Minnesota state Sen. Nathan Wesenberg urged state and local leaders to tone down their rhetoric after Wednesday's Immigration and Customs Enforcement shooting.
He told Newsmax that officials should be calming unrest in the wake of the incident instead of encouraging confrontation.
Wesenberg, speaking Thursday morning during an appearance on "National Report," said that public figures are "fanning the flames" at a moment when Minnesotans need stability and restraint.
Renee Nicole Good, 37, was fatally shot by an ICE agent in Minneapolis Wednesday morning while allegedly participating in an immigration enforcement protest after, federal officials say, she tried to ram agents with her vehicle.
"The events that happened are unfortunate," Wesenberg said, warning that some elected officials are telling residents "to go out and protest and fight back against ICE," which he called "inappropriate."
"We need to be peaceful," he continued. "This isn't the Minnesota I grew up in.
"People get along, and we want to work together."
Wesenberg said leaders should be discouraging chaos and urging the public to follow law enforcement guidance as investigators work to determine what happened in the shooting.
"We need to tone down the rhetoric," he said. "We need to listen to law enforcement and not go out and try to cause chaos."
Wesenberg also criticized language he said is being used to demonize political opponents and inflame tensions surrounding immigration enforcement.
"They're calling us Nazis," Wesenberg, a Republican, said, adding that Minnesota Democrat Gov. Tim Walz "said yesterday that Republicans are racist and hate brown people."
"That's not true," he said.
Wesenberg stressed that officials should allow investigators to do their jobs and avoid rushing to judgment, noting he was not present at the scene.
"We need to let the law enforcement do the investigation on this," he said.
"I wasn't there; we weren't there. But we also need to stand with our law enforcement."
He said officers and agents face life-or-death moments that outsiders may not fully understand.
"They put their lives on the line protecting us," Wesenberg said. "They have split-second decisions — and they want to go home at night."
He connected the current unrest to what he described as years of permissive governance in Minnesota, targeting Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, and local policing policy.
"The last eight years Walz has been in office, it's been leading up to this," he said, saying that city leaders have "handcuffed" the police while criticizing federal action.
"We need to get back to law and order and not all this chaos," Wesenberg said.
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Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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