STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK
Wood River Valley citizens are staging what they call an Emergency Protest against ICE on Saturday.
The peaceful protest will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 10, on the northwest corner of Main and Bullion streets in downtown Hailey.
Organizers are asking people to bring their signs, bring their friends and stand up for truth and humanity.
The protest was organized in the aftermath of an ICE agent shooting and killing 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and her officials labeled the woman a violent rioter who was weaponizing her vehicle to run over the federal agent they claim was defending himself. And Trump press secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed without evidence that the shooting was part of a sinister left-wing conspiracy to impede law enforcement who, she said, “are under organized attack.”
Vice President JD Vance also claimed without evidence that the woman who was killed was part of a broader left-wing network to attack, doxx, assault and make it impossible for ICE agents to do their job.
But Minneapolis officials say that bystander videos show that the mother of three was trying to leave the area after agents stuck their arms through the window and told her to “get out of the f-ing car.” She was driving away from the agent when he fired a shot.
The Hailey protest is one of many that have sprung up since the shooting. Protesters gathered outside Boise's City Hall Thursday night.
“Right now, the administration is lying,” said Hailey resident Helen Stone. “There’s video of what happened. And she was trying to get out of the way and they killed her.”
ICE’s deportations without due process during the past year are inhumane, Stone added.
“They’re destroying families, destroying people who have been here forever and are raising their children here. Every day we wake up to some new monstrosity.”
“2026 is here, and while we hoped for a gentler start, our work is calling us quickly and clearly,” added Deborah Silver, Blaine County Democrats chairwoman. “The attacks on truth, justice and basic humanity continue—and our voices and presence matter more than ever.”