Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Wednesday that an ICE officer was hit by a vehicle before the officer fatally shot the driver during an immigration-related operation in Minneapolis.
Federal officials defended the shooting as self-defense but Democrat city leaders rejected the administration's account.
"She hit him. He went to the hospital. A doctor did treat him. He has been released, but he's going to spend some time with his family," Noem told reporters, according to The Washington Post.
Noem also called the incident an "act of domestic terrorism" and said the vehicle was a "deadly weapon," ABC News reported. "Deadly force is perfectly lawful when a threat is faced by a weapon," she said in a press briefing, according to ABC.
The Department of Homeland Security's public account, amplified by DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin, said an ICE officer "fearing for his life, the lives of his fellow law enforcement and the safety of the public, fired defensive shots."
President Donald Trump said he thought the officer acted in self-defense and posted on Truth Social: "The woman screaming was, obviously, a professional agitator, and 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."
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey disputed the self-defense narrative after reviewing video, saying, "This was an agent recklessly using power that resulted in somebody dying ... getting killed," adding that his message to ICE was to "get the [expletive] out" of Minneapolis.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, issued a "warning order" to prepare the Minnesota National Guard, while urging "peaceful resistance."
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is working with the FBI, and state officials said the inquiry remains in early stages.
Noem said the Trump administration's immigration enforcement actions would not be deterred by the shooting.
Information from Reuters and The Associated Press was used in this report.
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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