The Wisconsin candidates seeking the Democrat Party’s nominee for governor released a slew of anti-law enforcement statements after the ICE shooting in Minneapolis.
Rather than wait until all of the facts are in, they rushed to judgment against the federal agent who opened fire. Francesa Hong’s and Joel Brennan’s rants were the most agitated. Brennan supported calls for ICE to leave Minneapolis and called anger justified.
Mandela Barnes released an incendiary statement, Missy Hughes came close to calling for the agent’s criminal prosecution, David Crowley called for “accountability,” and Sara Rodriguez said what was happening was “deeply wrong.”
None of the Democrats chose to stand on the side of law enforcement or even recognize the use-of-force complexities in the shooting of Renee Good, which came after she refused orders, impeded law enforcement vehicles from passing, and then drove her vehicle, at least briefly, in the direction of the agent, who required 33 stitches after being dragged by the vehicle of a child sexual predator in a previous immigration enforcement arrest.
“Car attacks on our brave ICE officers and agents are up OVER 3,200% since last year. Attacks on ICE are up over 1,300%,” ICE wrote. “Violent rhetoric and radical left sanctuary city policies only embolden these dangerous actions, putting our ICE officers and agents at greater risk and undermining public safety.”
Francesca Hong Calls ICE Agents ‘Enforcers of Fascism’
“It’s a dark day in America. No one should live in fear of their government murdering its own people when neighbors are trying to protect one another,” wrote Hong, who is also a state legislator. “We need to come together. If you have funds to distribute, please support these organizers & communities in the MPLS area ASAP.”
Hong wasn’t done. “Dismantling ICE is the bare minimum. Merely removing enforcers of fascism is not enough. We need investments in community care not state sanctioned violence,” she ranted.
Hong’s previous hatred of law enforcement is well-known. It appears she doesn’t even want police.
Francesca Hong wants everyone to know that she strongly supports defunding the police. It’s her first, second, third, and even fourth priority! pic.twitter.com/9iwNWJL8tU
— Wisconsin GOP (@WisGOP) January 7, 2026
Mandela Barnes Says ‘Americans Are Being Killed’
Barnes, then lieutenant governor, was widely criticized for his previous inciting statement after the Jacob Blake shooting in Kenosha, before that city burned. He responded to the Minneapolis ICE shooting with another strongly worded comment.
“Trump said he would deport criminals, instead Americans are being killed. Nothing about sending masked agents into our streets without accountability is making us safer. My heart is with Minnesota today and the victim’s family. This should have never happened,” he wrote.
[Note: Trump has been deporting criminals. According to NBC News, “as of the end of May, 2025, ICE had arrested 752 non-citizens convicted of murder and 1,693 convicted of sexual assault.” Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said: “Under President Trump and Secretary Noem, ICE is targeting and removing the WORST OF THE WORST criminal illegal aliens terrorizing American families. 70% of ICE arrests are of criminal illegal aliens with charges or convictions in the United States. In 2026, with a 120% increase in manpower, ICE is unleashed to arrest even more criminal illegal aliens and get them OUT of our country.”
Sara Rodriguez Called the MN Situation ‘Deeply Wrong’
Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez released somewhat vague statement after the ICE shooting – but she chose not to stand with law enforcement. “My heart is with Minnesota today, and with everyone trying to make sense of something that never should have happened. What we’re seeing — with our own eyes — is deeply wrong. We cannot normalize this. We cannot explain it away. It has to stop,” she wrote.
Can’t normalize what? What is deeply wrong? She did not say.
Missy Hughes Also Chose Not to Stand With Law Enforcement
Hughes called for “accountability for the fullest extent of the law for this shooting.” Is she calling for the prosecution of the agent? That almost certainly will not happen; federal officials have already said he acted in fear for his life.
Renee Nicole Good should still be with us.
My statement on the shooting in Minneapolis today. pic.twitter.com/PRWNs2iWjo
— Missy Hughes (@MissyforWI) January 8, 2026
Homeland Security says: “In an act of domestic terrorism, an anti-ICE rioter weaponized her vehicle against law enforcement. Our officer relied on his training and saved his own life, as well as the lives of his fellow officers.”
Joel Brennan Says ICE ‘Undermines Safety & Civility’
Brennan verbally attacked ICE in the wake of the shooting, saying the law enforcement presence “undermines safety and civility,” and he labeled Good’s shooting “murder.”
What happened in Minneapolis today could happen on my street, or any street in America. My statement: pic.twitter.com/f1yG7Uxj0d
— Joel Brennan (@joeltbrennan) January 7, 2026
He said he supported local officials who demanded that ICE leave Minneapolis and said that people were “justified in their anger.”
David Crowley Called for ‘Accountability’ & ‘Due Process’
Crowley delivered this word salad:
This is not the future I will accept for Wisconsin. pic.twitter.com/CImwmYBYIH
— David Crowley (@DavidCCrowley) January 8, 2026
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