Durango residents expressed a mix of grief, fear and anger at a Friday protest held in memory of Renee Nicole Good, the 37-year-old mother of three who was shot and killed Wednesday by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in Minneapolis.
About 500 people gathered at Buckley Park for the protest, yet amid the multitude of emotions, a unifying belief seemed to rise to the top: That protesters’ voices still matter, even in Durango, even when national politics seem unswayed by the desires of ordinary citizens.
“No voice is too small,” said attendee Gemma Mueller, a college student home for the winter. “We have to start in small towns.”
Good was inside her vehicle when masked federal agents confronted her during an ICE operation. Video footage shows Good reversing her vehicle and then moving forward when an ICE agent shot and killed her.
President Donald Trump and federal officials, including leaders within the Department of Homeland Security, say the agent acted in self-defense against what they have characterized as a vehicular threat – an reading of events that has sparked widespread outrage and is being contested by eyewitness accounts and video footage.
The demonstration in Durango is unlikely to sway ardent supporters of Trump’s immigration enforcement policies, said attendee Isaac Auerbacher, but Friday’s protest still sends an important signal.
“I would hope they would see that there is resistance, and that there are a lot of people against the administration,” Auerbacher said. “It’s not like everyone’s just letting this happen. We’re at least trying to do something.”
For many in Durango, Good’s death felt both heartbreaking and unacceptable.
Lisa Wilk, attending her first Buckley Park demonstration since Trump took office, said Good’s death was so upsetting it compelled her to show up.
“It’s so cruel, and they’re trying to scare us,” said one protester, who declined to be identified.
By about 4:30 p.m., people bundled against the cold and wearing varying levels of protest gear trickled into the park, many carrying signs denouncing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and calling for accountability.
“ICE is a tool of an oppressive system that aims to prevent Black and brown bodies from having any autonomy – it squashes culture and diversity, things that make our community better and stronger,” said Jay, who declined to give their last name, while addressing the crowd through a megaphone.
Several minutes later, protesters marched south on Main Avenue sidewalks, chanting and carrying signs calling for justice and an end to federal enforcement tactics they view as dangerous and indiscriminate.
Mueller marched in carefully chosen protest gear, carrying a mask in case the gathering took a turn for the worse (several people wore masks that provided them with complete anonymity, including street medics).
Her reason for being there was simple: “I’m angry.”
She’s also worried.
Mueller said she sees her generation becoming increasingly conservative and apolitical. Still, she believes that even in Durango – a small town that can feel far removed from national conversations, and where protests rarely exceed 1,000 people – it is critical to speak out.
Others echoed that sentiment. Rustin Furlow, working at the Starlight Lounge along the march route, stepped away for several minutes to hold a sign denouncing ICE activity as protesters passed by.
“This is what we have to do,” he said. “We have to come together in solidarity and resistance.”
jbowman@durangoherald.com
