Civil Rights Organizations Condemn Escalating “State-Sanctioned Terror” in Minneapolis Following Second Fatal Federal Shooting

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Brittany G. Cummings, [email protected]

WASHINGTON — This morning’s fatal shooting of a 37-year-old Minneapolis resident—a U.S. citizen and lawful gun owner—marks a horrific escalation in what has become a federally endorsed reign of terror on American streets.

This second death comes less than three weeks after the cold-blooded killing of Renee Nicole Good, who was shot multiple times driving past an ICE agent. Today’s violence, which eyewitnesses describe and video depicts as federal agents “pummeling” a man before shooting him to death, confirms that these are not isolated incidents of everyday law enforcement activities. They are the predictable results of militarized policing and unchecked authority operating outside the bounds of state and local law.

Maya Wiley, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, issued the following statement:

“What we are witnessing in Minneapolis is state-sanctioned terror. This is not law enforcement; it is a lawless campaign of unleashed and masked federal agents, let loose without accountability or cooperation with state and local officials by a militaristic government. From the killing of Renee Nicole Good to this morning’s latest horrific killing, federal agents have made our neighborhoods dangerous for everyone by blatantly violating our civil and constitutional rights. These officers must face independent, neutral justice just like the violent offenders they are, and ICE must be removed—from the streets of Minneapolis and every local street. Our tax dollars should not be used to threaten or take our lives.”

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