Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-WI) said Thursday that his Wisconsin office was targeted by what he described as an individual “fueled by anti-ICE rhetoric,” just hours after a fatal shooting during an immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota sparked nationwide outrage.
In a post on X, Van Orden alleged the individual was “shouting slurs, pounding on our doors, and attempting to force his way inside.” He also shared photos of a vandalized vehicle spray-painted with messages including “Your Turn!” and “F— ICE.”
“This is the direct result of Democrats’ violent rhetoric,” Van Orden wrote. “It must stop now.”
The Eau Claire Police Department confirmed the incident is under investigation. (RELATED: “People Live in Homes, Not Corporations”: Trump Targets Wall Street Housing Takeover)
The confrontation followed the death of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Macklin Good, who was fatally shot during an immigration enforcement operation earlier this week. The incident has ignited a fierce national debate over whether the officer involved acted in self-defense and how federal authorities handled the encounter.
The Department of Homeland Security has said the woman used her vehicle as a weapon to interfere with an enforcement action and labeled the incident an act of domestic terrorism. President Donald Trump and other senior administration officials have echoed that account, stating the officer was struck and injured during the encounter.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey have both sharply disputed the administration’s version of events. In a Wednesday interview on CNN with Anderson Cooper, Frey called DHS’s explanation “positively ridiculous.” (RELATED: Walz Threatens to Activate National Guard to Confront ICE Agents)
“The narrative ICE is spinning immediately after this was that this was purely self-defense, and that the act by the victim was some sort of domestic terrorism — that, I’ll say it again, is bulls—,” Frey said, repeating comments he made earlier at a press conference. He went on to tell ICE to “get the f— out of our city.”
Those remarks drew swift backlash from Republicans and former Trump administration officials. Former Acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf criticized Frey’s comments as “unintelligible” and “unhinged” during an appearance on Fox News. Border czar Tom Homan also condemned what he called “hateful rhetoric and violent attacks” against federal officers.
“These brave men and women are forced to conduct law enforcement operations in heightened threat environments every day,” Homan wrote. “Like all Americans, our officers have a right to self-defense.”
