{"id":136783,"date":"2026-01-16T21:52:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T21:52:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/136783\/"},"modified":"2026-01-16T21:52:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T21:52:12","slug":"oc-judge-resigns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/136783\/","title":{"rendered":"OC judge resigns"},"content":{"rendered":"

California prosecutors are expressing alarm at the Trump administration\u2019s response to the fatal shooting of a Minneapolis woman by an immigration agent, pointing to statements that the agent has absolute immunity<\/a> from prosecution and to the decision to exclude Minnesota investigators<\/a> from the inquiry into the incident.<\/p>\n

In interviews with KQED, state and local prosecutors vowed to investigate and, if necessary, prosecute federal agents who act illegally in California. But they acknowledged that those probes would be difficult to undertake without federal cooperation.<\/p>\n

\u201cDespite what Vice President [JD] Vance has irresponsibly and erroneously said … there\u2019s no such thing as absolute immunity,\u201d California Attorney General Rob Bonta, a Democrat, said. \u201cOf course, there can be criminal liability for an ICE agent who commits a crime. ICE agents do not have carte blanche and license to kill and commit crimes and assaults and batter and rape and murder Americans. That\u2019s what JD Vance is saying.\u201d<\/p>\n

Amid aggressive immigration raids in Minneapolis, Renee Macklin Good was shot three times by an ICE agent as she appeared to turn her car away<\/a> from the officer on Jan. 7.<\/p>\n

Following the shooting, federal authorities \u2014 including President Donald Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem \u2014 blamed<\/a> Good for the shooting, excluded<\/a> state and local law enforcement from the investigation and moved to focus the probe<\/a> on Good\u2019s possible activism, not the ICE agent\u2019s actions.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe precedent here is very simple \u2014 you have a federal law enforcement official, engaging in a federal law enforcement action,\u201d Vance said from the White House podium two days after the shooting. \u201cThat\u2019s a federal issue; that guy is protected by absolute immunity, he is doing his job.\u201d<\/p>\n

That claim prompted outrage from Democrats around the nation, in part because Macklin Good\u2019s shooting, while she drove her car, is not unique.<\/p>\n

Immigration agents have been involved in at least two nonfatal shootings of drivers in Los Angeles in recent months, and a Wall Street Journal investigation identified<\/a> 13 times since July when ICE agents fired into civilians\u2019 vehicles, twice fatally.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem immediately defended the actions of the officer who killed a woman in Minnesota.<\/p>\n

(<\/p>\n

Michael Gonzalez<\/p>\n

\/<\/p>\n

Getty Images<\/p>\n

)<\/p>\n

Outrage in California and beyond<\/p>\n

Vance\u2019s comments in particular outraged law enforcement in California and beyond; the administration\u2019s response led six federal prosecutors in Minnesota to resign<\/a> this week.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never in my career seen a government official, an elected official, or the head of a law enforcement agency come out and within minutes justify the conduct of the officer or agent [involved in a shooting],\u201d San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said on KQED\u2019s Political Breakdown<\/a> on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt tells me that there\u2019s already been a conclusion drawn, that we will not have a full and fair and independent investigation because they\u2019ve already told us that they\u2019ve determined that this shooting was justified. And so there will not be an opportunity for justice should that need to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jenkins, a Democrat, made headlines in October amid threats of Bay Area immigration raids when she said she would not hesitate to prosecute federal agents<\/a> who break the law in San Francisco. Her comments prompted Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche to write a letter<\/a> that offered a preview of the government\u2019s response to the Minnesota case: He declared any arrest of federal agents \u201cillegal and futile.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Jenkins\u2019 comments were correct, San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said.<\/p>\n

\"Stephen<\/p>\n

San Mateo County’s Stephen Wagstaffe said recent events have him worried about the public’s trust in law enforcement<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s exactly what I feel. I don\u2019t care who they are; I don\u2019t care who or what their role is. If they come into our county, violate the law, they get held accountable just like anybody does,\u201d he said. \u201cStature or occupation is not relevant as to whether you get prosecuted if you violate the law.\u201d<\/p>\n

In one of the Los Angeles cases, TikTok streamer Carlitos Ricardo Parias was accused by federal agents of using his car as a deadly weapon; agents claimed they fired at him in self-defense. But a federal judge dismissed the assault charges filed by federal prosecutors, and video of the incident has raised questions<\/a> about the agents\u2019 account.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not clear if there are state or local investigations into that incident: Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman declined an interview request for this story, and Bonta declined to confirm or deny a state investigation, saying he cannot comment on pending cases.<\/p>\n

But prosecutors said that federal authorities\u2019 actions are eroding trust in law enforcement \u2014 and making their jobs harder.<\/p>\n

\u201cRule of law doesn\u2019t truly exist in our country at the highest level right now,\u201d Jenkins said. \u201cWe already know that based on the history in this country, there\u2019s so much distrust when it comes to the prosecution of law enforcement for unlawful shootings or even fair investigations into those shootings.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wagstaffe said he was dismayed to see the rush to judgment by both the Trump administration and local elected officials, like Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey. Within hours of the Good shooting, Frey declared the federal government\u2019s self-defense claims \u201cbulls\u2014.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

Still, Wagstaffe said none of that should affect the investigation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we\u2019re trying to do here is inspire public trust,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I\u2019m not going to be influenced in even the slightest by what any other person says.\u201d<\/p>\n

Questions about state officials’ power<\/p>\n

Bonta, Wagstaffe and Jenkins all said that after Good\u2019s killing and the subsequent decision by the FBI to shut out Minnesota investigators, they have real concerns about their ability to probe potential use-of-force incidents involving federal authorities.<\/p>\n

Wagstaffe noted that federal prosecutors generally are not empowered to investigate homicides \u2014 local district attorneys are. Jenkins said if federal authorities take control of a scene and refuse to share evidence, \u201cit would nearly negate our ability to prosecute.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bonta said that what should happen after a federal agent uses deadly force is a joint investigation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe should have access to the scene. We should have access to the evidence. We should get cooperation from the federal government,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

California’s response to ICE<\/p>\n

California has made moves to push back on what Democrats here see as ICE\u2019s overreach: Last year, the governor signed a law barring local and federal law enforcement from wearing a mask<\/a> while on duty, a law that\u2019s now tied up in court<\/a>. The author of that bill, state Sen. Scott Wiener, is currently pushing legislation<\/a> to make it easier for Californians to sue over violations of constitutional rights, like illegal searches and seizures or retaliating against someone for exercising their First Amendment rights.<\/p>\n

Bonta urged Californians to report federal misconduct to a new website<\/a> his office created, including video of encounters with ICE, which the public is allowed to record.<\/a> But he also encouraged protesters and others not to take the bait if federal agents appear to be provoking a violent response.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou cannot, and you should not, assault or strike or commit a crime against an officer. You just can\u2019t, no matter what they did in terms of approaching you. If they use force and you think it was unreasonable, you\u2019re not going to figure it out at that moment,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ll have to get it figured out later in a court of law.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFollow orders, be peaceful, but you can observe, you can record, and that can be used later as evidence in a case that you might bring.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"California prosecutors are expressing alarm at the Trump administration\u2019s response to the fatal shooting of a Minneapolis woman…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":136784,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[163,165,164],"class_list":["post-136783","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-anaheim","tag-anaheim","tag-anaheim-headlines","tag-anaheim-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136783","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=136783"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136783\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/136784"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=136783"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=136783"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=136783"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}