Family Demands Justice for Keith Porter, Who Was Killed by an Off-Duty ICE Agent
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Activists in Los Angeles are demanding justice for Keith Porter Jr., an African American 43-year-old father of two, who was fatally shot by an off-duty ICE agent on New Year’s Eve. His family is demanding transparency in the investigation into his killing. “When he walked in, he brought joy,” says Porter’s cousin Jsané Tyler. “He always had a laugh, a joke, a smile.” Community organizers have called for the arrest of the ICE officer who killed Porter, but local government officials have reportedly told activists they have no intention of investigating Porter’s killer. “The community is going to have to mobilize,” says Melina Abdullah, co-founder of Black Lives Matter Los Angeles.
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: We begin today’s show looking at growing resistance to the Trump administration’s mass immigration raids and federal agents’ escalating violence nationwide. Protests are continuing over ICE agent Jonathan Ross’s fatal shooting of 37-year-old mother of three, poet Renee Good in Minneapolis last week. On Monday, dozens of federal agents wearing tactical gear and masks fired pepper balls and tear gas at a crowd of protesters in Minneapolis who shouted “Shame! Shame! Shame!” and “Get the f— out!” at the agents.
This comes as the state of Minnesota has sued the Trump administration in an effort to block the crackdown and the surge of agents coming into the state. The cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul are also part of the lawsuit. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced the legal challenge Monday as Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem vowed to deploy hundreds more agents this week.
ATTORNEY GENERAL KEITH ELLISON: Deployment of thousands of armed, masked DHS agents to Minnesota has done our state serious harm. This is, in essence, a federal invasion of the Twin Cities and Minnesota, and it must stop. DHS agents have sown chaos and terror across the metropolitan area and in cities across the state of Minnesota.
AMY GOODMAN: Minnesota’s lawsuit was filed shortly after Illinois and the city of Chicago also sued the Trump administration, accusing DHS of terrorizing its residents in a, quote, “organized bombardment,” unquote.
Federal immigration agents have terrorized communities across Minnesota, carrying out hundreds of arrests. Last week, Border Patrol deployed chemical weapons, tackled people and handcuffed two staff members at Roosevelt High School in Minneapolis.
In another case, just days ago, a DoorDash delivery driver sprinted into a home where she was delivering a food order as she attempted to take shelter from ICE agents who chased her and sought to detain her.
MINNESOTA RESIDENT 1: I ordered DoorDash. This lady ran into my house. They don’t have a warrant, but they told me I was going to charged with harboring.
MINNESOTA RESIDENT 2: They were going to break down my door.
MINNESOTA RESIDENT 1: They were going to break down my door. … She’s from Minnesota. She has a Minnesota license. … I have a baby! A baby! Get out! Until you guys have a warrant signed, get off my [bleep] property now!
AMY GOODMAN: In another incident, armed federal immigration agents broke down the door of a home in north Minneapolis Sunday without a warrant. The agents used a battering ram to get inside the house in an attempt to arrest a Liberian man. Occupants inside the home included the man’s 9-year-old daughter.
Meanwhile, on Monday, agents rammed the car of a Latino man in south Minneapolis, then questioned his immigration status. Christian Molina said he was pulled over and only let go after he told agents he was a U.S. citizen.
CHRISTIAN MOLINA: It’s not safe out here. It’s not safe, you know? People aren’t safe. So, just, I mean, I’m glad they didn’t shoot me or something, because, you know, what if they start shooting me?........
