More than 1,000 protests are scheduled across the country on Saturday and Sunday to oppose the shooting death of a woman in Minneapolis on Wednesday and the wounding of two Venezuelans in Portland on Thursday. File Photo by Tannen Maury/UPI | License Photo
Jan. 10 (UPI) — More than 1,000 protests are planned across the country following federal officer-involved shootings of a woman in Minneapolis on Wednesday and two others in Portland on Thursday.
The protests mostly are coordinated by the Washington, D.C.-based Indivisible Project, which largely is funded by billionaire George Soros‘ Open Society Foundations, including a $3 million donation in 2023 and millions more from 2018 through at least 2022.
The protests are billed as “ICE Out for Good Weekend of Action,” using the acronym for the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency that is tasked with enforcing federal immigration laws.
“This weekend, people all over are coming together, not just to mourn the lives lost to ICE violence, but to confront a pattern of harm that has torn families apart and terrorized our communities,” said Leah Greenberg, co-executive director of Indivisible, as reported by The Guardian.
The protests are slated for Saturday and Sunday after Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer Jonathan Ross shot and killed Renee Good, 37, who was using her SUV to block ICE officers while they worked to free their vehicles from snow while in a Minneapolis neighborhood on Wednesday.
Department of Homeland Security Sec. Kristi Noem afterward said Good used her vehicle as a weapon and tried to run over Ross. Protesters are demanding that Ross be arrested and charged with murder.
A day later, a Border Patrol officer shot two Venezuelans during a targeted traffic stop in eastern Portland, Ore.
The Venezuelans are alleged to be members of the Tren de Aragua gang that the Trump administration has designated a terrorist organization, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
One, a woman named Yorlenys Betzabeth Zambrano-Contreras, allegedly was involved in a recent shooting and a prostitution ring in Portland, which led to the traffic stop that ended when the driver allegedly used the vehicle to try to run over federal officers, leading to both being shot.
The other is a man named Luis David Nico Moncada. Both illegally entered the United States during the Biden administration.
Portland and Minneapolis were ground zero for protest activities that often devolved into riots in 2020 after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis and led to the shooting death of at least one man by a self-described antifa member in Portland.
Michael Reinoehl, 48, was accused of ambushing Aaron Danielson, 39, and shooting him in the chest after Danielson participated in a pro-Trump rally in Portland on Aug. 29, 2020.
Federal officers shot and killed Reinoehl six days later when he violently resisted their efforts to arrest him on federal charges.
Activist Riley Gaines feeds her baby on stage at a “Policy Celebration” at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Headquarters in Washington on Thursday. Photo by Annabelle Gordon/UPI | License Photo
