More than 200 gather in State College to protest ICE after killing of Renee Good
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- More than 200 gathered in State College to mourn Renee Good and protest ICE.
- Speakers and officials cited video evidence and accused federal narratives of falsehood.
- Organizers promoted local rapid-response resources and urged community solidarity.
More than 200 people — many bundled in winter caps and parkas — braved the cold in downtown State College on Saturday afternoon to protest U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and memorialize Renee Nicole Good, the Minneapolis woman killed by an immigration officer Wednesday.
The gathering at the Allen Street Gates was part of a nationwide weekend of “ICE Out For Good” protests organized by Indivisible, which previously helped set up last year’s large-scale “No Kings” rallies. More than 1,000 similar events were scheduled to take place across the country — with nearby protests also in Altoona and Williamsport.
Some held lit candles in State College, while many more carried poster boards and cardboard signs scribbled with messages like “Mothers Against ICE” and “Keep the immigrants. Deport the racists.” Some expressed grief, some anger — and many more expressed both.
“We have to speak the truth about what we’re seeing in our country and come together as a community to say, ‘We don’t stand for this,’ ” State College Mayor Ezra Nanes told the crowd. “We stand for upholding people’s rights in the Constitution, and that’s what today is about.”
Renee Good, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen and mother of three, was shot and killed Wednesday by an ICE agent in her SUV near a Minneapolis ICE operation. Good’s wife said that they’d stopped “to support our neighbors,” and Minneapolis leaders have said Good was there as a legal observer of ICE activity. Federal officials have claimed the officer was “in fear of his life” and then Good attempted to hit the officer with the SUV. But witnesses and Minneapolis officials say video clearly shows she was trying to get out of the way, had no intention to hit the officer and never did.
In one video before the shooting, she tells the recording officer in a calm tone, while smiling, “That’s fine, dude. I’m not mad at you.”
President Donald Trump initially claimed Good ran over the ICE officer and he was recovering in the hospital. Video and multiple news outlets have confirmed that to be a lie, a point emphasized by Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, who called the Trump administration’s statements a “garbage narrative.”
Nanes, who was re-elected mayor last fall, echoed much of Frey’s sentiment Saturday.
“We saw the videos. We know the truth,” Nanes said. “And what that video shows does not match the narrative being propagandized by the federal government.”
Nanes was asked to speak at the roughly 45-minute event, but he was one of many to take the microphone while passing cars honked in support. To start the protest, organizers first opened the microphone to anyone who felt compelled to speak.
Timothy Smith, who said he joined the Army and served in military intelligence, was one of the first. He told the growing crowd that he saw how America was once a light for freedom and liberty. He watched the Berlin Wall come down, he said. He saw nuclear weapons disarmed.
But the world doesn’t see a shining light anymore when it looks at America, he continued.
“Whether it’s a mother in a car saying, ‘No, I have nothing against you’ and then she’s shot dead or whether it’s ICE agents cracking down doors or whether it’s a vice president saying we’re going to go door to door,” Smith said, his voice rising, “it’s time to stop it and stop it now. And tell your friends and tell those who are scared, don’t be scared.
“Together we can change. Together we can make it better. We are not divided. We are indivisible.”
One woman, a dual citizen, shared that she has been scared. “So I’m here because I needed you,” she told the crowd. “Thank you for being here.”
Saturday’s gathering served several purposes, organizers said. But the overarching reason was so people in the greater community know they’re not alone — in both their fears and their hopes.
Multiple State College Borough council members and other elected officials took part in Saturday’s event because they felt similarly. State College Council President Evan Myers, who did not speak publicly Saturday, told the CDT he attended because he wanted residents to know their elected representatives will do whatever they can to protect them.
“We stand for human rights, and the basic human right is the right to be able to live your life free from fear and intimidation,” he said. “And too many people are living their lives like that locally.”
After a prolonged moment of silence early on, the downtown atmosphere became more lively at the gates. Many in the crowd shouted in agreement with the speakers, and dozens waved to acknowledge honking cars’ support.
Several people arrived in wheelchairs, and the crowd appeared to consist mainly of residents above college-age. (Penn State students start class Monday, and many had left for winter break.) One gray-haired man held a large upside-down American flag, a signal of distress, while speakers emphasized that small towns may not be spared from ICE for long.
“It can happen here,” Rev. Tracy Sprowls, minister of Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Centre County, told the CDT. “I mean, ICE is showing up here. People were taken this summer. We need people to be aware.”
Sprowls was referring to the Aug. 19 ICE operation that consisted of traffic stops on Interstate 99 and Route 220 near Bellefonte. About 24 individuals were detained.
Sprowls helped hand out wristbands and other materials Saturday for the Centre County Rapid Response Network, which was created to alert the community about ICE. The network helped organize Saturday’s local event alongside Indivisible, and each wristband had the network’s number printed on them: 814-264-4626.
“You don’t have to be afraid by yourself,” Sprowls said. “There’s a community that’s going to hold you.”
Some protesters will again gather at 1:30 p.m. Sunday at the I-99 overpass at the Toftrees exit (near Waddle Road and Colonnade Boulevard), where they plan to unveil a large message that reads, “BE BRAVE RESIST TYRANNY.” And student groups are organizing an ICE protest in support of Renee Good at 7 p.m. Monday at a place TBD.
“Help us make the change,” said Suzanne Weinstein, one of the leaders of Centre County’s Indivisible chapter. “We can do it. Don’t be hopeless — because that’s what they want you to be.”
This story was originally published January 10, 2026 at 7:49 PM.
