“It was an outright murder.” These words from Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) were echoed almost immediately by Democratic leaders from coast to coast after an ICE agent shot 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good as she sped toward him in a vehicle. Goldman has become the Madame Defarge of American politics — the character in Charles Dickens’ “A Tale of Two Cities,” who knitted while gleefully raising the heads of aristocrats and counterrevolutionaries during the French Revolution.
Goldman has made a career of rejecting due process for his political opponents while deliberately blinding himself to the behavior of his allies. He has denied the existence of Antifa as an organization, but also claims he has seen no evidence of an increase in attacks on ICE officers.
Apparently he didn’t need any further evidence to declare this officer a murderer: “It was an outright murder. This officer should not only be fired and suspended, but – based on the video – charged.”
Democrats look to push back on ice and accuse Noem after MINNEAPOLIS shooting
The video does not support such a claim. Under current case law, an officer may use deadly force when confronted with an imminent threat to his life or that of fellow officers or third parties.
In this case, the officer had a split second to decide whether to fire his weapon after Good rushed toward him. Good appears to have attempted to flee the officers, and flight alone is not a justification for deadly force. However, when a suspect accelerates toward an officer, the vehicle can be treated like a weapon, allowing the use of deadly force in self-defense.
Goldman is fully aware that past case law supports the officer in this case. However, he is also aware that he will have to deal with a Mamdani-backed socialist, Brad Lander, a popular local politician. Goldman is escalating his rhetoric to appeal to the radical left — from promising impeachments to calling for this officer’s prosecution. This officer is no longer treated as a human being; he is a prop to be used for political gain. If he has to go to jail to secure a third term for Goldman, it’s seen as a small price to pay.
Others have joined the killing mantra, including Mamdani, who declared: “This morning, an ICE agent killed a woman in Minneapolis — just the latest horror in a year of brutality.”
PHOTOS RELEASED OF RENEE NICOLE GOOD, THE US CITIZEN KILLED BY ICE IN MINNESOTA
Mamdani has insisted he would focus on retaining existing NYPD officers rather than adding more. That promise rings hollow when he indicates that officers cannot expect his support if they are involved in controversial shootings. The mayor immediately joined the crowd, rejecting the need for an investigation and declaring the officer a murderer.
In an age of anger, the loudest and angriest voice is king.
That was evident in the profane, unhinged rant from Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, who not only immediately declared the officer a murderer, but also called claims of self-defense “bullsh*t” and told ICE to “get out of town.”
When many of us denounced his behavior, he mocked his critics by apologizing if his profanity would “offend their Disney princess ears.”
WAR ON BADGES: HOUSE GOP TARGETS ANTI-POLICE RHETORY AGAINST ICE ATTACKS
Gov. Tim Walz followed suit. While his head of public safety insisted that officials would not speculate on the outcome of the investigation, Walz stood by him, declaring that Good had been killed without cause and portraying ICE as a terrorist for the state. Walz previously denounced ICE as “Donald Trump’s modern-day Gestapo… taking people off the streets… being shipped off to foreign torture dungeons.” Ironically, he added that these people “have no chance to defend themselves.” This concern apparently does not extend to members of law enforcement.
Goldman, Mamdani, Frey and others are angry traffickers, feeding an addiction in the hope that gangs will propel them to greater power. Law enforcement officers are simply expendable when political advantage is at stake.
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Democrats showed the same cynical calculation in convicting border agents falsely accused of beating migrants at the Texas border. Even after the videotape disproved the claim, leading Democrats and much of the media continued to push the story. The officers were subjected to more than a year of abuse before being exonerated.
There is a method to this madness. As Madame Defarge assured her husband, they must ignore the costs to others because “Nothing we do is in vain. I believe with all my soul that we will see victory.”
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Democrats can indeed “see triumph” through anger politics. However, history shows that today’s revolutionaries often become tomorrow’s reactionaries. Goldman is already facing the challenge from the left that he is not radical enough. Feeding a nation full of rage addicts could prove to be a dangerous endeavor when someone inevitably offers purer, cheaper highs.
For now, though, no one will enrage Goldman and his allies. They remain on a political hair-trigger, longing for triumph in the tragedies of our time.
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