Kristi Noem warns against new attacks on federal officers: 'If you lay a finger on one of our agents, we will get you'

"We are warning anyone if you think you can harm an individual, a citizen of the United States or a law enforcement officer, we will find you and bring you to justice," Kristi Noem, secretary of homeland security, maintained in recent hours. "If you lay a finger on one of our agents, we will get you."

For months, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has been reporting an increase in threats and attacks against its agents. Just this Thursday, it indicated that there has been a 1,300% increase in assaults and 8,000% jump in death threats during Trump's first year. Attacks with vehicles are up 3,200%.

Noem launched this warning from New York amid the commotion generated by the death of Renee Good, a 37-year-old American shot by an immigration agent during an operation in Minneapolis, and calls for protests against ICE in different parts of the country Friday.

The administration assures that the officer acted in self-defense. Good, they argue, was violating the law by parking her vehicle in the middle of the street to prevent an immigration raid. The same vehicle was then "used as a weapon" to ram the officer, who felt threatened and acted to defend himself.

Noem added at the press conference, devoted mostly to operations in New York but with several nods to Minneapolis, that the agent was an "experienced officer, who followed his training." After receiving "treatment" at a hospital, he is now "spending time with his family."

Echoing the increase in attacks on officers reported by her department, Noem said her warning against those who attack immigration officers applies to both Minnesota and New York. As it does for California, Illinois, Memphis and any state or city that professes "sanctuary policies."

More than 1,5000 undocumented immigrants arrested in Minneapolis

Good's death came during a series of protests against DHS operations, whose presence was beefed up in the state in response to an alleged corruption scheme involving federal funds.

The department assured that, despite the growing demonstrations, it will continue its operations. "We will not let rioters slow us down from making Minnesota safe again—something Governor Walz and Mayor Frey REFUSED," said DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin.

The DHS claimed Thursday to have arrested more than 1,500 illegal immigrants since the operation began in Minnesota, dubbed Operation Metro Surge. Among them, it said, there are "murderers, pedophiles, rapists, and gang members."

Some of those arrested are, per the DHS:

Conflicting stories among the government and the Democrats

While the government defends that the agent who shot Good, whom it has refused to identify, acted in legitimate self-defense against an "act of domestic terrorism," Democratic figures claimed it was an unjustified murder and even "a public execution in our streets."

"The killing of Renee Nicole Good was an abomination! A disgrace!" House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries argued to the press. Beyond the actions of the unnamed agent, the Democrat, like others in his party, blames the administration:

"Blood is clearly on the hands of those individuals within the administration who've been pushing an extreme policy…Kristi Noem who is a stone-cold liar…We are all outraged about what took place in Minneapolis and we will respond decisively," he said.

In Minnesota, both Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey insisted that ICE must leave the state. The latter, with angry statements that quickly stirred controversy: "To ICE: Get the f*** out of Minneapolis!"

Both also called for protests, with Walz even saying it felt like "a patriotic duty at this point in time." In their harangues to take to the streets, figures on the left resorted to the figure of George Floyd, emblematic of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement. Elected officials like Ilhan Omar shouted chants like those used in the riots: "Abolish ICE!" One of the most direct allusions came from the executive director of the activist organization Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in Minnesota, Jaylani Hussein:

"We are literally blocks away from where George Floyd was murdered. It is not an accident. It is a reminder that we did not finish the job when George Floyd was killed. And now we are given another chance to stand up against police brutality, this time from ICE."

The administration condemned these statements, asserting that they incited violence and increased the risk to officers in uniform. This position was defended by Vice President J.D. Vance in a press conference.