By Angelo Haynes
At 6:30 last night, Wednesday, Jan. 7, local activists and community organizers led by the SD Bike Brigade staged a protest in downtown San Diego to express their anger and frustration while showing support for Renee Nicole Good, the woman killed by ICE Agents in Minneapolis earlier in the day.
The protests started near the downtown central corridor by the courthouse appearing to start in front of the civic building on C street. The throng of protestors then crossed the trolley tracks and began moving northbound towards Little Italy before turning left heading west on Ash Street.
Protestors were shouting to express their grief, anger and frustration at the loss of Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old woman who was shot in her car by ICE Agents. It was stated by ICE that Good angled her car towards them and was attempting to hit them with her vehicle, although no evidence has been brought forward to corroborate that story yet. Department of Homeland Secretary Kristy Noem also described Good as a “domestic terrorist” in the wake of the shooting.
Bleu Wong and Mariel Christine were leading the march for the SD Bike Brigade as SDPD officers began to block the protest off at certain intersections causing the march to be diverted several times as they made their way. It had been stated by some protestors during the march, that SDPD officers had issued warnings of arrest to some organizers on the grounds of inciting a riot, although this was not confirmed.
When protestors stopped to hold a brief rally, several speakers stepped forward to express their anger and to memorialize the death of Good who was described as innocent and compassionate by those in the crowd. Other protestors shouted expletives regarding the treatment of undocumented individuals by ICE and riled the group up before heading north along Pacific Highway towards Little Italy.
Many peacekeeper volunteers with Indivisible San Diego were present to create space and allow for a barrier between law enforcement and the crowd of activists, they were identified by their neon green traffic safety vests and beige hats. In addition to the volunteer peace keepers, Legal Observers with the National Lawyers Guild of San Diego were on hand to offer some legal protection in the case arrests were made by SDPD. The Legal Observers were easily identified by their bright neon green shirts and hats while maintaining a stern, professional, and focused demeanor during the performance of their duties.
The protest moved from Pacific Highway and turned right onto Grape Street before ending at the corner of Grape and India street where protestors ran into some issues with local civilians who appeared to have disagreements with protestors. Although some yelling and aggressive posturing occurred, it did not escalate to violence and all individuals walked away unharmed.
While at the corner of Grape and India, I had the chance to speak with one of the speakers who had aided in the coordination of the protest, Chelsea Gods.
“Well, we’re here because we’re angry. We’re angry about ICE invading our suburban streets. We’re angry about the fact that a woman was killed in cold blood today because of the decisions of the Trump administration. We’re here vocalizing our disdain for the increased violence that they, the Trump administration, has put on this country.” Gods Explained.
When asked about the rapid start of multiple protests to begin 2026 this was Chelsea’s response.
“I think that we had 250 people show up today. Let me tell you something about this protest today, we didn’t tell anyone what the address was going to be of this protest until thirty minutes before and still we had 250 people show up; so, I think the answer to your question is yes, this is about the momentum we have going into this year. For me, 2026 is the year of organizing, it’s the year to get out, get in the streets and get involved in your community.” Gods elaborated.
“I don’t consider myself to be an organizer per se, and the people who I organized this with today are not members of a group, we’re just people who want to make a difference. And we knew that we needed to get in the streets on the day that it (the shooting) happened because someone has to stand up for what’s right and it might as well be us.”
During the protest the SDPD appeared to be performing the practice of “Kettling” a police tactic law enforcement uses to contain and corral large crowds for public safety. The SDPD blocked off roads with vehicles, but did not use officers on foot with riot gear to contain the crowd. It’s a maneuver many criticize as it is believed to escalate tension rather than relieves it during civil unrest. SDPD did not provide comment during the course of their duty.
