protesters expressed sadness

By Taylor Six
Lexington Herald-Leader

(Lexington Herald-Leader) Several hundred people, signs and flags in hand, gathered at Fayette County courthouse square in bitter temperatures Sunday afternoon to protest of the shooting of Renee Nicole Good by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Minneapolis.

The downtown Lexington, Kentucky, protest Jan. 11 was one of 1,200 in towns and cities around the country as part of “Ice Out For Good” gatherings over the weekend. The demonstrations honor the lives lost at the hands of ICE, demand accountability and make visible the human cost of federal action on immigration under President Donald Trump, according to organizers.

Good, a 37-year-old poet and mother, was shot dead in her Honda Pilot Jan. 7 on a residential Minneapolis street after a brief confrontation with ICE agents. An agent identified as Jonathan Ross discharged his weapon into her vehicle at least three times as she attempted to pull away from officers. The shooting was caught on video.

A similar protest took place in downtown Frankfort Saturday.

Sue and Rich G., Lexington residents who declined to give their last name, grew up in the 60s and 70s, but participated in a demonstration for the very first time Sunday.

“I don’t recognize my country anymore,” Sue said. “I have been traumatized the past 10 years by the Trump administration.”

Rich said he was surprised by the turnout — comprised largely of older adults — and felt there weren’t enough young people there to make their voices heard.

protesters expressed sadness

“What do people need to open their eyes?” he asked.

But it was rage that brought Hannah, also of Lexington who declined to give her last name, to the demonstration.

“It is horrifying enough what (ICE) are doing to immigrants,” she said, “but the murder of Renee Good made it clear that it’s all of us — anyone who gets in their way is at risk.”

Kentucky leaders have called for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to be impeached. After the shooting, Noem referred to Good’s actions as “an act of domestic terrorism.”

Sen. Morgan McGarvey, a Louisville Democrat, is among a number of legislators who have voiced support for Noem’s impeachment.

McGarvey said in a post on social media Friday “the tragic murder of Renee Nicole Good underscores” what he described as Noem’s “incompetent leadership.”

Thursday during a news briefing, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear called the shooting “foreseeable” and “preventable,” while taking aim at Trump’s administration.

Sunday’s protest was the latest in a string of local demonstrations against the Trump Administration and immigration efforts. Lexington’s courthouse square saw protests in October and June last year.