Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey made a plea Friday for state investigators to become involved in the investigation into the shooting death of Renee Nicole Good by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent, calling the Trump administration’s description of the events “deeply concerning.”
Frey spoke after the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said Thursday it was withdrawing from the investigation after being told by the FBI it would not have access to the materials required for a “thorough and independent” review. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem later said, “They have not been cut out, they don’t have any jurisdiction in this investigation.”
“In Minneapolis, when a tragedy strikes, there’s one word that summarizes what is most important. And that word is integrity. This is not the time to bend the rules. This is a time to follow the law. This is not a time to hide from the facts. This is a time to embrace them, making sure that we’re pushing for transparency every step of the way,” Frey said Friday.
“The fact that Pam Bondi’s Department of Justice and this presidential administration has already come to a conclusion about those facts is deeply concerning. The facts that from the very beginning, they’re calling the victim a ‘domestic terrorist.’ They’re calling the actions of the agent involved as some form of defensive posture. We know that they’ve already determined much of the investigation, and even if they haven’t, there is the appearance that there is some conclusion drawn from the very beginning,” he continued.
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“Our ask is to embrace the truth. Our ask is to include the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension in this process, because we in Minneapolis want a fair investigation. Is it deeply concerning that this administration, from the very get go, is drawing the conclusion that they may ultimately come to? Of course, it is,” Frey added. “And if you got nothing to hide from, then don’t hide from it. Include local experts in the process. We got nothing to hide from here. All we want in Minneapolis is justice and the truth.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security for comment.
Frey said Friday, “There is some precedent that is important here.”
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“There have been instances in the past where there was some form of shooting or an officer-involved killing that took place by federal agents or U.S. marshals or beyond, that did have local and state entities in control. By the way, we’re not even talking just about full control here,” the Democratic mayor said. “We’re talking about being at the table. We’re talking about an investigation that includes the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.”
Frey also insisted Friday that his city is “safe” and is not a “post-apocalyptic hellscape.”
“I have heard countless people talk about Minneapolis — many of them who have never been here — it is some form of post-apocalyptic hellscape. As a place that is dangerous. Well let me give you a statistic. 50% of the shootings that have happened thus far in Minneapolis this year have been ICE,” Frey told reporters, days after the shooting death of Renee Nicole Good.
“In other words, we’ve only had two shootings. One of them has been ICE. We are a safe city,” Frey added. “ICE is making it less so. We are a city of unity. But ICE is trying to divide us and tear us apart.”
