Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s, publicly demanded that Immigration and Customs Enforcement be “defunded and disbanded” after two fatal shootings in Minneapolis this month, and he paused plans for a memorial ice cream amid outrage. One incident on Jan. 7 involved the death of Renee Nicole Good at the hands of an ICE agent, and another left Alex Pretti dead while recording an immigration operation. Cohen’s comments and calls for sweeping changes have sparked a debate about accountability, public safety, and how conservatives should respond.
Cohen said he had intended to create a flavor honoring Renee Good but backed away after the second fatal encounter. “I was prepared to make a special ice cream today to memorialize and celebrate the life of Renee Good, but now that Alex’s murder makes it clear that the murder of Renee and the government’s lies were not a mistake but standard operating procedure, I just don’t have it within me,” he said. The quote landed on social feeds and revived long-running tensions over federal immigration enforcement.
The situation in Minneapolis was chaotic and traumatic for neighbors and witnesses alike. Video and witness accounts show Alex Pretti being sprayed with an irritant, pushed to the ground, and beaten while he tried to help a woman agents had knocked down, and an agent was later seen pulling Pretti’s lawfully owned firearm from his waistband before multiple agents fired, killing him. Those are the facts people are grappling with as investigations proceed and political voices amplify every claim.
The earlier shooting that prompted Cohen’s plan involved Renee Good and an ICE agent, Jonathan Ross, in a deadly confrontation that set off protests and calls for reform. The emotional weight of two fatalities in one city has propelled activists and celebrities to demand dramatic action from Washington. That environment is why strong language like Cohen’s is trending and why it’s hard for many to stay calm while asking for answers.
<p”We all live in Minneapolis now, because Minneapolis is only the beginning of what they have in mind. They’re coming for anyone, anywhere who doesn’t submit,” Cohen warned. “A brazen, arrogant, masked militarized force loyal only to Trump and immune from prosecution.” Those words are raw and incendiary, and they reflect a deep distrust of federal law enforcement that some Americans share and others reject outright.
Republicans should call out abuses and support full, transparent investigations into any use of excessive force, but they should also resist rush-to-judgment rhetoric that paints every agent as a villain. Law enforcement officers operate in dangerous, split-second scenarios, and accountability must be rooted in evidence and procedure. A principled conservative response demands rigorous scrutiny of the facts while defending the rule of law.
“Submit or be murdered. Video them and be murdered. Protest and be murdered, or at least be placed on a list of domestic terrorists and investigated,” Cohen said, summing up his fears about what he sees as a nationwide trend. That passage is chilling, and it will be used on both sides: as proof of systemic bias by critics and as an example of overheated, polarizing rhetoric by defenders of ICE. Regardless of political stance, the priority should be restoring confidence through clear, public investigations.
<p”This is not freedom,” he added. “This is not the right to free speech or the right to protest. This is not America. This is sheer cruelty. This is the beginning of the end of the land of the free, unless we make it the home of the brave, unless we’re brave enough to stand up for justice, to stand up for our neighbors, to stand up for compassion.” Those lines are meant to rally and to shock, and they will resonate with many who feel let down by institutions.
Cohen’s demand to undo the post-9/11 structure of immigration enforcement hit a nerve. “ICE must be defunded and disbanded,” he said. “Before 2001, ICE did not even exist. Immigration issues used to be handled by the INS, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, which was part of the Department of Justice. And it was just.” “Let’s go back to that,” Cohen suggested. Conservatives who prioritize national security and border control will respond that modern threats required reorganization and new tools that an older bureau might not have provided.
He also targeted Republicans who speak about Christian values while supporting immigration enforcement, invoking scripture to make his point. “You know, I don’t get it. They say this is a Christian nation. What did he mean when he said, ‘I was a stranger, and you welcomed me?’ ‘Love thy neighbor.’ ‘What you do to the least of these you do to me,'” he said, challenging the moral consistency of elected officials. That line of moral critique forces a conversation about how compassion and enforcement can coexist under the law.
The right response now is to demand transparency, insist on rigorous investigations, and avoid letting heat replace due process. Americans deserve answers about what happened in Minneapolis and faith that any wrongdoing will be punished. At the same time, policy debates over ICE, border security, and how to balance enforcement with civil liberties should be fought in the light of facts and careful thinking, not only through viral outrage.
