CNN's Scott Jennings faced pushback for blaming "Democratic rhetoric" for the fatal shooting of a woman by an ICE agent in Minneapolis.
A federal immigration agent fired three shots into a vehicle during a raid, killing 37-year-old driver Renee Good, who President Donald Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem accused of being a domestic terrorist who was attempting to harm the agent, and Jennings told "CNN News Central" those remarks immediately in the aftermath were not necessary.
"Probably not, but thatdoesn't mean she shouldn't goout and defend the ICE agent," Jennings said. "Itdoesn't mean that I wouldn'texpect DHS to defend theiragents who are routinely underattack around the country. We'veseen hundreds of car incidentsin ICE operations around thecountry. The correct question tobe asking, I think, today is whywas this incident occurring inthe first place? Why is there aconvoy of vehicles, according toseveral witnesses, attempting toimpede a perfectly legitimatefederal law enforcementsituation? So I think arguingabout the rhetoric perfectlyfine to me."
Jennings argued the shooting was incited by criticism of the administration's immigration crackdown by Democratic officials.
"I want to get to theroot cause of why there is agroup of people in this countrywho believe it is theirresponsibility to drive convoysof vehicles into perfectlylegitimate federal lawenforcement situations," Jennings said. "I thinksome of this goes back to,frankly, Democraticrhetoric, because that's whatthey've been instructed to doby the Democrats who aredemonizing these ICE agents."
Democratic strategist Matt Bennett strongly disagreed.
"No, the right question is whythe president of the United States and the secretary of Homeland Security have labeled amother of three who was tryingto comply with law enforcementinstructions, trying to get outof the way – she was steering tothe right as she was leaving – adomestic terrorist with noevidence whatsoever," Bennett said, "and that isthe rhetoric that is the mostproblematic. It's the presidentof the United States that setsthe tone, and he's responding tothis horrible tragedy, the deathof a mother of three with nohumanity whatsoever."
"This womanmay have been, you know, parkedin the wrong place," Bennett added. "She mighthave been not following lawenforcement instructions, butthat is not a death penaltyoffense in the United States, and moreover, she and others areperfectly within their rights toexercise their First Amendmentrights to talk about whether ornot ICE should be flooding 2,000agents on the streets of Minneapolis when the people ofthat city and that state don'twant them there. So the mostimportant rhetoric here is fromthe president."
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