At a Glance
- Bruce Springsteen denounced the fatal ICE shooting of Renee Nicole Good during a Red Bank concert
- He labeled federal agents “heavily armed, masked federal troops” using “Gestapo tactics”
- The singer dedicated “The Promised Land” to Good and urged the crowd to tell President Trump “ICE should get the f— out of Minneapolis”
- Why it matters: The rock legend’s rebuke amplifies local outrage over the killing and the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown
Bruce Springsteen used his Saturday-night stage in New Jersey to condemn the federal immigration raid that left Minneapolis mother Renee Nicole Good dead, comparing U.S. agents to Nazi secret police and demanding they leave the Twin Cities.
‘Gestapo tactics’ in Minneapolis
Springsteen delivered the denunciation at the Light of Day Winterfest at the Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank, according to cellphone video shared by NJ.com. Mid-show he dedicated his 1978 track “The Promised Land” to Good, describing federal officers as “heavily armed, masked federal troops invading an American city, using Gestapo tactics against their fellow citizens.”
The song, he told the crowd, was “an ode to American possibility,” yet the nation’s ideals “are being tested as it has never been in modern times.” He expressed hope his words would reach President Donald Trump and repeated Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey‘s expletive-laced demand that “ICE should get the f— out of Minneapolis.”
The shooting that sparked fury
Good, a mother of three, was shot January 9 while behind the wheel of her SUV in a residential Minneapolis alley. ICE officer Jonathan Ross fired three rounds as the vehicle began to pull away, killing her and igniting local and national backlash.
Federal officials claim Ross acted defensively, asserting the SUV was a “potentially deadly weapon” moving toward him. Cellphone footage shows Good turning the wheel away from Ross before shots ring out. Ross walked off unassisted, but Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said he was later treated for internal bleeding after being struck.
Noem labeled Good’s actions “domestic terrorism,” while Trump, without evidence, called Good and her partner “professional agitators.” Democratic Governor Tim Walz and Mayor Frey have clashed with federal authorities, criticizing both the shooting and the FBI’s decision to exclude local agencies from the investigation.
White House fires back
White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson dismissed Springsteen’s critique in a statement first printed by The New York Times.
“Unfortunately for Bruce, no one cares about his bad political opinions,” Jackson said. “If he actually believed in ‘the power of the law,’ he would understand that criminal illegal aliens should be deported, that impeding federal law enforcement operations is a crime, and that officers have a right to act in self defense if an individual is using their car as a deadly weapon.”
The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a request for comment Sunday.
A neighborhood turned crime scene
Family attorney Antonio M. Romanucci said Good and her partner Becca had just dropped their six-year-old at school when they encountered the ICE operation. They stopped “with the intention of supporting and helping their neighbors,” according to a release cited by News Of Philadelphia. Renee “wanted to see a better world for her kids,” Romanucci added.
The incident is part of a broader federal immigration surge across Minnesota that has produced viral videos of forceful arrests and street clashes. Some residents describe the surge as an “invasion,” noting escalating confrontations between protesters and law-enforcement units.
Springsteen joins chorus of critics
The rock icon follows U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal, podcaster Joe Rogan, and others who have likened ICE tactics to the Gestapo-Nazi Germany’s secret police notorious for torture, disappearances, and sending Jews to concentration camps.
On stage Springsteen urged supporters of “the power of the law” to back demands for federal officers’ withdrawal from Minneapolis. Governor Walz says the Trump administration has barred the state’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension from the shooting investigation, a move he calls a threat to accountability.
Key Takeaways
- Springsteen’s condemnation amplifies growing scrutiny of ICE’s conduct in Minneapolis
- Local Democratic leaders remain at odds with federal officials over both the shooting and the scope of immigration raids
- The family’s attorney insists Good was an observer, not an agitator, when she was killed
- With the FBI keeping state authorities out, questions linger over transparency and accountability in the probe
