SLO County DA defends deadly Minneapolis ICE shooting in 2 social media posts
San Luis Obispo District Attorney Dan Dow shared two social media posts on Thursday defending a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent’s decision to shoot and kill a woman in Minneapolis this week.
“Let this tragedy be a loud and sobering reminder to all: Do not interfere, obstruct, or delay law enforcement in the performance of their duties,” Dow wrote in a social media post on X. “If you do, you put yourself squarely in danger. And never ever use force against a law enforcement officer, it may be the very last thing you ever do.”
He then added another comment, reposting a clip of a video and speculating about how the narrative of the “far left” would be different if it was the agent who had been killed.
805 UndocuFund, a Central Coast nonprofit dedicated to supporting immigrants and their families, condemned the post, calling it “deeply disrespectful.”
An ICE agent fatally shot Renee Good, 37, in a residential neighborhood on Wednesday morning, according to the Associated Press. Federal officials said Good hit the ICE agent with her SUV, and the ICE agent shot her in self-defense.
However, a New York Times analysis of videos of the shooting showed that the wheels of Good’s car were angled to the right and the ICE agent stood to the left when he shot at her, suggesting that Good did not aim her vehicle at the agent. Additionally, the agent’s feet were pointed away from the SUV when Good drove past him — indicating that he wasn’t struck by the vehicle, the New York Times reported.
The shooting sparked outcry across the nation — with conflicting accounts of the incident circulating in the news and on social media.
On Thursday, the local group SLO Action for Peace held a candlelight vigil of about 200 people to honor Good and the hundreds of other people taken into custody by ICE during the past year on the Central Coast.
Dow made the post on his personal account on X, @dandow. His bio identifies him as the District Attorney, and says, “retweets are not endorsements.”
Dow did not respond to The Tribune’s multiple requests for comment on Thursday and Friday while continuing to post on X.
However, after The Tribune published the article on Friday, Dow made two comments about the article on X.
In the first post, he said, “What are the chances the @SLOTribune would have written an article about my @x post if I had criticized and attacked @ICEgov? This is all about them pushing an anti-Trump and an anti-law and order agenda. Yawn…”
A few hours later, Dow re-posted a video of Chicago Police Department Superintendent Larry Snelling defending ICE’s use of force.
“Hey @SLOTribune, check this out… why aren’t you harassing this guy? Hmmm…” Dow wrote in his re-post.
SLO County district attorney posts about ICE shooting
On Thursday, Dow first re-posted a statement made by Vice President JD Vance regarding the shooting.
In his post, Dow said the shooting was a reminder to “never ever use force against a law enforcement officer, it may be the very last thing you ever do.”
Just minutes later, Dow re-posted a blurry video clip from the incident, which shows the moment that the SUV started driving away. The song “I’m a Believer” by Smash Mouth played over the video.
The original post, made by far-right Belgian activist Dries Van Langenhove, said, “this angle clearly shows the ICE agent being hit and dragged on by the car. Could have easily killed him.”
Other video clips of the incident, however, show that the ICE agent was not dragged by the SUV. Video footage shows the ICE agent standing on two feet while he shot at the SUV.
In fact, the ICE agent may not have been struck by the vehicle, according to the New York Times analysis.
In his re-post of the video, Dow said, “If the story ended the other way around, and the woman had killed the ICE agent, what would the narrative of the far left be?”
805 UndocuFund spokesperson Claudia Gonzalez said Dow’s comments were “inappropriate and should never have come from someone interested with public office.”
His post “demonstrated a blatant disregard for human life,” she said.
As a prosecutor elected to public office, Dow is responsible for defending constitutionally protected due process rights for everyone in San Luis Obispo County — regardless of their citizenship status, Gonzalez said.
“We called on public officials to explain how they would ensure what happened in Minneapolis doesn’t happen in our communities, especially as immigration enforcements escalate and become more aggressive,” Gonzalez said.
Community leaders like Dow should prioritize the safety of civilians — whether or not they have citizenship, she said.
805 UndocuFund urged those leaders to explain how they will deescalate ICE enforcement operations in a way that protects the constitutional rights and safety of both citizens and undocumented people, Gonzalez said.
“His response makes it very clear where he stands,” she said of Dow.
This story was originally published January 9, 2026 at 12:03 PM.