On Jan. 24, a second fatal shooting involving federal agents took place in Minneapolis. This happened less than three weeks after Renee Good was shot and killed, putting the debate of federal agents in Minnesota back on the forefront. 

In the wake of the Good shooting, I maligned the Trump administration and Democrats alike for speaking irresponsibly about the matter, fanning the flames in Minnesota. I stand by that, but the Trump administration is being particularly grotesque in both their denigration of the victims and their lying to the American public. 

President Donald Trump claimed Jan. 26 that he and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz had a productive phone call, and for the moment he's stressing cooperation on the matters in Minnesota, but that could be too little too late after nearly a month of escalating tensions from both sides of the matter.

The American public is sharply divided about Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s operations in Minnesota, and even more so in the wake of the two lethal shootings by federal immigration agents. A responsible presidential administration seeking to show leadership would be trying to ease the tensions, not add more powder to the keg. 

I like to begin columns about shootings with a plain description of what happened in the incident because I believe it gives the reader and me a common understanding of the baseline. However, I encourage........

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