Earl Ofari Hutchinson
It is illegal. It is at times dangerous. But it is a tradition that is as American as Apple Pie. That is celebrating the end of the old year and start of a new year on New Years Eve with a few celebratory pot shots in the air. Countless numbers of Americans yearly adhere to this long-standing rite. However, it has never cost anyone their life.
That horrifically changed on New Years Eve 2025 in Northridge. Keith Porter as was customary with thousands of others celebrated the start of the new year 2026 by firing a few rounds in the air. That should have been the end of it. Except for one thing. An off-duty unidentified ICE agent claiming that he or she believed Porter was an “active shooter” gunned down Porter. There was no report by anyone else in the apartment complex where Porter lived of an active shooter. There was no report that Porter’s action endangered anyone in the complex. There was no call for the LAPD to surveil the complex. In short, it was solely the ICE agent’s call that Porter was a threat.
The agent has two powerful shields. One is Homeland Security, under which ICE operates. Within moments of the slaying, Homeland Security issued a statement backing the agent and repeating the uncorroborated and totally fictitious lie that Porter was an active shooter. The shooter in effect was fully exonerated.
The second is Trump. His stone silence on the Porter shooting was tantamount to an exoneration.
Neither Trump nor Homeland Security bothered to ask these questions. One, if there was no report that Porter was a threat let alone an active shooter why did the ICE agent take it upon his or herself to be judge, jury and executioner of Porter?
Two, if the agent felt Porter was a threat why not make a simple call to the LAPD to investigate and act? Three, why is an off-duty ICE agent resorting to gunplay without any authorization? Four, why did the agency feel that it had to swiftly and immediately issue a statement fully backing the agent without waiting to get all the details of what actually happened? Five, why if the agency was totally confident its agent acted lawfully and responsibly, it refused all calls to publicly identify its shooter?
This last point is especially galling given that the identity–complete with full blown photos of the agent who gunned down Renee Good in Minneapolis–was quickly made public.
The identification of the agent that killed Porter was crucial. Homeland Security is a public government agency. Transparency and accountability are absolute requisites for public agencies. When there is any hint of wrongdoing by the agency or its operatives, it has a duty and obligation to make full public disclosure of who is involved and what action it is taking to punish the offenders. That was not the case with the porter slaying.
The slaying of Porter by an ICE agent again was 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 countless instances of harassment, illegal arrests, and raids, and endless incidents of abuse it has committed, and continue to commit. It was on hideous display in the killing of Good and Porter. But they were hardly the first victims of ICE violence. There have been reports of other shootings.
A private research firm, Trace, which tracks ICE gunplay during its sweeps and raids has identified sixteen incidents where ICE agents discharged weapons. In addition, it found fifteen other incidents where agents held an individual at gunpoint. Five others, like Good, were shot while driving away from traffic stops or evading an enforcement action. In every case, ICE and Homeland Security defended the gunplay. ICE Director Tom Homan recycled the standard rationale when he claimed the ICE agent that killed Good “feared for his life.”
There is absolutely no chance that a Trump appointed U.S. attorney will bring charges against the ICE agent that slew Porter. 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 slew Porter.
Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an author and political analyst. His latest book The ICE Shooting Scorecard (Amazon ebook and Middle Passage Press PB) 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