Minnesota senator: White House ‘trying to cover up’ Nice shot

Minnesota Democratic Sen. Tina Smith said Sunday that the Trump administration was “trying to cover up What happened” in he On Wednesday, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent shot and killed Renee Good, a U.S. citizen and mother of three, in Minneapolis.

ABC News obtained cellphone video of the incident that was taken by the ICE agent who fired the shots.

“I think what we’re seeing here is the federal government… [Department of Homeland Security Secretary] Kristi Noem, vice president [JD] advance, [President] Donald Trump, trying to cover up what happened here in the Twin Cities, and I don’t think people here and across the country believe it,” Smith told ABC News’ “This Week” co-anchor Martha Raddatz.

Trump administration officials have claimed that Good was attempting to run over the ICE officer with his car, prompting the officer to shoot him. in what they say was self-defense. Noem said Good’s actions were an act of “domestic terrorism.”

Local officials and many Democratic lawmakers have questioned DHS’s assessment of the incident.

“You’re saying the administration is trying to cover up this shooting. It’s a pretty serious allegation. What exactly do you mean?” Raddatz asked.

“What I mean by this is that you can see that all they are doing is trying to shape the narrative, to say what happened, without any investigation,” Smith said.

Blacksmith went to criticize to the administration for its response to the shooting.

“What I think is essential to keep in mind here is that if we are going to trust the federal government, how can we trust the federal government to conduct an objective and impartial investigation, without bias, when at the beginning of that investigation they already announced exactly what they saw, what they believe happened?”

Smith said he “has seen nothing in any of the witness videos, nor in any of the witness reports from this tragic day, to suggest that [Good] “He was somehow a threat to these officers.”

“Legally, do you think the ICE officer did indeed say he feared bodily harm? Is that possible in your eyes?” Raddatz pressed.

“It’s difficult for me, looking at the evidence I’ve seen, to imagine how he could have felt bodily harm,” Smith said.

The FBI is investigating the shooting, but Minnesota officials said the federal government has excluded them, preventing state agencies from accessing material in the case.

“And then they prohibit impartial state investigators who often collaborate with federal investigators when there are things that need to be investigated from participating in the investigation. So, I mean, I think they’ve just completely destroyed any credibility by rushing to judgment.”

Good’s fatal shooting sparked nationwide protests against ICE’s presence in American cities. In Minneapolis, local officials maintain that protests have been mostly peaceful.

Here are more highlights from Smith’s interview:

On the ICE officer’s actions surrounding the shooting, captured on videos

Blacksmith: I understand how law enforcement officers, professional law enforcement officers, are trained. They are trained to de-escalate situations, not escalate them or worsen conflicts. They are certainly trained to move out of the way of a moving vehicle, not into the middle of a moving vehicle. And no professional police officer would want to exchange words or joke with someone who is committed to their legal right to protest and then lose control, which is, you know, what it seems to me like happened here.

Message to people protesting against shootings and the presence of ICE in communities

Smith: Of course it is essential that we have peaceful protests. And what I have been telling people, every opportunity I have when I talk to people on the street, is that the Trump administration wants to foment chaos, division, fear and even violence. And it is essential that we do not fall into that trap, that our, our strength is in our unity, our strength is in our peaceful demonstrations. And, you know, we won’t give in. We will not give in to the fear and chaos that they are trying to create, that they are creating, but we will face it with unity and peace.