Hundreds of Connecticut residents gathered in Hartford Thursday night in memory of Renee Good, who died in Minneapolis after getting shot in an encounter with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
The demonstration remained peaceful in front of the federal building that houses an ICE field office. But on the other side, nearly a dozen protesters were pepper sprayed while attempting to stop what they thought was an ICE vehicle.
Meanwhile, a gray sedan and a white van, both unmarked, drove through the crowd, knocking a person over. Another protester threw an object and broke the window of the van as it drove off.
Federal immigration officials did not respond to multiple requests for comment Thursday evening. Hartford police confirmed their officers on scene did not use pepper spray. City officials said they are investigating the pepper spray and vehicle strike.
Protesters stood in front of the vehicles as they were attempting to leave the facility.
Alex Kueny said he and other protesters were attempting to stop what they thought was a detainee removal by ICE.
“Five to 10 people stood here at the exit of the building trying to block the car, taking someone," Kueny said. "They started pepper spraying people. More people gradually kept trickling in. They kept pepper spraying people."
Kueny came to the protest with his bike, riding glasses and water, he said, so tried to help flush out the eyes of those caught in the spray.
“And then they straight up rammed their car and a big van behind it, right through the crowd,” Kueny said.
The courtyard and sidewalk at the ICE field office on Hartford's Main Street were packed with peaceful protesters. Tealight candles lit up the hands of many. Activists who spoke called for unity against ICE and the Trump administration's immigration enforcement efforts.
The mayor urged protesters to gather "peacefully and safely," while also condemning the Trump administration.
"Let no one mistake the cause of tonight’s conflict: federal agents have acted with impunity and a clear intent to antagonize local communities across our country. When you govern by brutality, you incite unrest," Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam said in a statement.
@ctpublic Hundreds of Connecticut residents gathered Thursday night in memory of Renee Nicole Good, who died in Minneapolis after getting shot in an encounter with ICE on Wednesday. The courtyard and sidewalk at the ICE field office on Hartford's Main Street were packed with peaceful protestors. Tealight candles lit up the hands of many. Activists who spoke called for unity against ICE and the Trump Administration. Rosario Caicedo, a member of the Middlesex Immigrant Rights Alliance and an immigrant from Colombia, said Renee Nicole Good is not the only one to die under this administration. “The list is so long, and it will continue to grow, unless we're able to stop them in the streets and everywhere,” Caicedo said. “Resist, resist, we have to say to ourselves and to each other.” The demonstration remained peaceful in front of the building on Main Street, where Caicedo was speaking. But on the other side of the building, nearly a dozen protestors were pepper sprayed while attempting to stop what they thought was an ICE vehicle. Federal immigration officials did not respond to multiple requests for comment. But Alex Kueny [Q-nee] said he and other protestors were attempting to stop what they thought was a detainee removal by ICE. “Five to 10 people stood here at the exit of the building trying to block the car, taking someone. They started pepper spraying people. More people gradually kept trickling in. They kept pepper spraying people,” Kueny said. He came to the protest with his bike riding glasses and water, he said, so tried to help flush out the eyes of those caught in the spray. “And then they straight up rammed their car and a big van behind it, right through the crowd,” Kueny said. A gray sedan and a white van, both unmarked, drove through the crowd, knocking a person over. Another protester threw an object and broke the window of the van as it drove off. Hartford police confirmed their officers on scene did not use pepper spray. The vast majority of attendees did not take part in the incident, opting not to leave the peaceful rally in front of the building. 📝: Daniela Doncel, Michayla Savitt 📸: Mark Mirko #hartford #hartfordct ♬ original sound - CT Public
"I have directed the Hartford Police Department to investigate this vehicle strike, as we would any incident where a driver strikes a pedestrian," he said.
The vast majority of vigil attendees did not take part in the incident, opting not to leave the peaceful rally in front of the building.
Rosario Caicedo, a member of the Middlesex Immigrant Rights Alliance and an immigrant from Colombia, said at the vigil that Good is not the only one to die as the Trump administration has ramped up immigration enforcement efforts nationwide.
“The list is so long, and it will continue to grow, unless we're able to stop them in the streets and everywhere,” Caicedo said. “Resist, resist, we have to say to ourselves and to each other.”
Differing narratives around escalating immigration incidents
In response to Wednesday's shooting in Minneapolis, Trump administration officials painted Good as a domestic terrorist who had attempted to ram federal agents with her car. Her ex-husband told the Associated Press she was no activist and that he had never known her to participate in a protest of any kind.
Her killing Wednesday morning was recorded on video by witnesses, and the shooting quickly drew a large crowd of angry protesters. By Wednesday evening, hundreds were there for a vigil to mourn her death and urge the public to resist immigration enforcers.
In response to Good's death, vigils have been held across the country. More than a dozen Connecticut organizations, including the ACLU of Connecticut and CT Students for a Dream, sponsored Thursday's Hartford vigil. Other Connecticut vigils were held in New Haven and New London.
In a news release about the event, Danbury Unites for Immigrants organizer Carolina Bortolleto drew parallels between the escalation of ICE tactics seen in Minnesota and Connecticut since the Trump administration began its immigration crackdown.
“Connecticut has suffered from these same attacks and attempts to intimidate activists,” Bortolleto said. “ICE agents stormed the State Superior Court in Stamford, flagrantly violating the state’s TRUST Act, where they destroyed city property and deployed tear gas in an enclosed space.”
Bortolleto also called attention to a series of ICE actions in Danbury last August.
The Minneapolis shooting marked a dramatic escalation of the latest in a series of immigration enforcement operations in major cities under the Trump administration. Good's death was one of several linked to immigration crackdowns.
Connecticut’s elected officials sound off
Prior to the vigils on Thursday evening, Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont shared his condolences an concerns regarding the “tragic and heartbreaking situation” in Minneapolis.
“I find that … bringing ICE in is not making people more safe, it's making people a lot less safe,” Lamont said.
The governor, a Democrat, said that so far local and federal immigration officials have not had an adversarial relationship in Connecticut.
“I'm thankful here in the state of Connecticut, we've worked together, more or less collaboratively, and they're not ransacking as they are in some other states,” Lamont said. “But I'm watching this very carefully.”
Lamont echoed local Minnesota officials’ calls for accountability and transparency. In a statement, Democratic U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro called for the ousting of the head of Homeland Security.
“Good was not obstructing ICE agents – she was not even a [protester]. And yet, she is gone because of an excessive use of violence by ICE,” DeLauro said in a statement posted on social media. “Masked, armed ICE agents do not belong in our communities. Kristi Noem must be fired” and “ICE must leave our cities.”
Democratic U.S. Rep. John Larson also called on Noem to resign, and called for an independent investigation of agents, commands and policymakers whose actions he says led to the killing.
“Until these tactics are stopped, more lives will be lost,” Larson said. “I will introduce legislation allowing states to prevent ICE from operating in their borders without full coordination with state and local law enforcement agencies. Enough is enough.”
In response to President Trump’s claims that he saw a video of the shooting that indicated the officer acted in self-defense, U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat, said he wanted to see that evidence.
“If the President has seen a different video, he should release it. But the evidence available does not show an officer being run over or a justification for shots to be fired,” Murphy wrote on X. “The rush to excuse this shooting is expected but abhorrent.”
Leaders of the state Republican party could not be immediately reached for comment.
Connecticut Democratic State Chairman Roberto Alves also issued a statement regarding Macklin Good’s killing.
“Reports indicate she may have been impeding ICE agents at the time. That fact should be acknowledged plainly. But just as plainly: no one deserves to die for that,” Alves said.
Connecticut Public’s Michayla Savitt, Rachel Iacovone and Cassandra Basler and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
