EXCLUSIVE: Minneapolis Mayor SLAMS Vance, ICE After Deadly Shooting

What this episode is about

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Fry criticizes Vice President JD Vance's characterization of Renee Good, who was killed by ICE agents, asserting that she was a victim, not a domestic terrorist. Fry expresses deep concern over the escalating violence linked to ICE operations in the city and emphasizes the need for accountability and protective measures for residents.

Key takeaways

• When confronting chaos, unity trumps division: Minneapolis rallies across ideologies to protect its immigrant community.
• Political spectacle? ICE’s actions appear less about safety and more about creating a narrative for the Trump administration.
• Blasting 'deranged leftist' labels won’t mask the tragedy—Renee Good is a victim, not a villain in this story.
• The declining crime rates on the north side suggest ICE's presence is more performative than preventative—time for accountability.
• Minneapolis stands resilient, refusing to let fear spark unrest; a community committed to peace over provocation is powerful.

Who speaks in this episode?

• Dan Pfeiffer (Host) · 3 min speaking
• Jacob Fry (Guest) · 8 min speaking

What is discussed, and when

1. 0:00 – 3:00: ICE, Renee Mlin Good, Department of Justice, Constitutionality
2. 3:00 – 6:00: Constitutionality, Latino and Somali immigrants, First Amendment rights
3. 6:00 – 9:00: ICE, Department of Justice, Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Political performance
4. 9:00 – 11:21: Unity, Dian's Place

Notable quotes from "EXCLUSIVE: Minneapolis Mayor SLAMS Vance, ICE After Deadly Shooting"

• So, earlier today, Vice President JD Vance referred to Renee Good. The 37year-old woman who was killed by ICE agents yesterday as a deranged leftist said that she was there to obstruct law enforcement, suggested she might be part.

  about Renee Mlin Good · at 0:05

• You told ICE to get the out of your city. They don't seem to be going anywhere, obviously. What levers do you have to pull or how or what can you do to try to protect your citizens from.

  about ICE · at 1:36

• To take the bait. we are going to keep the peace. We're going to demand justice. We're of course going to express first amendment rights and freedom of speech and protest and…

  about First Amendment rights · at 2:58

• Are you a Somali person? and then indiscriminately plucking people off the street thereafter. This is not okay.

  about Constitutionality · at 4:08

• During his press conference today, which was truly quite a performance, JD Vance declared that the officer had quote unquote absolute immunity. and there also reports that the Department.

  about Political performance · at 6:15

• That's some wild stuff, man. and yeah, obviously it's deeply concerning that the DOJ is boxing out the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension in the state of Minnesota from being part…

  about Bureau of Criminal Apprehension · at 7:18

• Economy is coming back. Small businesses are opening. We just got like the best restaurant in the entire world award is spot called Dian's Place just across the river.…

  about Dian's Place · at 9:10

• Bizarre hellscape that is the federal administration. and then figure out how to per how to move on together in unity together. And I think that's a big part of the message that's going out.

  about Unity · at 10:15

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

• Renee Mlin Good — Person · Central referenced victim · 1 mention · first at 0:07
  Her killing by ICE agents is the triggering event for the discussion, including disputes over narrative framing (terrorism claims) and accountability/investigation.
• Donald Trump — Person · Referenced political figure · 4 mentions
  The mayor attributes the narrative framing and escalation incentives to the Trump administration, alleging it seeks chaos and a pretext for increased force deployment.
  And what is clear to me is that the Trump administration is looking for some excuse to cause additional chaos and deploy even more military force in our city. right now, as far as I'm aware, we've got somewhere in the range.

Companies & orgs

• ICE — Company · Core topic (referenced organization) · 2 mentions · first at 1:36
  ICE agents are alleged to have killed Renee Good; the episode centers on their presence in Minneapolis, their tactics, and claims of immunity and lack of cooperation with local/state investigations.
• Department of Justice — Company · Core topic (investigation authority) · 2 mentions · first at 0:20
  The DOJ is portrayed as shaping the investigation and allegedly excluding Minnesota's Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, raising concerns about fairness and politicization.
  Said that she was there to obstruct law enforcement, suggested she might be part of some sort of left-wing network that the Department of Justice should investigate. What can…
• Bureau of Criminal Apprehension — Company · Core topic (state investigative body) · 1 mention · first at 7:23
  Minnesota's BCA is described as being excluded by the DOJ from the investigation, which the mayor argues undermines normal investigative practice and credibility.
• FBI — Company · Referenced organization · 2 mentions
  The FBI is cited both as a prior federal partner in crime reduction and as reportedly refusing cooperation with state officials regarding the shooting investigation.
• Dian's Place — Company · Referenced local business (city recovery example) · 1 mention · first at 9:17
  Cited as evidence of Minneapolis's economic/cultural rebound, countering portrayals of the city as 'apocalyptic.'

Concepts & topics

• Constitutionality — Concept · Core theme (legal framing) · 2 mentions · first at 2:03
  The mayor repeatedly frames ICE actions as unconstitutional, tying the dispute to civil liberties and the durability of the republic.
• Unity — Concept · Core theme · 2 mentions · first at 10:20
  Unity is presented as the city's strategy to avoid escalation, keep peace, and respond collectively rather than through factional conflict.
• Latino and Somali immigrants — Concept · Core topic (targeted community) · 1 mention · first at 4:01
  The mayor alleges ICE activity is primarily targeting Latino and Somali people through discriminatory, indiscriminate street detentions rather than focusing on violent crime.
  Absolutely count us in. That's not what this is about. This is about targeting specifically Latino and Somali immigrants. This is discriminating only on the basis of are you a…
• Political performance — Concept · Interpretive frame (motive attribution) · 2 mentions · first at 2:40
  The mayor characterizes federal actions and messaging (including JD Vance's press conference) as performative politics aimed at provoking chaos and justifying escalation.
• First Amendment rights — Concept · Core theme (protest boundaries) · 1 mention · first at 3:04
  Presented as a protected outlet for community response—speech and protest—while simultaneously urging residents not to escalate into violence that could justify federal force.

Full transcript with timestamps

0:00 Joining me now is the mayor of Minneapolis, Jacob Fry. Mayor, welcome to Pod Save America.

0:03 Thanks for having me, Dan. So, earlier today, Vice President JD Vance referred to Renee Good. The 37year-old woman who was killed by ICE agents yesterday as a deranged leftist said that she was there to obstruct law enforcement, suggested she might be part of some sort of left-wing network that the Department of Justice should investigate. What can you tell me about her, why she might why she might have been there, and what happened on that day?

0:27 I don't know a lot about her. What I do know is that she's a victim and doesn't appear to having doing anything wrong. She went through a two to three point turn clearly trying to leave the vicinity where the ICE agents were located. And you've got this narrative that is coming out of this Trump administration that is immediately saying one that the ICE agents were acting in self-defense and two that the victim was a domestic terrorist. That's a load of Anybody who watches that video could come to that conclusion. You don't need a law degree.

1:05 Uh and to the extent they're trying to cover up the actions that we all knew were inevitable, I find disgusting because, you know, the chief and I have been saying now for over a month, not just privately, but very publicly, that something like this was going to happen. either a civilian, resident, police officer, or an ICE agent was going to get badly injured or even killed. And tragically, the latter of those two conclusions happened and it should have never taken place.

1:36 You told ICE to get the out of your city. They don't seem to be going anywhere, obviously. What levers do you have to pull or how or what can you do to try to protect your citizens from what's what's going on here? Is it just giving them sort of advice about how to stay out of the way? just like how you're obviously you want to protect your citizens. You have this what you believe to be a very dangerous element in your city. What do you do?

1:56 Obviously, if I had the immediate authority to get ICE out of here, they would have never been here to begin with. Uh the way they are behaving is completely and utterly unconstitutional. And what is clear to me is that the Trump administration is looking for some excuse to cause additional chaos and deploy even more military force in our city. I mean, right now, as far as I'm aware, we've got somewhere in the range of 2,270 agents in some form. That's that's ICE, that's HSI, that's that's border control, and they're located in the region beyond Minneapolis as well. Um, but there's no doubt in my mind that they're looking to have some form of political performance that goes well beyond where we're at in this moment.

2:47 And so the message that we are putting out and by the way the message that our community is righteously reiterating again and again is that we are not going to take the bait. Uh we are going to keep the peace. We're going to demand justice. We're of course going to express first amendment rights and freedom of speech and protest and all the rest. But we're not going to give them the excuse that they're already trying to create to come into our city. There's no doubt in my mind that the reason that ICE is here is not about safety. It's not about driving down crime. Here's the thing. We've worked with federal agencies substantially in the past to successfully drive down crime. We've worked with the DEA, the ATF, the FBI, the US Attorney's Office, and crime on the north side specifically. and and shootings are at the lowest level on record. And so if the goal is to go after murderers, yeah, we're

3:49 anti-murder. We're all for that. If the goal is to go after violent crime, absolutely count us in. That's not what this is about. This is about targeting specifically Latino and Somali immigrants. This is discriminating only on the basis of are you a Latino or you are you a Somali person? and then indiscriminately plucking people off the street thereafter. This is not okay. It's not constitutional. Everybody, Democrat or Republican, should be speaking up loud and clear that this is a threat to the endurance of our republic.

4:21 Since the shooting, have you had any contact with anyone in the in the administration, the Secretary Gnome, someone from DHS or ISIS? Have they spoken to you or or members of your administration?

4:32 Uh, we have been working a number of different channels uh to try to make inroads to get the point across. Um, we've got correspondence that's going out. Uh, we are, look, pulling any levers that we've got. Uh, because look, priority number one is to keep our city safe. Um, priority number one here is to make sure that the residents of our city are able to get through this. We're resilient. We're tough. We've been knocked down seven times and we'll get back up eight. and we don't need to deal with this kind of chaos that they are very intentionally creating in our city.

5:12 Speaking of the chaos, the people keep describing um what what's happening on the ground there as you know Minneapolis being a tinder box that everyone's worried about it. Schools been cancelled for the next two days I presume out of fear of some sort of public arrest unrest. How are you know how are things actually there? How are you thinking about keeping the peace over the next couple days here?

5:31 Look, we're keeping the peace. Uh thus far the message has been widely received by the community that hey if you want to and I know they do want to stand up and protect our immigrant communities here in Minneapolis. Let's not give the Trump administration an excuse to deploy more force and individuals. This is importantly not just coming from me. This is coming from uh activists. Uh this is coming from uh leftists. This is coming from moderates. This is coming from most people throughout our city speaking with a very common accord here.

6:08 Uh that we owe an obligation to the people that we purport to want to help. Uh and that's those that are being targeted.

6:15 During his press conference today, which was truly quite a performance, uh JD Vance declared that the officer had quote unquote absolute immunity. Uh and there also reports that the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI are refusing to cooperate with uh at least state law enforcement officials. What do you like? What's your reaction to that and any sense you have about the ability of the state or the county or the city to uh investigate and potentially seek justice here?

6:43 So, ICE agents have absolute immunity. I have not heard this one yet. Yeah, it's that's that's what he declared today.

6:50 Isn't that guy a lawyer? Yale law school graduate. He is. Yes. Good lord. I had a lot of respect and and I hopefully still do for those Yale grads. I don't think I could have gotten in there, but that is comical.

7:03 Yeah. Um you don't get absolute immunity by way of being a federal employee anymore. You get absolute immunity being a city employee. Um that's some wild stuff, man. Uh, and yeah, obviously it's deeply concerning that the DOJ is boxing out the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension in the state of Minnesota from being part of this investigation. The way this was initially presented was that the BCA was going to be working with the DOJ on investigating exactly what happened with no predetermined outcome, you know,

7:46 and that would be the normal course of business, right? Yeah, that's that's pretty pretty standard, you know. And by the way, you know, the BCA is is is not some like wild radical group. This is a group of I think like a lot of police officers and otherwise. I mean, they're going to do an investigation. There have been times in the past where they've come to a conclusion that there was not culpability on the side of the police officer. There's other times where the investigation led to some form of charge, you know, and again, based on truth and facts, not some sort of garbage narrative that's being spun up by the president of the United States.

8:21 So, yeah, to those that are uh concerned uh about the legitimacy and the fairness of a Pam Bondi investigation from the DOJ, I I'd say that that concern is well placed. As you sort of think about this and think about everything that's happened, you know, Minnesota's been in Minnesota and Minneapolis have been in the national conversation with Republicans for a long time. You know, a lot happened in 2020 with George Floyd. Sort of how are you thinking about your city and how you persevere through, you know, these sorts of moments.

8:54 We do not retreat. We don't give up. And here's the thing, our city is coming back. I mean, I know these Republicans out there want to talk about this city as this like wild apocalyptic place, but look, man, crime is way down. Crime's down in virtually every category, virtually every neighborhood. The economy is coming back. Small businesses are opening. We just got like the best restaurant in the entire world award is spot called Dian's Place just across the river. Ridiculously good, by the way. Uh and so like the city's is rocking along, you know. Do we have big city challenges? Of course we do. Uh and at the same time, it's coming back. And here's another thing. Uh I personally as mayor and we collectively as a city have learned a lot in the last five years. You know I'm I'm not the same mayor as I was in May of 2020. I am not the same person. I have learned lessons that have made me a

9:52 better mayor and a better leader. And I use those experiences every day, especially during some form of emergency or crisis just like this. Uh moreover, I know there are countless people in the city that have also learned a lot, have also uh taken a practice of let's take a beat. Let's figure out what the best strategy is for dealing with this bizarre hellscape that is the federal administration. Uh and then figure out how to per how to move on together in unity together. And I think that's a big part of the message that's going out.

10:28 It's it's unification. It's putting down our silly individual grievances that we might have. Uh, you know, we're a city of like, I don't know, 85% Democrat or something like that. Uh, and it's moving forward to figure out what's the best thing to do for the city as a whole. It's loving our country more than our ideology. And I think that's what the entire city is feeling right now as we unify.

10:53 Well, Mayor, thank you so much for joining us. Good luck in these coming days. Uh, really appreciate you.

10:58 You got it. Thanks for having me. Thanks for the work you're doing.

Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "EXCLUSIVE: Minneapolis Mayor SLAMS Vance, ICE After Deadly Shooting"?

Dan Pfeiffer (Host), Jacob Fry (Guest).

What is "EXCLUSIVE: Minneapolis Mayor SLAMS Vance, ICE After Deadly Shooting" about?

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Fry criticizes Vice President JD Vance's characterization of Renee Good, who was killed by ICE agents, asserting that she was a victim, not a domestic terrorist. Fry expresses deep concern over the escalating violence linked to ICE operations in the city and emphasizes the need for accountability and protective measures for residents.

What is mentioned in this Pod Save America episode?

12 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including ICE, Renee Mlin Good, Department of Justice, Donald Trump, Constitutionality, Unity. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "EXCLUSIVE: Minneapolis Mayor SLAMS Vance, ICE After Deadly Shooting"?

The episode runs 11 min; the transcript is about 1,940 words in 24 timestamped sections.

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