The New Vigilantism
By Tom Gilbreath
Constitutional representatives of the United States in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, passed the Homeland Security Act of 2002. The President then signed the act into law. That act created ICE and gave it its legal mandate. It happened long before the presidency of Donald Trump. ICE and its agents have a sworn duty under the Constitution to enforce the country’s immigration laws. Congress also enacted those immigration laws legally and in accordance with the Constitution.
After an ICE agent fatally wounded Renee Nicole Good last week, Governor Tim Walz demanded that ICE leave Minnesota. But governors do not get to decide which federal laws will be upheld in their states. Mr. Walz went so far as to declare Minnesota’s independence — stating, “We do not need any further help from the federal government.” Does that mean he plans to refuse any federal money flowing to his state from this point forward? I don’t think so.
Obviously, ICE was never empowered to murder people, but all citizens have the right to defend themselves when attacked with a deadly weapon, such as a car. Self-defense is not murder.
Shortly after the shooting, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said, “So, they are already trying to spin this as an action of self-defense. Having seen the video myself, I want to tell everybody directly. That is…” (here he used an expletive meaning, “a lie”). The mayor said he had seen “the video,” as if there were only one. From the one video he saw, he claimed to know without a doubt that the ICE officer was guilty of murder. He didn’t use the word “murder,” but if it was neither self-defense nor an accident, what else would you call it?
A thousand miles away, New York Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani declared on X, “This morning, an ICE agent murdered a woman in Minneapolis.” He needed no investigation and no trial. And with that we begin to see what a socialist/communist future looks like. That kind of knee-jerk rush to judgment is fueling the new lynch mob mentality permeating a large portion of American society.
People have long felt frustration with their health insurance providers, but a large portion of society now cheers the alleged stalking and murder of a major insurance company CEO. There are many other examples of the new vigilantism, such as the systematic persecution of Jews on American university campuses, the assassination attempts on Donald Trump, and the successful assassination of Charlie Kirk.
There are complex circumstances surrounding the Minnesota shooting, but most are irrelevant to the main issue. It’s irrelevant that the victim’s “wife” was taunting and harassing the agents prior to the shooting, or whether Ms. Good was a nice person, or how hard her vehicle hit the officer. Even whether or not she intended to harm the agent is irrelevant to the shooting. What matters is that the ICE agent saw a deadly weapon aimed at him, and then accelerating toward him.
A neighbor said, “Verbal abuse… doesn’t warrant shooting at somebody.” Another neighbor said, “Nobody gets a death sentence for a traffic violation.” But the woman in Minnesota did not die because of verbal abuse or for speeding. Either advertently or inadvertently, she hit the accelerator on her car while it was pointed in the direction of a man with a gun. That man had a right to defend himself.
The “wife” told the Washington Post, “We had whistles. They had guns.” But Ms. Good did not just have a whistle. She had under her control a weapon — a motor vehicle — something that kills over 40,000 people every year in the United States. The “wife” screamed, “Drive, baby, drive, drive!” Renee Good obeyed the screaming voice while her vehicle was aimed at an officer. The end-time sign of “lawlessness” took a leap forward, and tragedy followed.
