Chris Madel, a Minneapolis lawyer who represented the immigration agent who fatally shot Renee Good, said Monday that he was ending his Republican campaign for governor of Minnesota after a second protester was killed by federal authorities.
“I cannot support the national Republicans’ stated retribution on the citizens of our state,” Madel said in a video message he posted on social media, “nor can I count myself a member of a party that would do so.”
Madel, who has never held elected office, launched his candidacy in December as a political outsider and a fierce defender of law enforcement. He was one of nearly a dozen candidates in the Republican primary for governor.
He gained attention this month for providing legal representation to Jonathan Ross, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent who shot Good, a 37-year-old Minneapolis woman, on January 7.
“Operation Metro Surge has expanded far beyond its stated focus on true public safety threat,” Madel said in his message. “United States citizens, particularly those of color, live in fear. United States citizens are carrying papers to prove their citizenship. That’s wrong.”
The decision from Madel comes after federal agents killed Alex Pretti, an intensive care nurse at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center who was protesting immigration actions. A CNN video analysis appears to show a federal immigration officer removing a gun from Pretti just prior to officers fatally shooting him.
Madel’s blistering critique of the Trump administration’s actions are notable given his legal assistance for Ross. His comments come as some Republicans nationally are beginning to question the actions of federal agents.
The escalating tensions in Minnesota have roiled the state’s politics three weeks after Gov. Tim Walz ended his reelection bid in the wake of a deepening federal investigation into a scandal over social services programs in Minnesota.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar filed paperwork last week to form a campaign committee to run for governor. She delayed a formal announcement after Pretti’s killing, saying she was more focused on trying to get ICE agents out of Minnesota than launching a campaign.
Nearly a dozen GOP candidates are already engaged in a crowded primary for governor, including Lisa Demuth, the speaker of the Minnesota House, who is the highest-ranking Republican in the state. Madel appeared to be gaining ground, often finishing in the top share of Republican challengers in unofficial party straw polls.
No Republican candidate has won a statewide election in Minnesota since 2006 – a fact Madel noted in his video message.
“National Republicans have made it nearly impossible for a…
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