Earl Ofari Hutchinson
Renee Good and Keith Porter. Two individuals that were as far apart as the sun and the moon in their background and lives. Good was white and female. Porter was African American and male. They lived nearly a country away from each other in Minneapolis and Los Angeles. One was a college graduate. The other was a manager at a retail outlet.
Yet, in one horrific moment they have three things in common.
The first. Both were murdered by ICE agents.
The second. Trump and Homeland Security boss Kristi Noem defended the shootings. Noem claimed Porter was an “active shooter.” This was a lie. Trump claimed Good tried to run over an ICE agent. He called the shooting “self-defense.” This was a lie too.
Porter like thousands of other New Year Eve revelers was shooting a gun in the air as thousands of others did that night in celebration. He posed no threat to anyone. Video footage shows clearly that Good was not endangering the ICE agent.
The third. Their murders by ICE agents is deadly proof that ICE with Trump’s fervent blessing has become a dangerous, out of control, lawless , and now murderous agency. That was shown in its various takeovers of cities under the guise of a crime crackdown. That was shown in the countless instances of harassment, illegal arrests, and raids, and endless incidents of abuse it committed. Now that was shown in the murders of Good and Porter.
There is no chance that a Trump appointed US attorney will bring charges against the ICE agents. However, that does not mean that the call for their arrest and prosecution should not be made. That call alone represents the closest thing to accountability and transparency that ICE and Homeland Security will even remotely recognize. That gives it some value. It shows that many who along with this writer have made the call for their arrest and prosecution still believe in accountability and the rule of law.
That’s why I call, and will continue to call, for the arrest and prosecution of the ICE agents that murdered Good and Porter.
Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an author and political analyst. He hosts the weekly news and issues commentary radio show The Hutchinson Report Wednesdays 6 PM PST 9 PM EST at ktymgospel.net. and Facebook Livestreamed at https://www.facebook.com/earl.o.hutchinson