Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons told Fox viewers that when he watched the body-camera footage he saw an agent whose training “kicked in” and who made a split-second choice in the face of what he perceived as danger. Lyons’ assessment matters because federal officers operate in chaotic, perilous situations every day and cannot wait for perfect conditions while criminals and hostile crowds decide policy for the country. Conservatives should stand with the men and women who put their lives on the line to enforce the law and keep neighborhoods safe.
The hard facts are already on the record: on Jan. 7 a woman named Renée Good was shot during a large federal immigration operation in Minneapolis, and the Department of Homeland Security has said the agent fired after believing he was being threatened by a vehicle. That deadly encounter has provoked massive protests and national outrage, but it should not be permitted to become a rush-to-judgment fed by emotion rather than evidence. Americans deserve a full, sober investigation before anyone starts tearing down institutions that protect our communities.
Yes, there are reasonable questions about tactics and body language on the video — questions that should be asked and answered — but asking questions is not the same as presuming guilt. Law enforcement training teaches officers to treat vehicles as potential lethal instruments, and in a blink an officer may have to decide between being run over or defending himself and others. Those split-second realities are ugly, necessary parts of keeping order in a country where our leaders have promised to enforce immigration law.
What has too often followed is the predictable political theater: local Democrats and activists immediately denouncing federal agents, while some elected officials lean into sensationalism instead of backing a fair process. Minneapolis saw tens of thousands in the streets and widespread calls to “Abolish ICE,” a response that plays to the mob rather than to reasoned reform or accountability. If the reaction is to be taken seriously, let it be channeled into constructive oversight — not the destruction of the very agencies charged with national security.
The mainstream media and progressive politicians should stop weaponizing tragedy to score cheap political points. Demanding investigations is one thing; staging nationwide rallies that pressure investigators and vilify every frontline agent is another. We can push for transparency and proper training without undermining morale among federal officers who, under directives from the executive branch, are doing the hard work of enforcing the law.
Now is the time for steady, patriotic leadership: let the facts come out, hold anyone who broke the law accountable, but do not let opportunists use this moment to gut law enforcement or defund essential agencies. Support for our officers does not mean a blank check, but it does mean demanding due process and resisting the rush to criminalize the rule of law. Hardworking Americans know we cannot have a safe nation if we abandon the institutions that keep order; that truth matters more than any protest slogan.
