Durham residents gathered for a protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after the agency shot and killed a woman during an immigration crackdown Wednesday in Minnesota.
The protest began around 6 p.m. in CCB Plaza in Durham, with more than 100 people gathered before the event began.
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After beginning at CCB Plaza, protesters marched to Durham City Hall and then back to CCB Plaza. Police said no one was arrested during the protest and march.
The protest in Durham was one of many around the country in the wake of the death of Renee Nicole Macklin Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer in Minneapolis.
Good, 37, was shot and killed by an ICE officer while she tried to drive away on a snowy residential street as officers were carrying out an operation related to the administration’s immigration crackdown.
"It's sad," said Taneshia Wilson, an activist living in Durham. "I can't even put words together. I just think we really should come together."
Vice President J.D. Vance said he was certain that Good accelerated her car into the officer and hit him. It isn’t clear from the videos if the vehicle makes contact with the officer. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said Wednesday that video of the shooting shows arguments that the officer was acting in self-defense were “garbage.”
Across the country, the shooting intensified tensions amid the Trump administration’s deployment of thousands of officers to Minnesota for an immigration crackdown.
This is not the first time in recent months Durham residents have gathered to protest ICE's actions. In November, ICE operations in the Bull City led to protests and student walkouts throughout Durham.
On the morning of Nov. 21, students at Jordan High School walked out of class and residents motivated by the issue gathered at CCB Plaza to protest.
Thursday's protest was the second of the day in the Triangle. At mid-day, a planned protest against recent U.S. intervention in Venezuela drew those who opposed ICE actions as well.
Protesters in Durham told WRAL News that although Minneapolis is 1,200 miles away from the Bull City, it's important to show solidarity.
"It's very importaant that they experience in other parts of the country that we are standing with them and bravely take to the street," said Melanie Morrison, a Durham protester.
WRAL received a statement from the North Carolina Republican Party that defended the federal agents involved in the Minneapolis action.
“The video of the incident in Minneapolis speaks for itself,” said Matt Mercer, director of communications for the state GOP. “The NCGOP supports federal law enforcement, and the far left needs to stop obstructing and causing chaos in communities here in North Carolina and across the country."
Protesters disputed claims made by Noem, saying they were outraged by the video.
"For the angle that she was driving, it doesn't make sense that the agents were trying to defend themselves," said Amy Aponte, an organizer of the protest. "Everybody here that showed up believes that that was a clear execution."
The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to WRAL’s request for comment regarding the protests.
The Chapel Hill protest remained peaceful, and no arrests were reported.