Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has authorized the Minnesota National Guard to be staged and ready to support local and state law enforcement late on Thursday afternoon.
The executive order will allow the National Guard to be prepared to "protect critical infrastructure and maintain public safety."
This follows Wednesday's shooting involving federal immigration enforcement agent in south Minneapolis. 37-year old Renee Good was killed in the incident.
“Minnesotans have met this moment. Thousands of people have peacefully made their voices heard. Minnesota: thank you. We saw powerful peace,” said Governor Walz. “We have every reason to believe that peace will hold. Yesterday, I directed the National Guard to be ready should they be needed. They remain ready in the event they are needed to help keep the peace, ensure public safety, and allow for peaceful demonstrations.”
There were interactions early Thursday, and again Thursday afternoon between activists and protesters, and federal officials at the Whipple Building where ICE is staging at Fort Snelling.
The Minnesota State Patrol has mobilized 85 members of its Mobile Response Team to support law enforcement efforts in the Twin Cities as well.
Earlier on Thursday, Walz said Minnesota must play a role in investigating the fatal shooting of Good, pushing back against the Trump administration's decision to keep the investigation solely in federal hands.
A day after the unidentified ICE officer shot and killed 37-year-old mother of three as she tried to drive away on a snowy Minneapolis street, tensions remained high, with dozens of protesters venting their outrage outside of a federal facility that's serving as a hub for the administration's latest immigration crackdown on a major city.
“We should be horrified,” protester Shanta Hejmadi said as demonstrators shouted "No More ICE,” “Go Home Nazis,” and other slogans at a line of Border Patrol officers, who responded with tear gas and pepper spray. “We should be saddened that our government is waging war on our citizens. We should get out and say no. What else can we do?”
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, President Donald Trump and others in his administration characterized the shooting as an act of self-defense and cast Good as a villain, suggesting she used her vehicle as a weapon to attack the officer who shot her.
Vice President JD Vance weighed in Thursday, saying the shooting was justified and that Good was a “victim of left-wing ideology.”
“I can believe that her death is a tragedy while also recognizing that it is a tragedy of her own making,” Vance said, noting that the officer who killed her was injured while making an arrest last June.
But state and local officials and protesters rejected that characterization, with Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey saying video of the shooting shows the self-defense argument to be “garbage.”
The Associated Press contributed to this story.