Former Metropolitan Police Department officer Mike Fanone ignited fresh controversy Thursday after suggesting that Americans may need to consider using force against federal law enforcement agencies following a fatal shooting during an immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis. The remarks, made during an episode of the “Lincoln Square” podcast, immediately drew condemnation from Department of Homeland Security officials and intensified an already volatile national debate over ICE operations and public safety.
The comments came in response to the shooting death of Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent during what DHS described as a targeted enforcement operation. According to Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin, the agent acted in self-defense after Good allegedly attempted to strike him with her vehicle. Video later released by Alpha News appears to show the agent being hit by the vehicle moments before he fired the shots.
Fanone, who has become a prominent media figure since responding to the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot, framed the incident as evidence that ICE has become, in his words, “unaccountable and lawless.”
Speaking to podcast co-host Mara May, he criticized local and state leaders for what he characterized as empty rhetoric, demanding to know how they planned to protect residents from federal enforcement actions. He dismissed calls for calm and peaceful protest and escalated his argument by invoking the Second Amendment, suggesting that armed self-organization may be necessary if authorities fail to act.
J6 cop Michael Fanone says to shoot ICE agents
“It’s time for the American people to organize and utilize their 2nd Amendment right to protect themselves from what has clearly become an unaccountable and lawless agency that’s killing Americans” pic.twitter.com/Vht3RdqWkV
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) January 9, 2026
His remarks echoed, and amplified, inflammatory language used earlier by Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, who told ICE to “get the fuck out of” the city on the day of the shooting. Fanone praised that sentiment while simultaneously arguing it was insufficient without concrete action, drawing a sharp line between political statements and direct intervention.
The comments were particularly striking given Fanone’s prior public positions. He testified before the House Jan. 6 select committee, repeatedly labeling the Capitol riot an “insurrection” and its participants “terrorists.”
He has since been treated as a symbol of resistance to political violence, making his apparent endorsement of armed resistance against a federal agency all the more jarring to critics. In the years following Jan. 6, Fanone appeared frequently on CNN and MSNBC, met with then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and was publicly praised as a hero by Democratic leaders.
DHS officials responded forcefully. McLaughlin condemned Fanone’s statements as “incendiary and immature,” pointing to the newly released video as confirmation that the ICE agent acted in self-defense. She emphasized that officers have faced a surge of violent resistance, noting that Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem recently cited more than 100 ramming attacks against agents in recent weeks, including three in Minneapolis alone.
