Dana R Fisher

On Wednesday, January 7th, 37-year-old Renee Nicole Macklin Good was shot in the head by an ICE agent less than a mile from where George Floyd was killed by police in 2020. While the details of the shooting are still coming out, videos by bystanders from various angles contradict claims made by members of the Trump Administration. Like in summer 2020, the shooting and debates about what happened and why an ICE agent shot at an unarmed American citizen while she drove away from the scene have sparked protests in the city where the shooting took place–Minneapolis–as well as in various other cities across the US. The question on my mind right now is: will we see a massive wave of protest across the US like we did after George Floyd was murdered in summer 2020?

To answer that question, it’s worth thinking about the similarities and differences between summer 2020 and winter 2026 (for more on what made the protests against the murder of George unique in early June 2020, read my piece here).

Here are some of the similarities that are notable:

• Location. It’s all started in Minneapolis, MN (in fact, the shooting on 1/7/26 took place less than a mile from where George Floyd was murdered).
• Who was murdered. The person murdered was unarmed.
• Political context. The murder took place while Donald Trump was president and his Administration and its policies had motivated a broad Resistance across the US that involved a heightened period of protest.

At the same time, there are important differences:

• The race of the victim. George Floyd was Black and Renee Good was White.
• Who did the murdering. The Minneapolis police vs ICE. Note these branches of law enforement have very different responses to protest and resistance that matters.
• The movement that mobilized in response. In summer of 2020, the Black Lives Matter movement had already been active across the US for years. As a result, there was a dense network of trained activists prepared to mobilize in response to the shooting of an unarmed Black man. After the initial mobilization, we saw the broader Resistance movement mobilize in solidarity.
• Social context. Summer 2020 was in the middle of the pandemic when many were anxious after months of lockdown while winter 2026 is a period of heightened anxiety after a year of the Trump Administration’s effort to implement Project 2025. Moreover, there is growing conflict between the federal and state authorities that is clearly visible after 36 hours and is likely to grow.

The next few days will determine what comes next. The conflict in Minnesota can spread into massive peaceful demonstration across the US (like we saw in summer 2020) or could escalate into violence. There’s no question that the actions of political officials from all parties and scales of government, along with members of the general public and the organizations that work to channel public outrage into action will play a big role in these next few days.