Demonstrators bow their heads during a moment of silence for Renee Good at a vigil in Raleigh, N.C. on Jan. 14, 2026. (Photo: Brandon Kingdollar/NC Newsline)
More than 200 gathered Wednesday evening in Raleigh’s Moore Square to mourn Minneapolis activist Renee Good and to condemn ICE for her death and other violent encounters in recent months.
The candlelight vigil, organized by Siembra NC, included a call to prayer, the singing of the spiritual “Gospel Plow,” and remarks from activists and lawmakers. Mourners shielded their candles from the wind on a blustery night where temperatures hovered around 40°F. Some struggled to relight them after gusts blew them out.
The group held accompanying vigils in Charlotte, Greensboro and Wilmington, North Carolina.
Good’s fatal shooting by an ICE agent has sparked protests and condemnation across the U.S., including calls from members of Congress for U.S Dept. of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to resign or be impeached. Thousands demonstrated in Minneapolis last week to demand accountability for the shooting.
Alissa Vermilion, among those at Wednesday’s Raleigh vigil, said she came out to show her anger over violence by ICE.
“I’ve been outraged almost from the beginning about how brutal and how unaccountable ICE has been,” she said. “It’s infuriating to know that the only thing that I can do is to come out and peacefully protest and remember and hope that it’s enough to stop the brutality.”
In memory of Renee Good, protesters hold a banner reading “Tomorrow should should be promised to everyone,” at a Jan. 14, 2026 vigil in Raleigh. (Photo: Brandon Kingdollar/NC Newsline)The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a request for comment on the protests. Noem and other officials have argued the ICE agent shot Good in self-defense during a vehicular assault, though video of the incident seems to show her steering away from the officer.
Wednesday’s demonstration blended memorial with protest. Attendees held small candles and bowed their heads for a moment of silence. Some raised signs reading, “We saw the video,” and “No PolICE State.” Some, concerned for their safety, wore masks to hide their identity.
John Arndt, who said he has been protesting the Trump administration since last spring with the grassroots anti-Trump group 50501, said he believes Good is the “tipping point” to turn Americans against ICE. “She wanted to make a difference. She made the ultimate difference,” he told NC Newsline.
Mourners shielded their candles from the wind on a blustery night where temperatures hovered around 40°F. Some struggled to relight them after gusts blew them out.
Nikki Marín Baena told vigil attendees on Wednesday that it is their responsibility to help protect immigrants and legal observers from violence. (Photo: Brandon Kingdollar/NC Newsline)Nikki Marín Baena, co-founder of Siembra NC, told the crowd that it was up to them to keep immigrants and legal observers safe from violence.
“El mañana debe prometerse a todos. Tomorrow should be promised for everyone,” she said. “Tonight we hold space for those whose tomorrow was stolen by federal violence in this last year. We say their names.”
In addition to Good, she asked the demonstrators to honor Silverio Villegas González, Keith Porter Jr., Jaime Alanis Garcia, Roberto Carlos Montoya Valdez, and Joe Castro Rivera, all of whom were allegedly either killed by ICE agents or died from other causes as they fled from encounters.
She also highlighted the case of Edwin Godinez and Yair Napolés, two U.S. citizens who say they were assaulted by ICE officers during a stop in Salisbury, North Carolina last week. Video from their phones appears to support their claims.
State Sen. Sophia Chitlik (D-Durham) said she and her Democratic colleagues will introduce the Making Enforcement Liable and Transparent, or MELT, Act in the legislature’s short session, aiming to prohibit federal law enforcement from wearing masks, block immigration detentions at churches, hospitals and schools, and open ICE and Border Patrol to civil litigation at the state level for violating North Carolinians’ rights.
“The burden is now on the states to protect our communities from the invasion of ICE and CBP. It is up to us state legislators to step up as fundamental American liberties like the right to assembly, due process and the rule of law are threatened,” she said.
Any successful measures to restrict ICE are unlikely to advance in the current North Carolina General Assembly, however, with a sizable Republican majority controlling both chambers.
In an interview after the vigil, Marín Baena said Siembra NC is discussing what precautions may help keep its trained community observers safe in the wake of Good’s death. Observers in Minnesota have made changes, but none have been implemented yet in N.C.
She said she was surprised by the “incredible” turnout in Raleigh.
“I wasn’t expecting so many people with the cold. But I think it does confirm what we thought, which is that a lot of people don’t want to see this in our community,” she said.
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