{"id":260095,"date":"2026-01-12T06:59:51","date_gmt":"2026-01-12T13:59:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/montanafreepress.org\/?p=260095"},"modified":"2026-01-12T10:18:22","modified_gmt":"2026-01-12T17:18:22","slug":"hundreds-gather-in-missoula-for-vigil-honoring-renee-good","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/montanafreepress.org\/2026\/01\/12\/hundreds-gather-in-missoula-for-vigil-honoring-renee-good\/","title":{"rendered":"Hundreds statewide hold vigils to mark the death of the Minnesota woman killed by ICE agent\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

MISSOULA \u2014 Roughly 600 people gathered on Beartracks Bridge on Sunday evening to honor Renee Good<\/a>, a Minnesota mother and poet who was shot and killed by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Minneapolis on Jan. 7.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The vigil, organized by Indivisible Missoula and Missoula Resists, also marked the deaths of others killed by ICE agents during the second term of President Donald Trump. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There were more than 1,000 \u201cIce Out for Good\u201d events planned for the weekend, according to the coalition of organizing groups<\/a>. Protesters took to the streets<\/a> of Minneapolis, New York City, and Washington, D.C., on Saturday and Sunday. Demonstrators in Portland, Oregon, rallied Saturday outside of a hospital where ICE brings detainees injured during arrests, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting<\/a>. Federal agents shot and injured two people in Portland on Jan. 8. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

About 100 people joined a vigil held by community groups outside Helena\u2019s federal courthouse<\/a> on Friday. Vigils and protests were planned in recent days in Bozeman<\/a>, Butte<\/a>, Red Lodge<\/a>, Kalispell<\/a>, Whitefish and Lake County, according to the national coalition. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Missoula, many vigil participants held candles and stopped to read three cardboard signs listing the names of more than 30 people, along with Good, who died in ICE custody in 2025 and so far in 2026. Signs also included the name Keith Porter, Jr., who was shot and killed by an off-duty ICE agent<\/a> in Los Angeles on New Year\u2019s Eve. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Organizer Meredith Printz of Missoula said the groups decided on a candlelight vigil without speeches for solemnity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHuman lives have value, and it just feels like this regime does not see it that way,\u201d she said. \u201cWe need to honor the people that have fallen and call attention to what\u2019s going on and give people a chance to come together and mourn and raise our voices in song.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At 4:45 p.m., people threw blocks and cubes of ice into the Clark Fork River to represent the demand for ICE to leave communities. Robin Brown, who stood by one of the several coolers of ice stationed along the bridge, said she attended the vigil because \u201cwhat\u2019s happening in our country is wrong and what happened to Renee Good is horrendous.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI just want to stand up and say, \u2018I won\u2019t tolerate this,\u2019\u2019\u2019 she said. \u201cIt\u2019s not what the American people believe in as a whole.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Barron Peper with Missoula Sings, a group that organizes community gatherings, led the group in several songs, including \u201cAnd When I Rise\u201d and \u201cThis Little Light of Mine.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Peper said song can help people connect more deeply during protests. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo often we don’t just need solutions and actions,\u201d he said. \u201cWe need to feel things, and we need to feel things together and have experiences together so we can metabolize what’s happening so that when we actually go out and do something, it’s coming from a place that is grounded in togetherness not in reactivity and anger or hate.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Throughout the hour-long vigil, cars crossing the Beartracks Bridge honked in support of the group. Many people were holding signs honoring Good or with anti-ICE slogans, including \u201cICE out now,\u201d \u201cJustice for Renee Good,\u201d and \u201cWe saw the video,\u201d referring to the dueling descriptions of the incident<\/a> leading to Good\u2019s death. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Lauren\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>
Abbey Guza and her daughter threw ice off the Beartracks Bridge into the Clark Fork River to symbolize \u201cICE getting out of their community\u201d during a vigil Jan. 11, 2026, in Missoula.
Credit:<\/span> Lauren Miller, Montana Free Press, CatchLight Local\/Report for America<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Protester Sophie Trudgeon held a fabric sign that read \u201cI\u2019m pissed\u201d on one side and \u201cf\u2014 ICE\u201d on the other. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI’m just really upset by the actions of ICE and the entire Trump administration,\u201d she said. \u201cI feel like they’re violating [the] Constitution, civil rights and really attacking our Black and brown neighbors who have made this country so great.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rose Zee, an organizer with Missoula Resists, said the group has taken several immigration-related actions in the last year, including holding protests and encouraging outreach to elected officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re seeing first-hand communities that are terrified, communities that are being torn apart and lives lost,\u201d she said. \u201cAll of us are grieving separately. It’s really important that we come together as a community, and what you can see today with the hundreds \u2026 [of] people who are here is that our community is distraught, and our community is ready to take action. And so we’re happy to provide a way for people to come together, find community, but also figure out how they can take action.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

ICE IN MONTANA<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

In Montana, the most recent high-profile ICE action occurred in July 2025 when federal officers detained Christopher Martinez Marvin<\/a> following a traffic stop. The 31-year-old Mexican citizen had been living in Helena on and off since 2008. Law enforcement officers were jointly pursuing a different man who they said was subject to a criminal warrant when they pulled over Martinez Marvan in an apparent case of mistaken identity. Martinez Marvan was taken to a Customs and Border Patrol station and then to the Cascade County Detention Center in Great Falls, according to court documents. Attorneys for Martinez Marvin argued for his release,<\/a> saying racial profiling led to his arrest. A federal judge denied his petition for release<\/a>, citing a lack of jurisdiction over the case. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"Lauren\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>
Marcia Rundle and Ali Solomon were among about 600 community members who joined a vigil for Renee Good along the Beartracks Bridge on Jan. 11, 2026, in Missoula. Good was shot and killed by an ICE agent in Minneapolis on on Jan. 7, 2026.
Credit:<\/span> Lauren Miller, Montana Free Press, CatchLight Local\/Report for America<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Rose Zee, of Missoula Resists, and Danica Nelson, of Indivisible Missoula, helped set up a memorial for Renee Good and others killed by ICE agents along the Beartracks Bridge on Jan. 11, 2026, in Missoula.
Credit:<\/span> Lauren Miller, Montana Free Press, CatchLight Local\/Report for America<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The incident sparked outrage<\/a> across the state. Helena community members demanded information from officials. Missoula residents gathered outside the federal courthouse to express support for Martinez Marvin during a July hearing. Cascade County Detention Center is the only jail in Montana with a contract to hold immigration detainees for longer than 72 hours, and Great Falls residents condemned the county\u2019s role<\/a> during a July meeting. That same month, the Flathead Beacon reported<\/a> that U.S. Border Patrol officers arrested eight people over the course of two traffic stops in Whitefish. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Last April, Beker Enrique Rengifo del Castillo, a 33-year-old Venezuelan man living in Kalispell under legal immigration status, was pulled over<\/a> and detained in the custody of ICE. He spent almost one week in ICE custody before being released<\/a>.  <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The following month, ICE reportedly took 17 people into custody<\/a> at a construction site in Bigfork. In May of last year, immigration authorities deported eight children<\/a>, some of whom are U.S. citizens, following the arrest of 21 people near the Montana-Canada border. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last fall, authorities arrested and detained Justin Grzeb, a United Kingdom citizen who married a U.S. citizen. Grzeb was riding his bike in Havre<\/a> when a Customs and Border Protection officer reportedly pulled him over. A mother and daughter from Honduras<\/a> who were living in the Flathead Valley were arrested and detained in November after arriving at the scene of a car crash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Community members gathered to mourn Renee Good along Beartracks Bridge on Jan. 11, 2026, in Missoula. Good was shot and killed by an ICE agent in Minneapolis on Jan. 7, 2026.
Credit:<\/span> Lauren Miller, Montana Free Press, CatchLight Local\/Report for America<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"Lauren\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>
Around 600 community members threw ice off Beartracks Bridge into the Clark Fork River to symbolize \u201cICE getting out of their community\u201d on Jan. 11, 2026, in Missoula.
Credit:<\/span> Lauren Miller, Montana Free Press, CatchLight Local\/Report for America<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"Lauren\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>
Chloe Vyzral teared up as she sang to mourn Renee Good during a vigil along the Beartracks Bridge on Jan. 11, 2026, in Missoula. Good was shot and killed by an ICE agent in Minneapolis on Jan. 7, 2026.
Credit:<\/span> Lauren Miller, Montana Free Press, CatchLight Local\/Report for America<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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The community group Missoula Sings led about 600 people in songs, including “And When I Rise” and “This Little Light of Mine,” during a vigil for Renee Good along Beartracks Bridge on Jan. 11, 2026, in Missoula.
Credit:<\/span> Lauren Miller, Montana Free Press, CatchLight Local\/Report for America<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Posters, including one of Renee Good, candles, and American flags were seen at the vigil Jan. 11. 2026, in Missoula.
Credit:<\/span> Lauren Miller, Montana Free Press, CatchLight Local\/Report for America<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"Lauren\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>
Around 600 community members join together in song during a vigil for Renee Good along Beartracks Bridge on Jan. 11, 2026, in Missoula. Good was shot and killed by an ICE agent in Minneapolis on Jan. 7, 2026.
Credit:<\/span> Lauren Miller, Montana Free Press, CatchLight Local\/Report for America<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>
Barron Peper, of Missoula Sings, leads the crowd in song during a vigil for Renee Good along the Beartracks Bridge on Jan. 11, 2026, in Missoula. Good was shot and killed by an ICE agent in Minneapolis on Jan. 7, 2026. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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A mourner ran across Higgins Avenue to head home after a vigil for Renee Good in Missoula. Community members spread across both sides of the bridge on Jan. 11, 2026, with candles, signs and ice.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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A memorial for everyone killed by ICE in 2025 sits on the Beartracks Bridge on Jan. 11, 2026, in Missoula. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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