Protesters on Saturday in Salem voiced shock and disgust over the death of a 37-year-old woman in Minneapolis who was shot and killed by a U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement officer on Wednesday.   Attendees at the Salem Stands with Minneapolis Protest on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026 (LAURA TE SLER/For Salem Reporter) A crowd of nearly 1,000 people holding signs gathered and yelled into megaphones near the Capitol with people lining up along Northeast Center Street, in protest of what many called a “murder” by federal authorities.  The area was the regular staging ground for a number of protests last year, the most recent being the anti-Trump No Kings protest in October which brought close to 10,000 people to downtown Salem and the areas around the Capitol.  The Saturday protest was hastily organized by the Salem Region indivisible group after Renee Good was shot and killed in Minneapolis by an ICE agent. The protest began at noon and continued into the afternoon with people still on the streets by 3 p.m.  The group urged people to protest again on Sunday. An attendee holds a sign at the Salem Stands with Minneapolis Protest on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026 (LAURA TESLER/For Salem Reporter) As people yelled anti-ICE messages others were dressed up in costumes and some held signs that read, “Renee was murdered!! By our government,””ICE out now,” and “Stop ICE terror.” Passing cars honked in support of protesters as police officers stood watch nearby.  Salem Police Officers at the Salem Stands with Minneapolis Protest on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026 (LAURA TESLER/For Salem Reporter) Protesters also voiced anger and concern over the shooting of two people in Portland by federal agents which occurred on Thursday, exacerbating an already tense moment in national politics.  “The killing in Minneapolis just disturbed me so much, I felt that I had to come out,” said Jim Rouch of Stayton, a U.S. Navy veteran who served in Vietnam.  Rouch said watching what he termed a “cold-blooded murder” was hard, referring to video footage of the Minneapolis shooting.  “And watching this guy (the ICE agent) walk away calmly and get in his car and leave the scene of a murder,” Rouch said. “Then watching the administration trying to spin it six different ways, all lies, and they are still continuing to lie.”  Attendees at the Salem Stands with Minneapolis Protest on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026 (LAURA TESLER/For Salem Reporter) Authorities said that on Jan. 7, an ICE agent shot and killed Good, who had, according to her wife in a written statement to Minnesota Public Radio, stopped to “support our neighbors” amid immigration enforcement activity.  Bystander video showed that two officers approached Good’s SUV, which was in multiple lanes but not entirely blocking traffic. The officers asked her to get out of the car, and attempted to open her door. After attempting to reverse, Good then began to drive forward with an officer standing in front of her car, the car’s tires turning to the right.  The officer, who the Associated Press has identified as Jonathan Ross, then unholstered his gun and fired three shots at Good. An attendee at the Salem Stands with Minneapolis Protest on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026 (LAURA TESLER/For Salem Reporter) Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem defended the agent’s actions, saying that Good was attempting to run over the officer, and that the officer acted in self defense according to his training. Video analysis by The Washington Post concluded that the officer fired at least two of the three shots from the side of the vehicle after it had already driven past him. Policing experts said that the officer’s decisions leading up to the shooting defied public safety best practices, according to reporting by the Associated Press. On Saturday, Shawnje Williams of Salem stood along Center Street facing the intersection with Summer Street.  He said what happened in Minneapolis is part of a larger pattern in American history in tune with injustices certain groups of people in the country have faced since the country’s inception.  “These shootings have been happening for a very long time…before there were shootings, there were lynchings,” Williams said. “It is all reminiscent and feels about the same. And it needs to stop. It has been needing to stop for a very long time.”  Dylan Bermudez brought a guitar to the Salem Stands with Minneapolis Protest on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026 (LAURA TESLER/For Salem Reporter) Williams said he has regularly attended protests at the Capitol, but Saturday’s protest felt different. He said he sensed that people who showed up were “frustrated, angry and tired of fighting the same fight.”  “We are OK with pulling American citizens out of their jobs, and their churches, out of their homes and out of businesses, detaining them. Now killing them,” Williams said. “This is what people feared…we know what this looks like, because if you study history at all, you know exactly what this is.”  Williams said freedom, the Constitution and democracy itself are at stake under the current government. He also expressed concern over the recent capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife in a special U.S. military operation in Caracas on Jan. 3.  As Williams spoke, a blue Ford truck drove east through the intersection while crossing pedestrians had the right of way.  After ensuring nobody was hit by the vehicle, Williams continued talking.  “We literally just watched our government take another president from another government and now you have their foot soldiers killing American citizens,” Williams said. “But this one was more blatant because this one was completely videotaped.”  The inflatable frog appears at the Salem Stands with Minneapolis Protest on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026 (LAURA TESLER/For Salem Reporter) Contact reporter Joe Siess: [email protected]. LOCAL NEWS DELIVERED TO YOU: Subscribe to Salem Reporter and get all the fact-based Salem news that matters to you. 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