Video shared on social media Thursday showed a crowd gathered at Foley Square in New York City chanting “Kristi Noem will hang” while waving anti-ICE signs, according to footage circulated online. The video, posted the same day, captures protesters calling for violence against federal officials, drawing attention to escalating rhetoric surrounding immigration enforcement and federal law enforcement actions.
The demonstration occurred amid heightened scrutiny of federal operations following reports of a shooting involving federal agents in Portland, Oregon. Earlier Thursday afternoon, city leaders and local authorities confirmed that two people were shot during an encounter involving federal law enforcement. According to the New York Times, “Details were scant, but city officials announced that the police responded to a report of gunshots in southeast Portland at 2:18 p.m. Pacific Time. Officers were told a man had been shot and was requesting help; the police found a man and a woman with gunshot wounds, according to a police press release.”
Portland Mayor Keith Wilson later stated that two individuals were “shot and injured by federal agents,” while Portland City Council President Elana Pirtle-Guiney said during a council meeting that both individuals were still alive. Authorities have not released full details about the circumstances of the shooting, and the incident remains under investigation.
In a statement posted on X, the Department of Homeland Security said the shooting occurred while two U.S. Border Patrol agents were conducting “a targeted vehicle stop in Portland, Oregon.” DHS added that “The passenger of the vehicle and target is a Venezuelan illegal alien affiliated with the transnational Tren de Aragua prostitution ring and involved in a recent shooting in Portland. The vehicle driver is believed to be a member of the vicious Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.”
The statement continued, “When agents identified themselves to the vehicle occupants, the driver weaponized his vehicle and attempted to run over the law enforcement agents. Fearing for his life and safety, an agent fired a defensive shot. The driver drove off with the passenger, fleeing the scene. This situation is evolving and more information is forthcoming.”
The Portland incident followed another recent encounter involving Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where ICE officers shot and killed a woman during an operation after she accelerated her vehicle while an agent was positioned in front of it. Together, the events have placed renewed focus on federal law enforcement operations, public safety concerns, and the broader national debate surrounding immigration enforcement, protests, and the boundaries between political expression and threats of violence.
