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President Donald Trump’s newly confirmed drug czar, Sara Carter, sharply criticized Democrats on Wednesday, saying their opposition to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has fueled unrest in Minneapolis and put lives at risk.
“The rhetoric that we’ve seen from Tim Walz and others in the Democratic Party that are pushing for these protests, that are having these people go out into the streets, they’re putting everybody’s life in danger, the lives of the officers, the life of those that are out there protesting,” she said during an appearance on “Hannity.”
Carter’s remarks followed a violent encounter in Minneapolis on Wednesday in which an ICE agent shot and wounded a Venezuelan national in the leg after being ambushed during a targeted stop.
MINNESOTA ANTI-ICE AGITATORS SWARM, CONFRONT FEDERAL AGENTS DURING ENFORCEMENT OPERATIONS
People protest the fatal shooting of Renée Nicole Good by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent during a rally outside the Whipple Building on Jan. 8 in Minneapolis, Minn. (Tim Evans/Reuters)
They also followed last week’s controversial shooting that left 37-year-old Renée Nicole Good dead after she accelerated her vehicle in an ICE agent’s direction.
Carter, addressing Hannity’s question about whether anti-ICE rhetoric could be making officers hesitate before using deadly force, appeared to suggest that the shooting that wounded the Venezuelan national was a byproduct of such criticism.
“Hesitation is an enemy of law enforcement. You’re going to lose your life when you hesitate,” she said.
WOMAN SEEN ON VIDEO ALLEGEDLY BLOCKING MINNESOTA ICE OPERATION WITH CAR AS AGITATORS SURROUND AGENTS
Federal agents confront agitators outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis, Minn., on Jan. 14. (Jamie Vera/Fox News)
Carter went on to defend the administration’s aggressive immigration and drug enforcement strategy, saying President Trump’s priority is protecting American lives and national security through a coordinated federal effort, both at home and abroad.
She described Trump’s efforts — which include immigration enforcement as well as measures to address drug threats from Venezuela — as a “whole-of-government” approach, before warning that protests targeting ICE and law enforcement officers have created what she called a volatile environment on the streets.
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“This is a very volatile and dangerous situation. I want you to know we back the blue, we back our law enforcement and very much so does the president.”
Gov. Tim Walz rejected accusations that he used “inflammatory” language following the initial ICE-involved shooting, saying during a press conference that he has pushed to “find the answers” regarding the situation.
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