British News Agency

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said, “Withdraw these forces from Minnesota. They are spreading chaos and violence.” Amid growing protests against ongoing deportation operations in the U.S. state of Minnesota, a 37-year-old man was shot and killed by federal agents.

This was the third such incident involving federal agents in recent weeks. Democratic Governor Tim Walz called in the Minnesota National Guard to assist police. Walz appeared visibly distressed while addressing the public on Saturday evening local time. Taking a hard stance against the federal government, Walz said the state’s efforts were no longer about deporting immigrants.

Walz said, “This is an organized campaign of violence against people in our state. And today, this campaign took another life,” directly addressing the U.S. president as follows:

“Donald Trump, once again I ask you to withdraw these forces from Minnesota. They are spreading chaos and violence. We have repeatedly seen deadly violence stemming from federal agents.”

Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovin said at a press conference on Saturday that the 37-year-old man who was shot and killed was armed, and that the federal agents who shot him did so “in self-defense.”

The New York Times reviewed videos of the incident and reported that when the man was pinned to the ground, he was holding a phone, not a gun.

In his remarks, Tim Walz reiterated what Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara had previously stated, saying that the man who was shot had a permit to carry a firearm.

Walz said, “Fortunately, we have video recordings, because according to DHS (the U.S. Department of Homeland Security), these seven ‘hero men’ were supposedly attacked by an entire battalion or something like that. This is nonsense and a lie.” Trump also shared a photo on his social media platform Truth of the weapon the 37-year-old man was alleged to have been carrying.

Trump wrote, “This is the shooter’s gun, loaded and ready to fire (with two full magazines!). What is this? Where is the local police? Why weren’t they allowed to protect ICE agents?” Trump accused the Minnesota mayor and governor of inciting an insurrection.

“Instead, these hypocritical political fools should be looking for the billions of dollars stolen from the people of Minnesota and the United States. Let our ICE patriots do their jobs,” he wrote.