Newsom Accuses Trump of Deploying His “personal police”

California Governor Gavin Newsom used social media to publicly express his anger toward Donald Trump and his administration following an incident in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in which an ICE agent fired at point-blank range and killed a 37-year-old woman, a local resident who was inside her vehicle and attempting to leave after being approached by several agents who had just exited unmarked vehicles. According to accounts of the incident, the woman was not armed and was trying to drive away when the confrontation escalated, a sequence of events that Newsom described as emblematic of an aggressive enforcement strategy that prioritizes fear and force over restraint. In his reaction, the governor directly placed responsibility on the president, accusing him of fostering an environment in which such actions become possible and even predictable, writing that the killing was the result of «His deliberate escalation of intimidation and chaos».

Newsom went even further on his press account on X, where he explicitly described the incident as «STATE. SPONSORED. TERRORISM.», a characterization that underscored the severity of his condemnation and marked one of his strongest public attacks to date on the Trump administration's immigration enforcement tactics.

In the hours after the fatal shooting in Minneapolis, the Trump administration moved quickly to frame the 37-year-old woman's actions in the harshest possible terms, with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem publicly claiming that what occurred amounted to «an act of domestic terrorism» by the driver, asserting that «she attacked them and those surrounding them and attempted to run them over with her vehicle» while defending the ICE officer's use of force as a necessary response. Meanwhile, the president weighed in on social media, portraying the encounter in similarly severe language, calling the woman «very disorderly, obstructing and resisting, who then violently, willfully, and viciously ran over the ICE Officer», a characterization he presented as justification for the shooting while insisting the agent «seems to have shot her in self defense». These official assertions, issued before the release of comprehensive video evidence and as investigations remain ongoing, have further intensified the political controversy surrounding the case and fueled public outrage over the administration's handling of the killing.

In a strongly worded post, California Governor Gavin Newsom accused Donald Trump of bearing direct responsibility for the climate that led to the fatal shooting of a 37-year-old U.S. citizen, writing that « For almost a year, Donald Trump's personal police force has rampaged across America » and asserting that «His administration has driven extremism and cruelty while discarding basic safeguards and accountability». He framed the woman's death as a direct consequence of this approach, stating bluntly «Now, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen is dead», before assigning responsibility without ambiguity by adding «Donald Trump owns this». Newsom further warned that «His deliberate escalation of intimidation and chaos has consequences», concluding with a call for an immediate change in policy, insisting that «His reckless crackdown must end».

The events that unfolded yesterday sparked widespread public outrage and quickly transformed into a moment of collective mourning and protest, as residents and activists reacted to the fatal shooting with a mix of shock, anger, and grief. Throughout the day, demonstrations emerged near the site of the incident and in surrounding neighborhoods, with participants denouncing what they described as an excessive and unjustified use of force, while demanding accountability from federal authorities. By evening, a vigil was organized to honor the 37-year-old woman who was killed, drawing a diverse crowd of community members, local leaders, and civil rights advocates who gathered with candles, flowers, and handwritten signs to pay tribute to her life. The atmosphere was somber but resolute, as speakers emphasized solidarity with the victim's family and warned against the normalization of such deaths.