Organizers say more than 1,000 protests against the Trump administration's immigration agenda are expected to take place in cities across the country this weekend, following the fatal shooting of a woman in Minneapolis by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer.
A coalition of nonprofits including the American Civil Liberties Union is promoting the events as an "ICE Out For Good Weekend of Action," aimed at demanding accountability and changes to federal immigration policy, according to apress release. The protests will take place in major cities nationwide including Washington, D.C., Los Angeles and Chicago, as well as smaller towns like Martinsburg, West Virginia.
"The Trump administration and its federal agents are out of control, endangering our neighborhoods, and trampling on our rights and freedom," the ACLU said in the press release. "This weekend Americans all across the country are demanding that they stop."
On Wednesday, ICE officerJonathan Rossfatally shotRenee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old mother and a U.S. citizen, during a federal immigration operation. Government officials have characterized the use-of-force as self-defense while local officials and eye witnesses have disputed that account as the case remains under investigation.
And on Friday,two people described bythe Department of Homeland Security as "suspected Tren de Aragua gang associates"were shotby a Border Patrol agent in Portland, Oregon. Both survived their wounds.
With that backdrop, protestors in Minneapolis and Portland have taken to the streets this week to demand accountability and to end ICE and Border Patrol operations in their cities. The protests have since spread to other cities.
Thousands of peaceful protesters filled Minneapolis' Powderhorn Park and the surrounding streets on Saturday.
"Say it once, say it twice, we will not put up with ICE!" The crowd chanted.
No one has been arrested or charged in connection Good's killing and Minneapolis officials have repeatedly said federal authorities have restricted local access to key evidence as the FBI leads the investigation. Trump administration officials have come out in defense of Ross, with Vice President JD Vance saying he had "absolute immunity" in the shooting. Local officials have rejected this characterization.
Ross has not replied to multiple requests for comment by NBC News.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said at a news conference on Saturday that 29 protesters were arrested Friday night at a protest with more than 1,000 demonstrators. The city's police chief, Brian O'Hara, added that some individuals caused damage to windows and sprayed graffiti at a hotel in downtown Minneapolis, leading to arrests.
Frey said the "vast majority of people have protested peacefully" and urged Minneapolis residents to continue doing so.
"We will not counter Donald Trump's chaos with our own brand of chaos," Frey said. "Here, we in Minneapolis, are going to do this right."
A representative for the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately return a request for comment on Saturday.
Daniella Silva reported from Minneapolis, and Matt Lavietes reported from New York.
