The vice president spent Thursday morning justifying the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Renee Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent the day before in Minneapolis, and he spoke to reporters in the afternoon at the White House briefing room to suggest the victim had committed a crime because she had been influenced by left-wing radicals, including state officials.
“First of all, I wish the state officials in Minnesota would investigate why you have so many people who are using their vehicles and other means to actually interfere with the legitimate law enforcement operation,” Vance said. “The precedent here is very simple. You have a federal law enforcement official engaging in federal law enforcement action.”
“That’s a federal issue,” the vice president added. “That guy is protected by absolute immunity. He was doing his job.”
Federal law enforcement officers generally are granted a partial shield from state prosecution by the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause, unless they violate “clearly established” rights.
But the immunity from criminal prosecution that the Supreme Court ruled on in July 2024 refers to the president alone, for official acts taken while in office.
“The idea that Tim Walz and a bunch of radicals in Minneapolis are going to go after and make this guy’s life miserable because he was doing the job that he was asked to do is preposterous,” Vance said. “The unprecedented thing is the idea that a local official can actually prosecute a federal official with absolute immunity. I’ve never seen anything like that. It would get tossed out by a judge.”
Vance suggested that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz – his vice presidential rival in 2024 – could potentially be targeted for prosecution related to the shooting under a National Security Memorandum defining some left-wing viewpoints as terrorist ideology.
“So what I’d like Minnesota to focus on is the real issue that they’re encouraging people,” Vance said. “Minneapolis officials are encouraging people to commit violence against ICE officials. It’s ridiculous, it’s got to stop.”
