Minnesota's
homeland security and emergency management.
We have activated dozens of members of the state patrol's mobile response team.
And from here on, I have a very simple message -- we do not need any further help from the federal government. To Donald Trump and Kristi Noem,
you've done enough. There's nothing more important than Minnesotans safety. I've issued a warning order to prepare the Minnesota national guard.
We have soldiers in training and prepared to be deployed if necessary. I remind you, a warning order is a heads up for folks. And these national
guard troops are our national guard troops. They're teachers in your community. They're business owners. They're construction professionals.
They are Minnesotans.
Minnesota will not allow our community to be used as a prop in a national political fight. We will not take the bait. We will continue to update you,
Minnesota, as we get more information.
Now, I'd like to turn it over to Commissioner Bob Jacobson of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety.
COMMISSIONER BOB JACOBSON, MINNESOTA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY: Thank you, Governor.
As the governor mentioned, my name is Bob Jacobson. It is my honor to serve as the commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety.
First of all, I want to acknowledge the reason that we are all here. The loss of life is not anything anyone would ever want. We fully expect that
the community will want to peacefully demonstrate their anger or frustration. Minnesota residents and visitors have the right to peacefully
demonstrate.
We recognize that demonstrations are often driven by strong emotions, beliefs, and certainly a desire to be heard. Our role is to help ensure
everyone can express themselves without anyone getting hurt.
The Minnesota Department of Public Safety's role through the Minnesota state patrol is to ensure safety, protect constitutional rights, keep roads
accessible and, above all, to prevent harm. Our top priority is public safety. Our focus is keeping demonstrators, community members, drivers and
law enforcement safe, especially during moments of heightened tension or uncertainty.
Demonstrations must remain safe and lawful, particularly around roadways. We will join with our partners to support safety while respecting the right
to protest. With that in mind, I'd like to share a few safe and lawful ways to demonstrate. Minnesotans can safely and legally express their views in
many ways, including getting together peacefully with others in public spaces, marching or walking not on roadways, making your voice heard
through chants, speeches and displaying signs.
Being present in public areas where pedestrians are allowed, gathering and designated or permitted areas, and these actions will allow people to
express themselves while protecting the safety of everyone involved.
[15:45:05]
Unsafe or illegal actions could result in fines or arrests, certain behaviors create serious hazards that threaten public safety, disrupt
emergency services, or put people at risk.
These actions could result in fines or arrest, demonstrating on or entering a freeway on foot, walking on highways, throwing objects, starting or
setting fires, damaging property or graffiti, using illegal fireworks, displaying or using illegal weapons, reckless or dangerous driving,
especially near pedestrians, and certainly assaultive, aggressive or riotous behavior toward anyone.
We all want definitive answers to what happened today. Our Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is working in conjunction with the FBI to investigate
this morning's shooting. As you know, we don't comment on active investigations. But also keep in mind that this is an investigation, as
also in its infancy. So, any speculation about what had happened would be just that. And we will not engage in speculation.
With that, I will turn it back over to the governor. Thank you.
WALZ: Thank you
We'd be glad to take any questions.
REPORTER: What do you mean when you say the national guard at the ready?
WALZ: Yeah. And I could let -- I can let General Schaefer talk about this. It so happens it's a training weekend. We've got about 7,500 troops in
training at our sites, training sites across the state. What it is. And in the national guard, you give a warning order, which is a heads up of
something could be coming. That just allows people to think about what they would need, what it would mean to mobilize, what it would mean to put them
in.
And I could let the general talk a little bit about this. Obviously, since the summer of 2020, we had a lot of work done on teams being ready to make
sure that civil unrest and what that means. And I think Commissioner Jacobson was very clear. And I want Minnesotans to hear this from me. I --
the desire to get out and protest and to speak up to this administration of how wrong this is, that is a patriotic duty at this point in time, but it
needs to be done safely.
And I think the commissioner simply just laid out some of those parameters. We can do that. This is the peaceful resistance that we need.
Simon, do you want to say a few things about what that means to have them on the ready?
BRIG. GENERAL SIMON L. SCHAEFER, MINNESOTA NATIONAL GUARD: Yes, sir. Thank you. Governor.
So, in -- for the military, Minnesota national guard is comprised of 13,000 soldiers and airmen. We live all across and work throughout Minnesota. A
warning order is just an initial step to increase your preparations. The Minnesota Guard is always prepared to respond and support state agencies
and the citizens of the of Minnesota.
So, what that means for us today is just some additional checks on equipment that are already is ready all at all times, and maybe some
additional phone calls to service members who might be activated. But nothing. No activations. We are embedded with our state agencies here at
the operations center to just continue parallel planning in the event that we are needed to support.
WALZ: And I would make note, Mary, and to Minnesotans on this about the national guard. They're there to protect you and protect your
constitutional rights. These are our neighbors. They don't wear masks. They don't bused in from somewhere else. They're not here to cause the hassles
to you or what we saw today, the tragedy.
Having them at the ready to make sure. Because when we see these types of things happen, and we saw it after the murder of George Floyd, there's
folks that want to cause chaos. There's the disruptors in it. And why the vast majority of those protests were peaceful expressions of First
Amendment rights. There were those that destroyed property and put people at risk.
The National Guard is there to make sure that peaceful protests are able to be done, and that those that want to do the destruction are stopped from
doing that.
Yes?
REPORTER: -- for activating the national guard, a large scale demonstrations --
WALZ: Yeah.
REPORTER: -- the demonstrations, as these ICE raids have been increasing in tension to the point where we saw a woman shot today.
WALZ: Yeah. And -- well, and I think, apparently by a federal agent, not by Minnesotans who were there to express their First Amendment rights. I
think we've seen this to have folks ready the gatherings that were down there today. I think this shocked everyone. People showed up as they
should.
There's people putting flowers down on a memorial. There's people expressing their anger. It's just as these situations develop, we decide
when we need to move these people out. And I think the local reporters know well on this, both unfortunately, and for us, the upside of this is, is
that we're very good and we've had practice at this.
And I just want to again implore Minnesotans, I am not telling you not to express your anger or your frustrations or the outrage that we have. Look,
this was -- this was totally predictable. As I said it yesterday, and it was totally avoidable.
And I just wanted to remind you, too, that local law enforcement, we get no coordination.
[15:50:03]
They don't tell us they're coming. They don't say why they're sending the largest deployment in American history to Minneapolis. They're not --
they're not making us any safer.
We don't have any of that coordination. They should be talking to us when we do these things. Let us know, we're going to be down here. This is going
to happen.
We don't have that. So, when you see local law enforcement or state patrol, or if it would take the National Guard, we're there responding to the chaos
they've created, too. But our role is, is to make sure that were protecting Minnesotans so that something like this doesn't happen.
I have not -- the question was, have I spoken to the individuals family? No, we do not have a definitive ID on this individual. And I -- look, I'm
going to note to all of you, I think it's really important, and the professionals do this and they train me to do this. This is an open
investigation. You need to be very careful about it.
I know that many of you, myself included, have seen a -- a very difficult video to watch, one where there's a family member watched their family
member be shot and killed in front of them. 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.
This is -- we're not living in a normal world. And so, no, I have not. And I want to be very careful because I know how painful this is. I know how
painful it is right now. I'm saying person and all that, this is a human being, this very well is a, you know, an individual's child, a parent. And
we don't know that yet.
So no, I have not. But once we do, we will. So yes, please.
REPORTER: (INAUDIBLE)
WALZ: Colonel, would you like to do that? Colonel?
REPORTER: So, the governor has mentioned mobilizing Georgia state patrol. How many state patrol people are on the ground in the rapids right now? And
should there be more state patrol people on the ground, like a couple weeks ago?
COL. CHRISTINA BOGOJEVIC, MINNESOTA STATE PATROL: And so, the question was, how many are in -- how many state patrol troopers have been deployed
to the city of Minneapolis? Right now, we don't talk typical numbers because that is considered security information. We do have a specialized
team that does deal with crowd control.
And so, they have been deployed, but again, they are from all over the state of Minnesota. So, they will come in in tiers to the state.
REPORTER: And they have already been on the ground to some extent --
BOGOJEVIC: No, they -- they -- it was in response to this event.
REPORTER: (INAUDIBLE)
WALZ: I'm sorry. What was the --
REPORTER: (INAUDIBLE)
WALZ: Well, I said this yesterday, we've never been at war with our federal government. I think in this case that the National Guard is, is
their main mission. They have a dual mission. There's the federal mission when they're under Title 10 orders and then they're under Title 32 orders.
And this warning order, there's nothing officially been done yet.
If I am to activate them as the commander in chief of the Minnesota National Guard, I will issue the executive order to the Minnesota National
Guard. And then they will be put in state duty status. And as you've seen over the last few years, that could be flood prevention. That could be
after a wind blowing, you know, storm up in the north, up in Bemidji, or it could be COVID or George Floyd response.
In this case, again, it doesn't necessarily change the mission. They're there to protect Minnesotans. They're there to serve Minnesotans. I think
the thing that is so challenging in the moment we're in is we don't see a desire to work with us on public safety. We hear a demonization of our
state. We see people coming in who don't know our community, and we see this massive display for the TVs that were trying to understand. How is
this coordinated?
And some of you watch the videos on there, total chaos. And look, I have very limited work in this as the training in the National Guard. But I've
had a lot of training now to watch how our professionals operate after this person was shot, federal agents milling around, touching the vehicle at a
crime scene and things. I don't know what to tell you and I don't quite know how to respond to the question other than my primary responsibility as
governor is to protection of the people of Minnesota.
And you can be assured, whether it's the state patrol or whether it's the national guard, their deployment is there to protect Minnesotans from
whatever it is. If it's an act of nature, if it's a global pandemic or in this case, if it is a rogue federal agent, I don't -- I don't know at this
time.
[15:55:04]
And I want to be very careful. It's unprecedented that we have the federal governments already determined exactly what's happened here and the motives
of an individual that we don't even know the name. They don't know the name. And that's very difficult.
So -- well, one more. Dana -- Dana?
REPORTER: (INAUDIBLE)
WALZ: I -- look and I understand the uniqueness of this moment. In this week coming following this week, seeing what's happening in the backdrop of
a -- of a show hearing in in D.C., my job is to govern, and my job is to see what the facts are. This happened a couple of hours ago, and we're
already pitting American against American.
All of you saw a video in your eyes. We have a chaotic situation caused by the largest deployment in American history of federal agents into a
community with no communication to locals. We had a chaotic situation where an individual is in their car, shot and killed.
And so, look, I want to be very cautious here because Donald Trump will make this about me. He will make this about politics. This is about public
safety, and this is about normalcy.
To Americans who are watching this, if you're in Portland or you're in L.A. or you're in Chicago or you're wherever they're coming next stand with us,
stand with us against this, this. This was so -- so preventable. So unnecessary.
And I don't know, I hope. Maybe we're at their McCarthy moment. Do you have no decency? Do you have no decency?
We have someone dead in their car for no reason whatsoever. And I -- I don't -- I don't want to be right about this, but I said if they do this,
they're going to create a chaotic situation where someone innocent is going to get killed. And they did it.
And now, we hear more political rhetoric -- enough. Enough is enough. And so, to Minnesotans, don't take the bait. Do not take the bait.
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 this state. And let's -- let this investigation play itself out.
Let's make sure we protect our neighbors. I encourage you to use your first amendment rights in all of your constitutional rights, but do so in a
peaceful manner. We'll gather back with you as soon as we gather more information that needs to be put out.
But again, stay safe, Minnesotans, and we'll be back with you.
(CROSSTALK)
RICHARD QUEST, CNN HOST: Tim Walz, the governor of Minnesota, giving a briefing there on the events that have taken place today in Minneapolis. He
said that today's shooting, today's killing, it was preventable. It was unnecessary.
The governor then rounded on the federal government, particularly the secretary of homeland security and now the president, for the way in which
they have already criticized and assigned blame to seemingly the person who was shot and killed in variety of ways, basically reprising -- rephrasing
the McCarthy line, do you have no shame? Do you have no decency?
The reality is, we don't know the identity of the person who was killed. The circumstances are both clear and muddied at the same time because of
the video that is out there. We saw what happened, but, of course, we don't know the background and we don't know the thinking of the officer, the ICE
officer who shot both through the windshield and through the side window.
Josh Campbell is with me and joins me. We really do, Josh, have to break this into two or three quite self-contained areas. The events that actually
happened, the reaction that's taking place now, and the likely fallout in the days ahead.
Let's stick with the events that what actually happened.
JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, I can tell you, as a former federal agent, law enforcement officer myself, my job is to simply
look at these incidents, put them under the microscope, and try to answer - -
END
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