Rallies and vigils took place across the country Thursday in response to the death of Renee Nicole Good, the 37-year-old woman shot inside her vehicle by an ICE officer in Minneapolis.
In Portland, hundreds of people holding cardboard signs and candles converged on Monument Square to express outrage and grief over Good's killing at the hands of ICE agents.
[SONG: Courage, my friend, you do not walk alone...]
At the rally and vigil, organized by groups including Resources for Organizing and Social Change, No ICE for ME, the Party for Socialism and Liberation, Maine Democratic Socialists of America, and Project Relief, a handful of local politicians, activists and faith leaders urged those gathered to choose solidarity and hope over desperation and fear.
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Troy Jackson told the crowd assembled that what happened to Good was murder.
"And when I think about that, I think about my wife, my mother, you know, my kids, my daughter-in-law," said Jackson. "I think about all the people I know and how it could have been any one of them. It could have been any one of us. Most likely, if we don't do anything, it will be any one of us."
Protester Elizabeth Murphy, from Portland, echoed the sentiment, and says she was sickened to hear about the shooting.
"This is a thing we've all been dreading. We've all known this day would come when somebody would be killed. And it could be any one of us," Murphy said. "And so, we have to stand up. We have to remember her and honor her and fight back and show that we're not going to be intimidated, and we're not going to be frightened off."
Cindy Perkins, of Harpswell, says Good's death is profoundly horrific, and very frightening. She said her hope for the gathering is that "it gets people out to speak up and say we were not this isn't okay with us. This isn't how we want our country to be run."
Dave Shoemaker, a retired Army veteran, was waving a flag showing a caricature of President Trump, with a pig's body and a Nazi arm band, and the words "Fascist Pedo Pig."
Shoemaker said he decided to attend the rally because he's feeling a lot of anger right now.
"Coming out tonight gives me a chance to get with like-minded people, but to calm down as well. And to create that sense of community that together, by staying calm and educating other people. we can do the right thing and help peacefully take our country back," said Shoemaker.
While eye-witness accounts and videos suggest Good may have been trying to escape from the ICE officers present, the Trump administration maintains the federal agent acted in self-defense.
